Queen still isn't laying eggs... What do we do now?

Did another check on the virgin queen and she still isn't laying yet. We are going to give her another week and if she still isn't laying then we might have to dispatch her and replace her.
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[@dougpeterson5257]

In my area 21 days is frequently how long it takes for new queens to get laying

[@khashiffnurse4341]

I had that same situation happen to me before. The solution was just simply feeding. Once I gave the hive some syrup the following week I saw eggs and it's been excellent ever since.

[@brucesbees]

I think it is wise to give her some more time. I had some splits I did with cells that I thought were going to fail and in some of them I didn’t see eggs or brood for 3 to 4 weeks. Now they are blowing it out!

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

Wow! That's longer than I would have expected. I will give her more time. In the mean time, I'm going to give them a frame of brood to help them out. Thanks for the info.

[@brucesbees]

@@FreeRangeArtFarm it’s another case of “the bees don’t read the books.” Usually should be laying within two weeks but sometimes longer. And who knows for sure how long she had been in there when you first saw her. Adding a frame of brood was a good idea.

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

@@brucesbees I leave the books in the apiary all the time, but they never read them...

[@brucesbees]

@@FreeRangeArtFarm they’re too busy doing what they do🐝🙂

[@alexandriahoneyco]

Bummer! Was hoping she would have been mated since last check. I checked our chart and normally would expect a new queen to be laying by week 2. That said, the bees didn’t read the book or always follow charts. Would be interesting to drop a frame of eggs in and see if they draw out any queen cells to replace her…

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

Ya, I think I'm going to drop in a frame of eggs here soon. Then I'm going to leave them alone for a couple of weeks.

[@dcsblessedbees]

They seem to be fairly calm and a goodly amount of bees. She was very small? First year, but I think I would make plans replace her. It's still early in the season so I think I'd see about coming up with a plan in case the week goes by with no change? Ty, Blessed Days...

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

Yes, they are well behaved and have strong numbers. The queen was very small. Too small to be a mated and laying queen. I think I might just give her until Friday and if there are no eggs, she's going to get pinched and replaced.

[@brucesbees]

Hey Thomas how long has it been since you first saw that queen In there?

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

I first saw her one week ago, but she should have emerged about 12 days ago.

[@johnkasprak5707]

12 days would be pretty quick. I give them about 3 weeks after they hatch. She's likely to lay eggs mated or not. You won't know until some brood is capped.

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

True. I'm just being overly eager. This is the second replacement queen that they have raised.

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Thomas do you know how many days has it been since she has hatched? Forgive me if you mentioned the hatch date previously. Mean time put in a frame of eggs. You are going to have to manage the open brood cells so the center does not become nectar bound. Shuffling frames.

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

She should be about 12 days old. I can't find good information about how long she has for a window to get mated.

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

@@FreeRangeArtFarm Or local commercial keeper here doesn't even open the box until 20 days. Kind of admonished me several years ago. "Don't bother em". Just a thought T.

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

@@MinnesotaBeekeeper I normally will wait a full month if they start at an egg. Since I found the capped emergency cell already capped, I gave them two weeks to check. I'm trying to be patient with her. The weather has been inconsistent at best.

[@CastleHives]

Decisions. You could always put in a frame with Eggs/Larvae to keep that brood pheromone in the colony and give her time, but if she has been in there a while she may not mate properly. Do you have access to mated Queens yet? Just pinch her and install a mated?

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

Now look who's advocating for pinch and replace... 😀 I might toss in a frame of brood tonight when I do some splits. And yes, we finally have mated queens in my area.

[@horizontalbees3480]

I agree with Brian. I did have a queen not to lay for 5 days, but pinch her if you must.

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

Ya, I think that will be her ultimate fate. I'm in no rush with this colony. So we are experimenting a bit.