Reality Check on nucs and Laying worker solution.

[Grandma_DOG]

I've got 4 KTBHs. One hive from a cutout has multi eggs with some stuck on the walls, hence a laying worker is present. Must have missed the queen in the cutout.

Miller writes that its better to give up on these hives and to break them down and merge them with other hives. At the end of each year, you'll spend less time that way.

So its almost July, and the honeyflow is ended for my area. I was going to make 2-3 nucs from these hives and feed them till winter.  So I was going to grab 3 bars for each nuc. After I make the nucs, then merge the laying worker hive into the donor hives.

Anybody spot problems with this plan?

[Grandma_DOG]

Bump.

I went out the outyard to make the splits. Discovered that my best KTBH had comb collapse and it dominoed thru 18 combs. I was able to save some honeycomb, and salvaged the top of most bars that had honey, but the brood comb was worthless, I cut it out and tossed every last brood comb to the side. I doubt the queen lived thru the collapse. No eggs or pupae present

WIll the nucs breed a queen fast enough to put into this hive? Or will I get a laying worker problem first?

[bfriendly]

I have seen laying workers in as little as 1.5- 2 weeks.

laying queen from egg takes almost a month...

I would give them a bar with eggs from another hive that has genetics you like.  A strong hive with lots of bees can probably raise a better queen than small nucs from laying worker hives...

you can "rubber band" brood comb to top bars.  (but you can't really do this with honey, it weighs too much...)  next time try to save all the brood you can!