LOL!I seemed to have found the right combination of fans, speeds, directional flow, poop trays out and door remains open all night and they now sleep peacefully. Mind you, our yard sounds like an airport at night but that can't be helped.
@thecatumbrella - how is this fan working for you? We are currently using box fans in the back and small fans hanging on the inside facing out the front HC window, but it still feels too warm. It's an expensive option so I wanted to see how it works for you before investing. Thanks
It's absolute garbage. The low is way too low. I also don't like that they put the power cord/charging port close to the base. Not very weather resistant if you ask me...
Thanks for the testimonial. I'll stick with our current process for now. I elevate a "cheap" box fan ($25 at Lowe's) on some concrete bricks. It's high enough to reach the back vents and definitely blows into the opening where the tray would be - removed. I believe it pushes enough air through and out the front window and door. I also just recently learned the box fan does great during rain - stills runs after a surprise rain overnight. I was surprised it didn't pop the breaker.
This is exactly what we're trying to recreate. I only have about 3 feet behind my Eglu so options have been limited. Going to try some Ryobi clamp fans next, but your box fan idea is more of what I had in mind for CFMs.
If you have a small rechargeable desk top fan you can put in the corner of the run opposite the nest box area blowing up toward the roof, this, along with the box fan in back blowing in will help circulate and push the air out. Three feet should be enough space to set up the fan. Do you have an outside lawn chair you can put it on? Anything sturdy enough to support it while running.
We actually use one of the nest boxes for a fan that blows up and out. Same concept; it creates a ton of air movement within the coop without blowing directly on them. Everything's hardware clothed. I find the fan in back is only helpful for cooling the coop down at night (it tends to lag a few degrees behind the run), but I'll figure something out. The Ryobi clip fans are kind of neat because I can rotate the heads. I have them pull hot air out during the day, then reverse and blow cooler air in at night. Our biggest challenge is trying to get the girls not to pile on top of each other!
Yes to both questions. Actually, on our coop, both the left and the right side doors jiggle. I don't like the locking mechanism. We started with the cube so we have both now. The cube is set aside for integration / isolation purposes. Having the experience of both, my recommendation is the cube, which I would recommend for tiny flocks but not the pro for myriad reasons. Actually, the only way to go is to build ones' own, but that was not an option at the time we started this journey. We also have bylaws to consider where we currently live.
