So I may have decided to go in the hive a bit early to check on my queen but this afternoon was the only sunny day in the forecast for the next few days so I thought it might be best. I put them in their new home on Friday afternoon so I did not know what to expect, actually I was half expecting EPI-PENNY to still be in her cage. To my surprise, cage was empty and the bees were really working. I am not sure what the frames should look like after a weekend of the bees collecting pollen (hoping that some feedback will let me know). They havenât really drank that much sugar water, I would say about 1/2 of a quart, the water pan was down a little more than that too although that could have evaporated a bit. Anyway, I wonât bother them again for about 7 or so days so I can check to see if my next box goes on.
Congratulations @Ssgregory97. Looks like you got a splendid start.
Great photos. Glad you chose the black wax-coated foundation. It makes it much easier to see what is going on. You have nice pollen stores in there. Some nectar/sugar water/unripe honey too.
I wouldnât feed them any more when the current batch runs out. Just take another look in about 7 days. So far, looks great! 
Thanks Weblan, and Dawn! At what point do you think I could take out my reducer?
Just reread your last sentence. Your bees need to breed a bit first before your next box goes on. Even though they did really really well drawing out some of the frames and depositing their goods since Friday, the brood cycle canât be sped up. If your queen lays well, you could possibly be ready to put your next box on in 3-4 weeks. You want all of your frames fully drawn, 80% filled and full of bees first.
Awesome, thank you for that advice. I canât wait to go back in and visit them againâŚI was up watching them tonight and itâs like they never skipped a beat. The workers are bringing in legs full of pollen. My wife said they looked like they had leg warmers on.
I would open it up to about 6" wide once you have a full brood box = all foundation mostly drawn, and most cells full, with bees covering every frame you inspect. At that point, you should have enough bees in the colony to defend a wider entrance from robbers and pests.
By the way, just remember every time you inspect, you set the colony back a couple of days(ish). If you inspect every day, they will never grow, because they panic feed on hive stores when you open the hive. Only do it once every week or two with a new colony, if you want to see them flourish. 
@Ssgregory97 Looks like a great start. And great photosâŚalways nice to see!
Only the queen breeds and she did that before he took possession of the package, never to breed again. Sheâll just keep laying eggs from here on out.
Yâall rock! Always have great advice. I appreciate it all and hope to pass on what I learn to people getting started as well.
@Craig_DeCicco here was checking the queen today after installing them on Friday.
I assume you are correct Red Hot, still, isnât it called a breeding cycle, the days from laying the eggs to hatching? Arenât they âbreedingâ the brood by tending to them?
Is a chook breeding by sitting on eggs?
Apologies if I got all the terms wrong.
It seems Sargent understood fortunately. It was just a beginnerâs advice to another beginner.
Hey Sarg,
Great pix,s ! Congrats once again ! Yaaaah ! Last year (my first season I peeked in on the 3rd day). Great shots Bro ! Yah ⌠Waiting between your inspections was PAINFUL ! I was out there every 7th on the hour almost ⌠For at least half my season then caught swarm ⌠N since my Nucâs were stuffed ⌠Had to do a split. So then I was lucky enough alternate (that meant every 2 weeks) âŚ
Then I relieved my want a see pressure by taking âfield beekeeping classesâ⌠Where we often saw n worked 40 to 50 hives plus !
Youâve gotten some great advice n encouragement already ⌠Neat seeing that new drawn comb against the black. Glad I went that way. Iâve got crappy eyes so I needed all the help I could get thus the same as you ⌠I went with the black plastic.
I transferred four Nucâs on Saturday ⌠I shared the event with my neighbor Rod ⌠Suited him up ⌠Grabbed an old Nuc box n gave him a crash install course while my new girls were still orienting ⌠
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My Nucâs arenât as robust this season thus Iâm going to try n refrain sneaking a peak other than checking my top-feeder so they donât GO DRY ! Iâll do my first deep inspection in two weeks. Weâre both off n running.
Cheers bro,
Gerald
I think you are referring to brooding like a âbroodyâ hen or the hive is âbroodingâ up.