What's my best option

[Riggs]

I have 8 hives, 7 of which are doing great....The one that isn't was started late April from a local nuc, new queen. It had 5 deeps fully drawn when I got it. now it has, well, maybe 5 1/2 frames drawn. Scattered brood, some stores. I kept thinking it would catch up, but it just never did. Now my flow is (pretty much) over and I have little hope for them overwintering. What is my best course of action?
Pinch the queen and let them requeen?
Combine?
Close my eyes and hope for the best?

[AllenF]

Why do you think it was slow to start with?   Could the larger hives be robbing it?   Has the queen had good brood pattern?  Feeding?   

[Riggs]

When I got it it had a good bit of honey/pollen (probably 1 1/2 -2 frames) and the brood pattern looked good. I haven't seen any robbing. I havent fed since I got them because the flow was on pretty good and they had stores. They brood pattern is pretty spotty now. It was a split with a new queen when I got it instead of an established nuc. (I checked my records). I feel like the queen is just not up to par.

[Finski]

I have 8 hives, 7 of which are doing great....

As a 8 hive owner you should know that without asking. 2-hive owners will give you great advices. They know all.

[Riggs]

I have 8 hives, 7 of which are doing great....

As a 8 hive owner you should know that without asking. 2-hive owners will give you great advices. They know all.

Thanks for nothing, not sure why I expected anything more.

[L Daxon]

I agree with Allen, deciding why they are not building up is probably the key to where you go from here. 
If its a bad queen you pinch her and buy a new one.  Letting them make a new queen from her eggs, i.e. genetics may not be the best solution. You would have thought they would have superseded her by now. Pinch her and give them eggs from one of your best hives so they can make a new queen.  Or buy a new queen.

If they are diseased with something like nosema ceranae, you might not be able to tell and they will just kind of dwindle, so you might not necessarily want to combine diseased bees with one of your other hives.  You could try a shot of Nozevit or two to see if that perks them up.

[asprince]

Swap places with a stronger hive and feed. If that does not stimulate the queen, I would replace her.


Good Luck,

Steve

[Finski]

Swap places with a stronger hive and feed.
[/quote

A good idea to spoil strong hive too. HOLY SHIFT

Now it is July. All hives should be in good condition. If some one is not, and there are allways those, CHANGE the queen. It need not much thinking. Allways change the worst half of queens.


If the colony has too small start, give a frame of emerging bees there.


If you have 2 weak hives join them for yield and get a new queen.

.

[sterling]

Finski, when you give a frame of emerging bees do you shake the bees off or put frame and bees in the weak hive?

[Finski]

Finski, when you give a frame of emerging bees do you shake the bees off or put frame and bees in the weak hive?

Only brood
..........and emerging that it helps at once.

[stewroten]

Hey Lowgap,

I'm just "downtheroadapiece".  7 of 8 ain't bad.  Best wishes as you rehab #8.  If it doesn't work, you still have a good box and good comb.