I am a hobbyist with a weak hive and a very strong hive.  The weak hive went down due to having an old, weak queen which didn't  lay in the spring leaving a weak, small colony.  This hive was requeened about 4 weeks ago but the amount of brood has not increased as I expected. The queen seems to be laying OK so I am thinking that she just doesn't have a big enough cluster to raise more young. I've thought about moving some capped brood from the strong hive to the weak one, but I am afraid the cluster in the weak hive already has as much brood as it can cover.

What will happen if I take a frame or two of  bees along with the brood into the weak hive?  Is this done?  Is it tricky?  If so, what special procedure is best to follow?  Is this just another case of splitting the strong hive to build up a weak one, i.e., moving one entire queenless brood box from the strong hive to the weak hive.with a queen?

A similar question was asked by Paul Nicholson Feb 2, 1999 and there was one reply from a UK beekeeper.  His reply was interesting but, to me, seemed quite unconventional so I am asking the list again for advice.