Uniting hives.

[OPAVP]

Hi friends,

Would you take time please,to help me out.

I have 3 fairly strong hives and three small nucs. The nucs came about because I had ordered 3 new queens. I had put these new queens into nuc boxes with some started frames.
This was done 2 months ago. However,I had developed heart problems and had started to see if I could get a by-pass surgery. With the heart problems I could not do anything to /with the bees several weeks before my 3 bypass surgery and could not do anything with them for 6/7 weeks after the surgery. The surgery was very successful.
,for with I am very thank full. The Lord has been good to us!.   But now I need to get the bees ready for winter. Can I just spray let's say a few frames from the strong colonies with sugar water,or both the weak and the strong,and add the strong ones to the weak ones with the new queens?
 To even them out sort of?
 Or must I use the newspaper method? It is getting late in the season here.

Thank you for your help.
Cor Van Pelt.
Lethbridge.
Alberta.

[duck]

how much honey is on the strong hives?

[AllenF]

Answer depends on the strength of each hive. 

[OPAVP]

Hi,Honey a'plenty!!

[blanc]

Well may seem a crude method to some but had three weak hives each with a queen and some honey reserves and just combined them and let em figure it out on their own.that was two weeks ago and have one strong hive now bringing in alot of nectar and store for winter. Hives got pretty beat up for hurricane issac and was not able to tend to them much which resulted in my actions. All feral bees and will order some other stock for next year.

[AllenF]

Don't combine.   Pack the nucs with honey frames and wrap them up for warmth for this winter.   The big hives sound like they are going to make it OK.  Try to nurse the nucs thru winter just incase.   You can move the nucs so that the sides are touching to combine warmth also.