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Offline rober

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to combine or....
« on: October 18, 2015, 08:50:49 pm »
I inspected 3 hives for friend/newbee today. 2 of the hives have no stores, no brood, & very few bees but have queens. the 3rd hive has brood ( not a lot ) some stores, a queen, & plenty of bees. all 3 have hives have a lot of shb. since 2 of those hives have no chance of surviving the winter would it be a good idea to snuff the queens in those hives & combine all 3?
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Offline LazyBkpr

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Re: to combine or....
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2015, 09:00:18 pm »
Are there enough bees in the two weak huves to make a cluster big enough to get them through winter?  if not, then yah, combine them all and feed to winter weight.
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: to combine or....
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2015, 09:09:25 pm »
I probably would and after they combine i would (depending on how many bees) reduce the hive to 2 deeps or one deep. In my area i keep at lease 50lbs to 60lbs of stores on hives (or more if i have it) if not i put a mountain camp on them.If you have hives? could you spare some honey frames from a strong hive to help him out? Our Aster is all that's left and it's going fast. Jack
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Offline riverbee

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Re: to combine or....
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2015, 11:51:12 pm »
rober, from what you described, up here, they would never make it.  with that said, jack would be the best beek for advice for your friend. yes, i would combine all 3 of them as a last ditch or hail mary attempt.  not sure this will fly, but it's how we learn.

with some stores and no stores, as jack said your friend will have to feed the combined hive for winter months and hope for the best.

good luck to your friend.
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Offline rober

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Re: to combine or....
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2015, 01:50:15 am »
I should have added reducing them to 2 deep boxes after they're combined.
the strongest hive might have a chance. combining the 2 weakest hives would be iffy. there's not that many bees. I'm not sure what's up with those queens. it's way too early for them to completely shut down, especially with the small populations. maybe they were poorly bred. he lost a 4th hive early on. I think combining all three & feeding them heavily is their only chance of surviving. increasing the population in the stronger hive would also help control the shb. as I said all three hives have a lot of beetles. that's likely due to the dwindling number of bees & the fact that the hives are in a semi-shady location. I also advised him to place them in a sunnier spot. I also advised to reserve some nucs for spring.
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