I had a look at the hive today. They have their hive inside of a bail of hay. Not exactly sure how deep it runs yet. Could be four bails deep. They are planning on taking all the hay out in a few weeks so it's either get them and hope they can survive, or they meet their maker. I prefer the later, so I am going to attempt a rescue mission this Sunday.
Being that it's getting late in the year, I'm not expecting brood, just comb filled with honey. I am going to attempt to take as much honey comb as possible and rubber band it into the frames. Then feed them until it's not feasable to feed any longer. Hopefully they will be able to make repairs and draw more comb.
I would appreciate any suggestions.
One thing I am curious about though...
I know that if you look at foundation, you have a "Y" shape in the cell pattern and an upside down "Y" shape on the opposite side, and that it is good practice to keep them consistant. Is this something that is essential, or can this be done however it needs to be done? I'm anticipating this to get quite messy and would like to keep the time required to do this, down, as much as possible.
My plan is, that if this hive happens to make it through the winter, to replace the salvaged comb in the spring in an effort to regress the bees to small cell.