I would not leave out frames even if they have foundation in the middle. Just starting out, they may start comb where you don't want it. Queen excluder at entrance sounds like a good idea, but if they super cede her, let them and take it off so she can mate when time is close for her to emerge. You can make some syrup and mix HBH and spray the foundation, it will get them to accept it quicker, IMO. Also feed, feed, feed, they build comb fast when they have syrup, don't let them run empty until you have what you want, in my case it was until October. Good luck.