Our DIY Rooster/Night box

[Bens-Hens]

Yes, we sold the original roo 'Smudge' that we kept for the longest time. Once we had a big clutch we moved him on as part of a pair to make room for another rooster down the path.

As it turned out, the rooster box also make an excellent broody box, so it spent a few weeks with our RIR in there with her two adopted Plymouth Rock chicks. I just took a door off and let them free range all day. They are now back in the main run just as a few of our 12 week olds have started to crow, so it all kind of worked out well. The box is back in action!

We have about 14 cockerels now, so we are selling what we can to just keep one or two for our next breeding cycle.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

That's a good idea, just a circle of roosters and hens can stay fertile up to 2 weeks after they have been with a rooster so your neighbours can have a 2 weeks break, then get back into it.lol.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

Also, what happened to the rotary vent? Did it not work?

 

[Bens-Hens]

Good question, the rotary vent failed in two ways, lots of crow-i-bells escaped it, and it would need quite a strong breeze to turn it (designed for roofs of vans etc). Lol, one of the few things I bought new and purposely for it and it failed hahahaha.

Zero noise this morning until I let them out, then the two boys went hammer and tongs crowing for a solid half hour, happy to be back with the girls.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I was planning on getting one for the rooster box in the breeder pens ( still yet to be built ) and thought it might work as my pens are more open then my other roost shed.

I'm going into town today so hopefully I can pick up perhaps a small, more easily turned one.

 

[Bens-Hens]

If you have power you could scavenge a 80 or 100mm PC fan and run it like mine from a 12v phone charger, or some other sort of transformer. Low voltage draws very little power, and you can get the fans pretty easy.

I could help you with connections if you need it, if you didn't live on the other side of the country I would send you some, I have a box full of transformers!

Would be cheaper than a rotary, but you would need power. Unless you could get a 12v solar panel and charge a old car battery during the day, even if you forgot the solar part and just charged it on a bench in the shed during the day and lugged it to the coop at dusk. Bit of a pain in the back that way. Depends what you have laying around.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

If you have power you could scavenge a 80 or 100mm PC fan and run it like mine from a 12v phone charger, or some other sort of transformer. Low voltage draws very little power, and you can get the fans pretty easy.

I could help you with connections if you need it, if you didn't live on the other side of the country I would send you some, I have a box full of transformers!

Would be cheaper than a rotary, but you would need power. Unless you could get a 12v solar panel and charge a old car battery during the day, even if you forgot the solar part and just charged it on a bench in the shed during the day and lugged it to the coop at dusk. Bit of a pain in the back that way. Depends what you have laying around.

Yes, one problem....no power. The coop is to far away. When we do want power down there for tools etc we have to run three real long extension chords down.lol.
I have also gone down the road of solar power but it just really isn't viable. 12v Solar panels are like $200+ each and I have no plans on doing that. ( I fund my own chickens, not my parents.lol. )
I supposed I could do the car battery thing but I just want to see what I can find first.
Thanks for the suggestions

.

 

[Bens-Hens]

yeah, I get what you mean. I have to run one lead out to the box.

Another option could be to mount the vent on a PVC tube, so the vent is up above the coop height and open to more air flow. Through my work I have seen similar vents mounted for odor control.

Something like this but with a different vent on top, that way you can make it as high as you require to reach the airflow.
http://roofvents.com/bigimages/pvcpipeB.jpg

 

[cluckcluckluke]

yeah, I get what you mean. I have to run one lead out to the box.

Another option could be to mount the vent on a PVC tube, so the vent is up above the coop height and open to more air flow. Through my work I have seen similar vents mounted for odor control.

Something like this but with a different vent on top, that way you can make it as high as you require to reach the airflow.
http://roofvents.com/bigimages/pvcpipeB.jpg

annnnnddd.....my dad just said that.lol.
So we are going to go with that idea.
Relying on convection to help keep my rooster healthy.

 

[Gumiho]

We've discovered that regular insulation in a standing structure seems to go a long way.

We currently have a Dominique and Serama Rooster that spend the night in regular cages in our shed. The shed is a regular tin shed with wood panel exterior on the tin panels and a tin roof (air vents in roof and doors). But the interior is insulated. If outside near the shed, you can here them crow but its faint. The shed is very close to our house and if inside they can't be heard at all. If in the front yard, you can very, very faintly hear them, but it sounds a ways off.

I imagine a Rooster box like that inside an ordinary insulated shed would be a marked difference and you wouldn't have to worry as much about compromising sound proofing for air circulation as the shed would make up the difference.

Eventually, we would like to set up a dedicated shed, insulated and well ventilated, with a few well ventilated rooster boxes to keep them content through the night as we may end up with a few more roosters by growing them out for potential breeding purposes. And it could be set up with a window A/C and such to help with the weather.