Door problem!

[tmarr]

Ok I keep my ducks and hens in a shed with a pen attached. The shed has a dog flap (my dogs used to sleep in it) but the plastic door cover would be useless at keeping animals out at night. Wondering if I would be better to remove the flap and make a inner and outer door, or try and keep the flap and build around it? I hadn't thought of this when I was building the pen at the minute each night I'm screwing wooden sheets on the inside and outside of the flap to stop predators but it's a major pain! Anyone have any ideas?

 

[21hens-incharge]

You can easily make a channel out of 1x3 or 1x4 lumber with a door that slides in the track. I use a piece of 3/4 inch plywood cut 1/2 inch narrower than my channel is. It allows the plywood to slide up and with a rope be hooked in the up position.

I use a simple piece of 1x3 in similar channel on the door and frame to lock it each night. It is kind of medieval looking lol. Think big castle door in the movies.

Below is another option. This door (on the right lol) is hinged and has hooks to hold it open and closed. Simple but worked well.





This one had a side sliding door that ran in a track made the same way as the ones that slide up. However it did not have a lock. It also had issues with the track in the winter filling with ice and snow. BUT it may give you the idea of how to do one simply that raises vertically.

 

[barneveldrerman]

The easiest thing I can come up with is a shutter style design. It will be what is on the window of this coophttp://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-palace This should be good enough. If u can mount it on the outside so predators cant push their way in.


Hope this helped!

 

[tmarr]

Thanks everyone brilliant ideas! I now have a plan of attack, lol!!

 

[redsix]

I have a sliding door with a steel cable attached and a pulley mounted directly above the door. The end of the cable has a loop in it that I hook on a nail when I open the door.

 

[blucoondawg]

I have a steel door my dad made at work that slides up and down in a track which is screwed to the wall. I use 2 small pulleys and a cable to open the door then hook on a screw in the wall, however I found the cable would fray where it constantly ran through the pulleys so I changed it out to a piece of rope that seems to hold up far better