Combining Two colonies need advice.

[dirtyanklebeekeeper]

I have a Queenless colony that I purchased a queen for, well apparently she was not mated thus no brood was made ant the colony did away with her. I have a smaller queenright colony and would like to combine the two. Now come the questions.

1. Queenright on the bottome?
2. When I put the queenless on top (assuming this is the right way) which way should the entrance face front or back?
3. How long does newspaper method usually take?
4. Once the comining is complete is it ok to leave the two brood chambers stacked to give them room or should I take the top brood chamber off and just add supers?

I hope this is not sounding like jibberish. lol

[iddee]

First off, don't make a mountain out of a mole hill.  :)

Take the tops off the queenright hive and spread a piece of newspaper over the top of it.cut 1 or 2 knife slit a couple inches long in the paper. Pick the queenless hive up off it's bottom board and set it on the other hive with the newspaper.
Take a week's vacation.

All is well..... You can remove the remains of newspaper after a week. They will be together within 24 hours, but need a few more days to fully integrate before being disturbed.

[dirtyanklebeekeeper]

Thanks Idee. I am calm now lol. What are your thoughts on leaving the two brood chambers together after the colonies combine?

[iddee]

Hive should be more than 50% full of brood and stores. Combine has nothing to do with it. Keep the full and empty ratio as you would any hive.
Some beeks use 1 deep only, some use a deep and a super, some use 2 deeps for the brood chamber. That is your choice.

[dirtyanklebeekeeper]

Thank you.