Good Nuc, Bad brood box

[Bridget]

I have a nuc with a laying queen and a brood box of full bees with a queen but no sign of eggs or brood since the MAQS came off 10 days ago and so virtually no uncapped brood either.
Should I combine the nuc with the brood box having done away with the non laying queen or leave the non laying queen till spring and maybe combine then if the queen still doesn't lay? Both have enough stores though the nuc would benefit from a few more bees.
If combining is the best option this late in the season how is best? Do I kill the brood box queen, move the brood box to where the nuc is and then combine with paper with the nuc on top of a board above the brood box. Do I remove the nuc queen first and put her in a cage in the brood box? What about the brood in frames from the nuc, won't it chill if left until the combining is completed?
I was reading about the newspaper bag method of combining which is on Dave Cushman site (http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/newspaperbag.html) With that method I could add the queen and her bees straight to the brood box on say three frames each covered in a bag made of newspaper which they would chew their way through. Or another option would be to give the nuc a frame of bees from the brood box to help it through the winter, again using the paper bag method

[Mellifera Crofter]

Bridget, when I last checked (three weeks ago looking for eggs for a test frame), I found that most of my queens have stopped or almost stopped laying (and, as you know, I did not even use MAQS). Your queen in the full hive had been laying - so I would just let her be. I think just leave the two hives as they are and don't stress them. As the brood box queen has stopped laying, I wouldn't be keen to move bees from there to the nuc either. I think, just keep the hives (and the nuc particularly) nice and warm.
Kitta

[Bridget]

Thanks Kitta I'll go for that option. If it doesn't work I'll only have you to blame. Haha only joking!,,[emoji33]


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[Mellifera Crofter]

Oh dear, I hope both colonies thrive over winter, Bridget - for all our sakes!

[Bridget]

Ha ha win some, loose some.


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[Bridget]

Oh dear, I hope both colonies thrive over winter, Bridget - for all our sakes!

Had a little look while it was warm yesterday and the bees were flying. Both hives and the Nuc looking healthy and busy. The hives have at least 7 seams of bees and the nuc has certainly more bees than when we discussed it a month or so ago Kitta so looks like your policy of leave all alone was good. Only trouble is I have not perfected the art of leaving fondant on the top bars - it's in a right mess with rock hard fondant stuck in between frames. They didn't like me trying to clean it up so left them to it.


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[prakel]

Helps to keep it above a framed excluder -I made a few candied bees myself before working that one out!

[Jon]

Pictures of fondant feeding.

http://www.stratfordbeekeepers.org.uk/PENotes/Fondant.htm

[Mellifera Crofter]

... looks like your policy of leave all alone was good ...

That's good news, Bridget. I hope they continue that way!
Kitta