Supporting hive during supercedure

[Verbify]

One of our hives has recognized what I suspected too late: the Queen is dead, dying, or just very poorly mated. It has grown very slowly for two months. They've got two supercedure cells with big larvae in them. I suspect they'll be capped soon. The colony has shrunk and is a five frame nuc in essence. There aren't a ton of bees but there is enough to deal with what little open brood there is. It appears egg laying has stopped or is very, very slow. I did not see the queen. The capped brood is about a quarter to half of each side of four frames. There is a one-sided frame of nectar. The outside is not anywhere as near as active as its neighbor. I intend to let them go on with their plan to raise a new queen. I'd have combined them with the other hive if they hadn't already taken the situation in hand. My plan is to compress them together as in a nuc, maybe shake in a frame of young bees now, feed a bit, give an empty frame if they need something to do, then in a week or two after the capping, give a frame of capped brood so the queen can be supported when (and if) one succeeds. Is it a good plan? I'm open to suggestions on how to give their shot at a new queen the best shot possible.

[sc-bee]

Add a frame of brood plus bee. Take a frame of brood and bees and shake the bees out at the front door of the hive. The nurse bees shuold funnel in and the forages return to the donor hive. Then place the brood frame in the needed hive.

[Michael Bush]

A frame of emerging brood will give them some new bees shortly.  A frame of open brood and eggs is always good insurance against queenlessness and against laying workers.  One of each is a good boost for a struggling hive.