Our DIY Rooster/Night box

[speedy2020]

Just a small update with the rooster box.

It's almost done, final check over and caulking tomorrow, then I can stick a thermometer in there and see how it goes, will also try find something noisy to compare inside to outside noise levels. I think I have some dodgy decibel meter app in my phone to see if I can get a backyard result.

Pretty much all out of the capping, so had to join left over angle parts. Here is the hole in the floor. Just putting in one mesh floor vent.


Angle capping on the bottom.


Added the mesh flap, sit flush with the floor, has a single hinge on it.


Closed up.


As it is now. Just want to run around it with a file and smooth over some sharp corners, and hit it with some silicon caulking. IF I get a chance tomorrow I would also like to make some legs or some sort of timber frame. I have a few lengths of some solid pine down the side of the house that should work perfect.

Fantastic job on the rooster box! There are some roosters that will crow no matter what, but some will only crow when they see light. I would suggest come up the scheme and cover the vent to make to coop as dark as possible. Let us know how it turn out.

 

[Bens-Hens]

I don't know how well it will muffle the sound just being in the box. Some say dark stops them, others say the crow anyway.

Maybe I can scrap up some material to make a muffler or dog leg for the bottom vent, something easy to remove as it doubles as a cleaning hole.

Have to test it and see how much noise gets out.

 

[ozexpat]

I don't know how well it will muffle the sound just being in the box. Some say dark stops them, others say the crow anyway.

Maybe I can scrap up some material to make a muffler or dog leg for the bottom vent, something easy to remove as it doubles as a cleaning hole.

Have to test it and see how much noise gets out.

london to a bridge you could have a megaphone attached to your roo and you would not hear it 10 feet away

 

[Bens-Hens]

Hahahaha, will see if I can train one of my boys to use a megaphone.

Would it be cruel to stick my youngest boy int here to test it? He has a good set of pipes on him!

Started the caulking today, worst job ever. Going to take a bit of work to make that look reasonable. Other than that, just need a timber frame to sit on, sound and temp testing testing.

 

[Ashburnham]

Great work mate!

How times change - when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s
everyone had chooks and roosters in suburbia and no one ever complained!

Lucky I now live in the bush, with about 30 roostersI

Cheers M

 

[ozexpat]

Hahahaha, will see if I can train one of my boys to use a megaphone.

Would it be cruel to stick my youngest boy int here to test it? He has a good set of pipes on him!

Started the caulking today, worst job ever. Going to take a bit of work to make that look reasonable. Other than that, just need a timber frame to sit on, sound and temp testing testing.

seems like a great dual purpose box.

roosters at night

time outs for kids during the day

 

[jonalisa]

"...sat down with my crayons poked my tongue out and got cracking."

Almost spit my coffee out...Thanks for the laugh!

 

[Bens-Hens]

Hahahaha, probably even funnier as the picture matches the description!

Sorry about the coffee, seems that's a skill I never knew I had, ask Oz!

I didn't get a chance to make some timber legs today, rain set in this afternoon.

 

[Bens-Hens]

In Rooster box news, we have had a small advance, forced by the issue of early morning teen crowing that seems to be getting longer and stronger (funny that!)

As mentioned earlier in this thread, the floor vent will let light in, I think it will also let sound out. I dug through the scrap bin and found a piece of stainless sheet off cut and bent up a little deflector thing. Also, thinking of light, I figured any light that did get in would glow with the white conditions inside, so I grabbed two $4.40 matte black paint cans and splashed some around. Hopefully this dampens any stray light. Failing that, I will give them a mirror ball and some coloured chalk to keep themselves busy.

Pics and detail below.

Here is the tray, had to do a quick job on the way out, but for what it has to do I am sure it's just fine. Just re-used a little hinge on one end so it can drop away for cleaning.


I sprayed the inside with matte black (still wet here so looks glossy) This should dampen the light path, yet still allow good air flow.


Inside the disco-tech


The floor vent cover in the lowered position


Two little screws holds it closed. The back of the box will be against a fence, so any escaping noise should be softened before reaching the neighbors bed rooms


Same roost, but took the channel out, and cut some wood blocks instead so it's easier to get in and out.


I have some wood chips to coat the bottom when the paint is dry and the fumes have left. All going to plan it should be usable tomorrow night.

Yet to come back to make some legs or a frame, but I really need to keep these boys quiet until we can process them, plus get the two younger 'keepers' used to staying in there.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Night one!

Threw some blue gum chips in there, roost back in and five of the six roo's.

I was running late and was finding it hard to make out who was who in the coop, plus we have not marked the BA was doing the crowing. So we stuck all three BA's in there, plus the two Arau's we plan to hold onto (as long as we can)

Barny the Barnevelder, the only remaining roo has all the girls to himself tonight!

This pic was nearly done, plenty of room.


Just left the box up near the house so we can hear them in the morning and gauge noise levels and time the culprit starts up. I did try test it with the two kids in there, but they would say 'cockaadoodledoo" quietly when the door was open, then scream their guts out when it was closed....inconclusive results lol I climbed in there, was talking away. Plenty of air, had to seal up some edges as light was getting in. Alicia said she could hear me standing next to the box, but it was muffled.

Have not had a chance to put a temp probe in it yet, will get around to that when I am home in the middle of the day.

Just have to make some sort of stand now, then it will get moved down to back when I am confident it does the job.