# Pinch combine or other suggestions?



## Pinchecharlie (May 14, 2014)

5 frame nuc june 8. Five very bad frame nuc now spotted brood pattern always and now seems very spotted, no frames of honey and not building comb and not taking much syrup. Should I pinch the poor girl and re queen (if I can?) should I give them capped brood from my other hive and see if that helps or just wait and combine in fall or now? Thanks for your help


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## BGhoney (Sep 26, 2007)

I would probably just combine, I've tried nursing week colonies and it seldom works. Sounds like they don't have enough work force do gather much.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Combine unless you can add to the population without depleting too much from your other hive.

I had a very small swarm (an old queen and 300 or so bees) move into one of my swarm traps. I had the opportunity to combine a tree trap out with the small hive. They took to her right away and she started laying like mad. To date, I have combined three times from this trap out. My belief is that the queen will only lay as much as she thinks will make it with the current bee population.
This is my "underdog" hive. The queen is old, beat up, tattered winged and still producing.... like mad.


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