I have 2 weak hives: one because it swarmed, the other because of a failing queen. I'm planning to pinch the subpar queen and do a newspaper combine. But...
I also have an observation hive, which I populated with stragglers from the swarm, adding a new queen. The O-hive population is very low: not even half a frame.
Could I go ahead and combine the 2 weak hives, but set aside a frame of brood and put it in the observation hive? If it worked, that would leave the population of all hives about right.