Introducing a 3# Package

Introducing a 3# package is simple!
Some tips to make this process run smoothly; have all of your equipment at the ready.  Smokers are really not needed as the bees are usually pretty gentle.
Time, temperature and precipitation are not critical, as this process should take minutes to complete, and you will have them buttoned up in their new hive quickly.
Feeding your package is vital.  The only substantial food source they will have for the first week is you.

Inspections should be brief, and with a purpose!

Items needed

You will need:
1)Protective clothing, gloves
2)Hive components   Deep Box
                                     10 frames
                                     Top lid
                                     Bottom board
                                     Feeder/sugar water
                                     pollen patty optional

Day 1
1) Position hive exactly where its permanent home will be.
2) Remove middle 4-5 frames and set aside.
3) Remove feed can and queen cage from package.  Set aside.
4) Gently dump loose bees into the space you created from removing frames.
5) IMPORTANT. Remove cork from queen cage and replace with supplied candy plug.  Careful!  The queen may try to escape!
6) Place queen cage between frames, screen facing OUT so the workers can greet and feed her.
7)Allow the bees to spread out on the frames.  Slowly replace the frames you took out earlier being careful not to squish bees
8)Fill feeder with sugar syrup and put the lid on
Day 2-3
1)Monitor the syrup consumption and refill as needed.
Day 4
1) Take off lid and pull queen cage, carefully.  First, look to see if the candy plug has been eaten by the bees and the queen has escaped.
If she is out of the cage, put the lid back on gently.  If she is still in the cage, you may pull the screen off of cage and directly release her into the colony.
Day 5-6 Feed!
Day 7   Let's find the queen, or eggs!
By now she should have had enough time to begin laying eggs.  Spotting the queen at first is very difficult so don't be discouraged if you don't see her.  Finding eggs is just as good.  Eggs look like tiny grains of rice pointing up from the bottom of the cell.  It may take the queen 10 days or so to begin laying.
Day 8-
Your job now is to feed the bees heavily.  If you started from bare foundation, they will go right to work pulling comb for both larvae production and honey storage.  Make sure the queen always has ample room to lay eggs and the workers are not filling those cells with syrup.  If they are, simply rotate them to the outside and rotate in fresh comb or foundation.  Never rotate out larvae.
You will be ready for the second deep brood box when the first is 80% pulled and full.
Simply place the second box directly on top of the first.  Sometimes it helps to pull a comb or 2 from the bottom box up and put in the top box to coax the bees up.  Make sure there are enough worker bees to cover the brood, or it will chill and die.
Continue feeding them until they fill out the second box.

You can inspect your new bees anytime.  The more you mess with them, the longer it takes them to take off, a  and you might squish the queen! 

Inspections should be brief, and with a purpose!

Place  in new home

Gently dump bees into hive

Gently dump bees into their new home

Place queen cage in between frames

Ready to close up

Identifying eggs and small larvae