Can I unite 3 hives?

[nettle]

What a disastrous day, I could use a bit of advice.

I have 3 hives:
One is on 5 frames with a lovely little brood nest.
One has dwindled right down to two frames and has no brood at all. The workers haven't started laying yet.

I was going to unite these two together... until I accidentally crushed the queen in hive no. three. She'd gone under one of the brood frame lugs- I never saw her till it was too late. To say I feel horrendous is an understatement.

Hive three was on 'brood-&-a-half' (though not really, as there's no brood in the super, only honey - I won't be doing it this way again).

Can I unite all three? If so, how should I configure them? Queen-right box on the bottom, both boxes of hive 3 in the middle (to minimise disturbance), and the tiny broodless colony on top?

 

[The Poot]

What a disastrous day, I could use a bit of advice.

I have 3 hives:
One is on 5 frames with a lovely little brood nest.
One has dwindled right down to two frames and has no brood at all. The workers haven't started laying yet.

I was going to unite these two together... until I accidentally crushed the queen in hive no. three. She'd gone under one of the brood frame lugs- I never saw her till it was too late. To say I feel horrendous is an understatement.

Hive three was on 'brood-&-a-half' (though not really, as there's no brood in the super, only honey - I won't be doing it this way again).

Can I unite all three? If so, how should I configure them? Queen-right box on the bottom, both boxes of hive 3 in the middle (to minimise disturbance), and the tiny broodless colony on top?

How awful for you!
I would feel inclined to unite the two with brood with the bigger amount above. I would shake out the two frames in front of the hive and remove the redundant hives.
If there’s enough stores in the brood boxes I would not fit the super to avoid giving too much space as the weather may turn on us!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What a disastrous day, I could use a bit of advice.

I have 3 hives:
One is on 5 frames with a lovely little brood nest.
One has dwindled right down to two frames and has no brood at all. The workers haven't started laying yet.

I was going to unite these two together... until I accidentally crushed the queen in hive no. three. She'd gone under one of the brood frame lugs- I never saw her till it was too late. To say I feel horrendous is an understatement.

Hive three was on 'brood-&-a-half' (though not really, as there's no brood in the super, only honey - I won't be doing it this way again).

Can I unite all three? If so, how should I configure them? Queen-right box on the bottom, both boxes of hive 3 in the middle (to minimise disturbance), and the tiny broodless colony on top?

unite 1 and 3 shake out the other

 

[nettle]

Thanks both.

 

[Sutty]

Or if you have empty frames in the larger colonies you could make a space to drop the 2 frames of bees into, give both lots a spray of air freshener & slot in the frames of bees - uniting in one box, then unite that with the queenright hive.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If I was in the scottish highlands, the less fiddling around I did the better at this time of year, in fact, I wouldn't even dream of opening up yet

 

[Sutty]

If I was in the scottish highlands, the less fiddling around I did the better at this time of year, in fact, I wouldn't even dream of opening up yet

I'd agree & haven't inspected yet except to clear out a dead hive. But having rendered one colony queenless whilst too early to requeen the OP needs to do something!

 

[nettle]

I know, mea culpa. It was 14 degrees and I was just trying to establish the presence of brood to avoid laying workers, as I've ended up with them the last two springs in a row. I'm also feeling a bit of pressure that I might have to move the hives soon, as the landowner has released first donkeys, now pigs into the field (hell of a mess). I wanted to find out whether they were queenright and could be moved away, a hive at a time, or whether I'd be better uniting any first. Lesson learned, one of many in an ongoing process.

 

[ericbeaumont]

One has dwindled right down to two frames and has no brood at all. The workers haven't started laying yet.

Double-check for a virgin or a dud old queen.

unite 1 and 3 shake out the other

If you do shake out, put a board on a shallow slope leading up to the Q+ colony entrance, and shake the bees onto it. They'll pick up the pheromones and the job will be done quickly.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If you do shake out, put a board on a shallow slope leading up to the Q+ colony entrance, and shake the bees onto it.

I wouldn't, and never have - shake them out a few yards away and within minutes they will have found somewhere to beg their way into.
That's especially important if you have any suspicions of there being a dud queen lurking around somewhere

 

[nettle]

The more I think about this, the more I'm worried about what will happen at this time of year with having effectively two brood nests in the same hive. Once the paper's chewed through, will the bees move up to the second brood box, leaving the brood in the (currently) Q+ hive to chill? Thursday's the only other mild day forecast this week - if I unite them today, will that be too soon to rearrange the frames to get all the brood into a single box?

I so bitterly regret touching them now.

 

[nettle]

Maybe I should wait for the brood to emerge in the Q- colony before uniting them?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

wait for the brood to emerge then unite, you don't want to be faffing around consolidating the brood in this weather

 

[nettle]

wait for the brood to emerge then unite, you don't want to be faffing around consolidating the brood in this weather

Thanks for the help.

 

[hemo]

If I was in the scottish highlands, the less fiddling around I did the better at this time of year, in fact, I wouldn't even dream of opening up yet

Exactly my sentiments, it is far too soon for any fiddling bar maybe nucs expanding.

 

[ericbeaumont]

shake them out a few yards away and within minutes

OK in season, but colder damp ground at this time of year could immobilise them.

 

[Antipodes]

What a disastrous day, I could use a bit of advice.

I have 3 hives:
One is on 5 frames with a lovely little brood nest.
One has dwindled right down to two frames and has no brood at all. The workers haven't started laying yet.

I was going to unite these two together... until I accidentally crushed the queen in hive no. three. She'd gone under one of the brood frame lugs- I never saw her till it was too late. To say I feel horrendous is an understatement.

Hive three was on 'brood-&-a-half' (though not really, as there's no brood in the super, only honey - I won't be doing it this way again).

Can I unite all three? If so, how should I configure them? Queen-right box on the bottom, both boxes of hive 3 in the middle (to minimise disturbance), and the tiny broodless colony on top?

Different circumstances and different time of the year (it's just a story, not a recommendation) , but I united four colonies (apiary getting tight) a while back with no air freshener and no newspaper.
I checked them yesterday to see how they were and they are doing beautifully. Absolutely booming.
I have no idea which queen they kept or anything, but looking at the brood pattern and the amount of it, they chose well.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Different circumstances and different time of the year (it's just a story, not a recommendation) , but I united four colonies (apiary getting tight) a while back with no air freshener and no newspaper.
I checked them yesterday to see how they were and they are doing beautifully. Absolutely booming.
I have no idea which queen they kept or anything, but looking at the brood pattern and the amount of it, they chose well.

Yes putting four together would have confused them all so much there wouldn’t be too many deaths…. Apart from queens of course.
Its why you can make package bees or a nuc up out of three colonies
Murray routinely unites two without removing the queen but I’m sure there must be some sort of barrier to fighting. I shall ask

 

[Newbeeneil]

Yes putting four together would have confused them all so much there wouldn’t be too many deaths…. Apart from queens of course.
Its why you can make package bees or a nuc up out of three colonies
Murray routinely unites two without removing the queen but I’m sure there must be some sort of barrier to fighting. I shall ask

You can unite as many as you like (not 2) by shaking them all out on a sloping board leading to a brood box. By the time they are all in there is no fighting at all. Obviously not recommended at these temperatures!

 

[PollenPirate]

You can unite any number of colonies. They don't fight.