This is my 2 month old cutout that had queen cells a month ago - I cannot see eggs or a queen. It is the one I wanted to add to. They have built out a lot of comb.
https://youtu.be/L9My4uW9J3M
This is my new 2 week old nuc - why is there a cup on 2 frames ? There are 5-6 frames of good pollen nectar capped brood and eggs
Frames 6&7
https://youtu.be/I3O2-28LzAs
Fra
https://youtu.be/AiS8ITzW9Cg
Barefoot, queen cups are common. I see them in almost every hive this time of year. Just so there is no egg, no worries. When you find an egg in a queen cup, then its queen cell and needs attention of some sort.
I would add to your cut out hive. That is a failed hive. May as well put in a nuc with 2 frames of eggs and brood so they can make a queen. A hive that weak at my location would be taken over by hive beetles. No eggs or brood is a dieing hive.
I would love to add egg/brood frames but I only have newer hives that haven?t built out ten full frames yet
What if I use the newspaper method on top of the new nuc - place a super that matches the wooden nuc, and transfer the frames of failing hive to the top of the nuc? They are only ten feet apart so orientation shouldn?t be a problem. I just don?t have a way to make an entrance for that new super-