"If you're going to requeen in April you'll need to feed for at least 2 weeks"
I understand that sometimes acceptance of the queen is better if you feed but I don't understand why else you would need to feed just because your requeening. If the hive doesn't have enough stores in the spring you have to feed it no matter what. How does it change the situation because you have a new queen in the hive? :)
Reread my post again, I've highlighted the pertinent part.
"April 15 in NY is too early unless its an emergency. Weather is too inconsistent"
Why would April 15 be too early? Won't the bees keep the queen warm in the cage until release?
It doesn't concern the health or warmth of the queen, rather it concerns the ability of the hive to have consistant forage. In April the weather is still somewhat erractic which can means they can't forage for days at a time. This disrupts the queens egg laying or it can place the hive into a starvation situation when all of the resources are committed to brood rearing and a week or two of bad weather preventing foraging kills the hive.
If you're going to requeen in April you'll need to feed for at least 2 weeks.
In many places an established hive is fending for itself in April after a feed boost in February and/or March, so introducing a queen is more like introducing a package to drawn comb. You'll still need to feed if you want any production out of the hive that year. The queen is going to swing into full brood mode and the available resources might not keep up with the demand. The there's the weather component.
I've seen just as many hives die of starvation in the spring as I have during the winter, if not more, in fact, IMO, spring is a more dangerous time for starvation that January and -0 temps.
Of course you can always buy another queen and split another hive if that one goes kaput, but it's much better to play it safe and protect your investment.