Mike,

I would suggest that you have your cells in the incubator/hive ready first. 
Then..go out and start pulling brood one to two days before they hatch and set up
your nucs. 
Set the cells a day or two after they rest a spell. 
IMO, smaller nucs take cells a bit better. 
Also, by really paying attention this last year, I have come to the conclusion that circles of nucs around trees or other objects get better takes(much better than straight lines). Whatever it takes to create broken patterns so the queen an easily find her hive on return trips. 


Kirk Jones

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