My queens are to arrive about the 4th how early can I put brood and bees in the nucs in preperation
I just make up the nucs when the queens arrive. Ideally, I like a frame or two of sealed brood and a frame with young brood and nurse bees. I'll leave the candy in (w/ a hole poked in it if it's hard) and by the time she's released any of the older bees have gone back to their original hive. I don't think I've ever lost a queen when introducing a queen in a nuc.
Jim