[eman308]

So, caught a swarm a couple weeks ago and put it in a deep. Its doing well and they r really nice bees. Problem is that its a really small swarm so I decided to catch another and combine. Got a big swarm yesterday and did it. Newspaper on the bottom deep, empty deep, dumped the swarm in,inercover,outercover. So, once they chew through the queens will duke it out,right? I'll have alot of bees in there but not drawn out frames, wait till the frames are 80% drawn to add the second deep? Should I feed?
Thanks,E.

 

[daknoodle]

If I'm not mistaken I believe the proper way is to cull one of the queens yourself before doing the combine. Although, I would probably not risk the loss of bees from a massive fight and simply put both swarms in different hives. Put a lot of feed on both and maybe a pollen patty on the smaller one. In time they should both do just fine.

Also, if you have another hive, you can add eggs and brood to the smaller one to boost numbers while the queen is getting started again.

 

[eman308]

Well, the point is to get one strong hive. They have already been put together anyway. Also Ive read the you'll get the alpha queen if they slug it out.
E.

 

[Adrian Quiney WI]

It depends what your goals are, and what your local conditions are. If there is a flow on you won't have to feed. If you plan to overwinter, add a second deep. If you just want some honey add a medium.
You can't beat free bees - it makes the learning curve a lot cheaper. Adrian.