IMHO any interference with the laying queen this early is tricky and
dangerous for the colony, so must be done with max caution.   Failure now
and the lot will be worthless for this season.
Rubbing the old queen'shead  onto an intro cage seems crude at the least -
and unlikely to appeal to this beekeeper who is sentimental enough to want
to keep a failing queen.
I would suggest first confining the old queen in an intro cage put between
the top bars of the brood frames - and keeping all the brood of this weak
colony as compact as poss - no spreading so early.  Then , a day or so
later,  when the cage is marked by the old queen's scent, substitute the new
queen and remove the old. You might like to try Snelgrove's water method -
dip the mailing cage with the new queen quickly into warm water to wash off
her own pheromone before transfering the wet queen into the scent-marked
cage within the colony.
If you want to keep the old queen, when you remove the cage with her in it,
keep the adhering bees on it, take to a window and shake off the 8 bees or
so - then confine those 8 workers plus the old queen in a second cage ( like
they are mailed) , give candy and keep in the dark in a warm place. The old
queen should last at least a couple of weeks or longer - so check for
acceptance of the new queen after say 2 weeks - but only quickly and
lightly - plenty of pollen going in would be sufficient evidence without
opening if the weather is kind. Remember that a new queen is not secure
until surrounded by her own progeny - too much early disturbance and she may
be superceded.

Robin Dartington

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