Raising queens by scratching the lower brood area.  The queen cell cage on a
pen can be used to deform the cells or using the hive tool scratch or depress
a row of cells.  This needs to be 3 day old larvae.  You should mark the top
of the frame and remove it above the queen extruder as soon as it is sealed.
I use two, five frame nucs which I build that are the same size as one brood
box set on top of the queen extruder to raise the cells.  I use this system
to set the new hives over the winter for early production.  Exchanging the
extra brood from the nucs to the main hive brood box in the spring with the
outside insulation honey frames from the brood box to a box above the
extruder.  The two or three queen system spring start up gives you early
build up for honey production.  The nucs should not be left on top after the
nectar flow starts as this will develop swarming because of the cramping
space.  I pull my main hives to pollination sites and leave the left nuc to
pick up any flying bees at the site.  Usually moving nucs to full hive boxes
and then to the next pollination area.  The last nuc is left as I have
removed as much brood to the full brood hives as possible and it will build
up slower for replacement of queen mess ups.  Queen mess up is when I pull
brood and queen to a queen right hive.  Two queens seem to work fine for a
pollination contract of a few weeks but will cause cramping in a single brood
box and swarming.
       I still recommend purchasing quality queens from a queen breeder in
the fall and spring.
Michael Housel    Orlando