Drone Laying Worker?

[Spadger]

Got round to shaking out the drone laying queen colony today. Gave them a while as it’s been so cold and to see if it might sort itself! No hope, but I knew that.
Despite there being no sign of a queen of any sort, only drone brood, almost all sealed there was a huge amount of bees. Find it hard to believe this number of bees made it through the winter. The queen that was there (late August supercedure) seems to have started well before failing.
Wish I had tried to merge with another colony as I spent all afternoon battling lost angry bees. One potential recipient hive was rejecting all incomers while the adjacent one seemed to be welcoming them in! Like a swarm day but without the calmness.
Decided in the end to encourage the aimless clusters into a box with their old frames and merge whatever is left in a couple of days.
Did I have other options? (Other hives have no drones yet so adding frame from another colony not a viable option)
Strange day!

 

[Erichalfbee]

The options would have been a unite or a shake out
You can unite laying workers to a strong colony
How do you know there were laying workers? I have never found any this early in the season. It's always a DLQ

 

[Spadger]

Thought so re options. Thanks Dani.
No laying workers. Don’t think I said there were. No laying anything in fact! I know there was a new queen in there from August and assume she had started to lay worker brood simply due to the large number of bees (9 or 10 busy frames) but by the time I looked in near the end of March there was only drone brood visible, dotted around in pepper pot style. Either that or they overwintered exceptionally well.
Didn’t think I had other options, in the end they are getting a mix of shake and merge. Best of both worlds or the worst!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thought so re options. Thanks Dani.
No laying workers. Don’t think I said there were.

Your thread title

 

[Spadger]

Not my title!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Not my title!

Ooops. So it isn’t .... apologies

 

[GuyNir]

Just shake them out. End of story.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Did I have other options?

Remove the DLQ.
Unite with newspaper.

I spent all afternoon battling lost angry bees. One potential recipient hive was rejecting all incomers while the adjacent one seemed to be welcoming them in! Like a swarm day but without the calmness.

This faff in variable temps. would have been avoided.