Do you cover or leave open your crown board holes

[MuswellMetro]

just as it seems to create a great deal of debate, What do you do with the holes in your crown board

lets ignore feeding fondant or syrup period but for any other time, vote in the pole

 

[Walrus]

I have mine closed in the colder half of the year, but having read "that thread" it prompted me to do more research and I'm going to see what happens if I bung them up all year round (poly sheet on top). From what I've read it would appear to be a good idea.

 

[Into the lions den]

lol.......no option for 'Our boards have no holes'............so closed all year is the nearest thing.

 

[protheroe]

i keep mine covered

 

[Hawklord]

Open in Winter stops condensation and mould. Through rest of year gives bees access to stored supers. Also creates a space for bees cleared from supers when the honey crop is removed.

 

[Luminos]

The holes in my acrylic boards are covered with a small piece of acrylic, and I've noticed that the bees propolise it around the edge, thus gluing it to the crown board.
So, clearly*, they don't like even a tiny gap.

(*Clearly - geddit??)

 

[jackbee]

The holes in my acrylic boards are covered with a small piece of acrylic, and I've noticed that the bees propolise it around the edge, thus gluing it to the crown board.
So, clearly*, they don't like even a tiny gap.

(*Clearly - geddit??)

I saw right through that

 

[Birds&Bees]

I've always kept mine open, no real reason why but it's what I was shown when I did my training.

 

[Black Comb]

Close winter, one hole open summer.

 

[For want of a better word]

I follow BBKA guidelines to the letter

crown boards or quilts do not have holes
lift board up on matchsticks during winter to give a good through draught as the icing sugar will go sticky if the hive gets too humid !







will I be sent to the naughty girls corner now?

 

[jackbee]

I follow BBKA guidelines to the letter

crown boards or quilts do not have holes
lift board up on matchsticks during winter to give a good through draught as the icing sugar will go sticky if the hive gets too humid !

Matchsticks there'll be no forum members left after the bans if we start a poll on that one

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My crown boards don't have holes so I've followed ITTLD and put covered all year as it will give a better indicaton of opinion - holes are meant for feeding or clearing and for leaving bees up 'outside' to clean up extracted frames.
OMF and crown board with no holes (and definitely no matsticks) last winter and not a sign of damp or mould

 

[MuswellMetro]

I follow BBKA guidelines to the letter

crown boards or quilts do not have holes
will I be sent to the naughty girls corner now?

I see your hive or that you are not conversant with the full pecification issued by the British Standards Institution (British Standard 1300) and summarised the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Advisory leaflet 367, The British National Hive, Crown Copyright 1961,which specifies two porter escape holes in a multi-purpose crown/clearer and feeding board

but then thats what this poll is about, what do beekeepers do rather than what we or others think we do, or should do

 

[madasafish]

Debate on this reminds me of:

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on_the_head_of_a_pin?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Debate on this reminds me of:

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_many_angels_can_dance_on_the_head_of_a_pin?

I am trying to keep it on track as a poll of what beekeepers actually do rather than a debate, and not get into set positions or criticisms of others methods or views ( unless light heartedly)

........life is too short for that

 

[Skyhook]

Debate on this reminds me of:

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

4.

 

[user 6228]

no crown board => no holes | one big hole

 

[SimonB]

Voted for 'Other', since holes are opened when needed for feeding, access to top space for frame cleaning etc. Other than that, closed all year with insulation above the CB.

 

[For want of a better word]

Then there was the retired maths teacher who kept his bees in logs.. he found that they multiplied more quickly that way... exponentially in fact!

 

[scuttlefish]

I leave the Porter-escape shaped holes in my variously-named internal cover boards open all year (except when using the holes as feed holes or the boards as clearer boards) because I don't know any better but made it through my first three winters as a beek without losing any colonies (AND that includes propping the roof with the heretical sticks of flame-making during the first winter!).

Yes, I've had a little bit of brace comb in the roof space, but that goes into the bucket like all the rest.