Colony management advice please

[Popparand]

I have three hives together in one apiary.

No 1 is with an over wintered queen. 4 supers of partly filled comb, and a brood box busting with bees with plenty of capped brood waiting to emerge, although not much growth over the past few weeks.
No 2 is a swarm I picked up 6 weeks ago. The brood box is half full of new comb and plenty of capped and uncapped brood.
No 3 Another swarm from 6 weeks ago but only a limited amount of capped brood and hardly any uncapped.

2 and 3 were quite light a couple of weeks ago so I have been feeding both with syrup. No 1 has plenty of stores and I didn't want to risk sugar honey by feeding. I suspect there has not been much nectar around for the past four weeks or so.

At the present rate I can't see 3 building up fast enough to get through the winter, even if it lasts that long. No 2 should be OK at the present rate, but I doubt it will produce any crop unless they really get cracking.

I am tempted to leave no 3 alone - if it survives so much the better, but probably a long shot.

I am thinking about adding a couple of frames of capped brood from no 1 to no 2 to give them a boost. They might even yield a box of honey if I do it quickly.

Or just leave them all alone? What to do? Any advice gratefully received...

 

[WoodenBeam]

If No.1 has supers with honey in then they’ll survive & no I wouldn’t feed.
As for 2 & 3, as soon as brood is confirmed with swarms & all appears okay I feed until they’ve pulled a whole brood box of comb irrelevant of what is coming in, the feeding then stops & a super goes on. At least then there’s a continuation of feed & growth. We’ve had a bit of a dry spell (nectar wise) and there’s nothing worse than the starting & stopping of comb production.
If you’ve any drawn brood comb this could be added if there isn’t enough room for her to lay, if you’re really concerned you could always combine 2 & 3 giving yourself a bit of spare kit........for the inevitable late swarm you collect - otherwise just continue to feed, I’m sure they’ll reach a certain point & then just take off.

 

[ericbeaumont]

An alternative would be to move 6 frames+Q into poly nuc later this summer, and unite the remainder of it with the other full box. Any recipe should be deferred until you're satisfied that the brood of all is healthy.

 

[oliver90owner]

No mention of details apart from ‘swarm’.

If it was a small cast, little wonder they are not building up fast, so far. Little income means few brood. Simple as that. Possibly a couple of weeks before starting to lay at all. That might mean they are, only now, getting a few new bees.

You need to consider all the factors - like was a small cast put in a full sized brood box?

So, too many unknown details to make any sensible forecast of whether they will survive. If the queen is poor, simply change her for a better specimen. What is the varroa load? Did you treat them while brood-free? Several things the beekeeper can do to help a small colony.