what should I do with brood box after uniting?

[mikeyboy]

After a sticky start to beekeeping I had to unite a queenless colony. This was a successful uniting but it meant I had to use my spare brood box from my spare hive. After the queen went down into the bottom box I put a queen excluder directly above to stop her coming back up as I wanted to retrieve my brood box. I have been offered a nuc of bees and would like to use the brood box but they have been that busy they have been filling it with stores. This hive also has a super on it now which they are filling fast. Now should I leave the brood box on for their winter stores as it is now so heavy and buy a new brood box for second hive? Or should i remove it and take 6 frames out to make way for the 6 frames from the new nuc? When would I be able to retrive this box if I left them to it?

 

[Ben90]

You can never have enough equipment. If you can comfortably afford it, get the extra brood box.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Leave it on and extract it.
I had to combine a 14 x 12 and a standard deep with the queen in the latter.
I made sure the queen was in the 14 x 12 ON TOP while the bees in the deeps emerged saving just what's happened to you. I'd rather the honey in the supers than in the brood box.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Three beekeepers, and three opinions!

I'd be tempted to check both existing brood boxes and assess the number of frames of stores/brood. I'd then know if there were enough frames containing brood for only one box, if so I'd consolidate them into a single brood box and, if there was space, I'd also give them some of the mostly uncapped frames of stores so they could shift the nectar up into the supers. I'd also add another super to give back some of the space I'd removed by taking away the larger brood box. It would also give them something else to do - drawing comb.

I'd give the mostly capped frames of stores to the new nuc, which I'd put straight into a brood box.

I'd also make sure both entrances are small, because I prefer to keep my bees with easily defended hive entrances. Swarms prefer a cavity with an entrance of about an inch diameter.