Carry box for granddaughters rooster

A question for the experienced box bakers of you, but first some background.

My Granddaughter has a birthday coming up in a couple of months so the question of presents came up. Her mother (my daughter), suggested that as she was a member of the local Cook Society and is into showingcooks competitively, and that I like to dabble with wood, a new carry box for her prize rooster would be a good idea. The other chickens and hens are transported in blue/with dog crates, but the rooster is too tall andis rather squashed in a standard crate, or they have to use a too-big a crate which takes up all the room in the car.

The required criteria set is:
- Dimensions of 300mm x 500mm base x 500mm H
- Able to carry a 5kg rooster
- Be light enough that a 12yo girl can pick it up with the bird on board and cay it up to 300m from the car to the showing shed
- Be robust enough to handle all sorts of ruff and tumble, including being dropped while the bird is inside
- Have a sliding lid (more of that below)
- Have handles on the side (rope?) or on the lid (rope or suit-case style) to facilitate carrying.
- Be water “proof”, particularly on the inside which will need to be washed out after every use.
- Have adequate ventilation for the bird for up to 3 hours in the box in early summer conditions.
- Be practical/robust/basic, not fancy/pretty/fragile.
- Have some form of locking/securing of the lid so the rooster is unable to escape, even if the box finishes up on its side.

So this is basically a box, but since I have never made a box of any sort before, I set about trying my skills. I made 2 small boxes out of 6mm ply as samples. One with miter jointed corners with splinesand a flip lid, the other with box joint corners and a sliding lid. After consultation with others in the chook society, it was decided the sliding lid style would be the best for them.

So my questions are:
- What should I make the box out of?
I am thinking maybe 7mm marine ply with doubled-up thickness at the corners.
Marine ply for its water-resistance properties, double thickness corners for added strength but single thickness body for lightness.
- What would be the best/strongest cornet joints?
Splined miter? Box? Other?
- What would be the best finish for the box
I was thinking of marine poly, which may be sealed with White shellac first.
- What would be the best latch?
I was thinking of one of the over-center type latches with the body on the side and the hook on the lid

Air circulation, I was thinking of either round holes in some sort of pattern or slits.
Handles I was thinking of rope on the sides (like on the lid in the photo below), with doubled-up ply on the inside to strengthen the pull of the handles.

Any other suggestions/ideas/things I have overlooked?

Attached are photos of the two sample boxes I made.
Both were made on my table (contractors) saw. This includes the miters and the box joint pins.
The base (and the lid insert of the hinged lid) are recessed into grooves in the sides, made with a 1/4” router
I hope to make more use of the router in the final builds if I can.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

Of the 2 boxes there the one with the sliding lid would be better as carrying something by the lid is not a good idea especially with livestock. It will need serious ventilation however. You will cook the chook in either of those. 19mm holes in sides and lid until it looks like swiss cheese as a minimum. Birds generate a lot of heat. I read somewhere that the metabolism is a lot more efficient than mammals. As much as you feel like making a box perhaps a poultry cage would be better for the chooks health. My dad had a chook business and even in the cold climate of Scotland we transported adult chooks in slatted crates or wire cages.
Regtards
John

Independently from the final design of the "box", as a 12yo I wouldn't have liked the idea of carrying some 7-8kg for 300m or so without a trolley or a cart !!!

Having read Orraloon post above, I consulted Professor Google to find out a chook's body temperature: 41oC! Now I understand why ventilation is so critical!!!

Cheers
Yvan

My only comment about ventilation would be to cut a rectangular hole in both sides of the box 100 X100mm and cover it with mesh with, say, 25 X 25mm mesh. Reason being if the box carrier has to monitor the bird inside, a "window" to look through would be better than a dozen holes where you can't see the bird

How about an old style wooden banana box with a mesh lid, very open plenty of air. Sorry I don't have a picture. :cool:

Absolute must is a LOT of ventilation. Do an online search for rooster carrier or rooster carry cage and you’ll see almost all have heaps of ventilation and light areas.