2 years ago, I replaced all my queens, and within a few weeks I was
scrabbling to get some more queens.
Between swarming and the hive killing her, I got just a little frustrated.
Last year, I put my new queens in nucs with just 2 frames pulled out and 3
bare foundations with a top feeder.
When I needed a queen, I had one ready and allowed my nucs to produce me a
new queen. I always had a small bank of queens to draw from during the
year. Watching some of the nucs, I don't believe they were all mated when I
got them. Sometimes it was well over a week or so before they laid the
first egg. Some of them started right up. I also did as Lionel Evans does,
I put a wooden dowel in the escape end to prevent the hive from releasing
her to quick. after 2 days, I go by and just pull the wire hanging out of
the back of the hive to release her and don't disturb the hive. I believe
some of the young commercial queens are not mated or their pheromone is so
weak at first, the hive will kill her thinking she is failing.

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