Oh, you *definitely* need to get one of these: http://chickendoors.com/
You can get them to operate on a timer or on a photo cell that opens it at sunrise and closes at sunset (I have this kind). No way I'd be running down to the coop at 5:30am every morning just to satisfy a bossy hen ...
Another question; do some of your chickens seem ... ummm ... less "gifted" than others? I have a new flock of 7, with 2 EEs. Betty seems fine, but Wilma can't find her way out of the run when I open the door for them. She stands inside the fence looking at her sisters running loose outside...
Here, it's my buff Orpington, Blanche. What . a . loudmouth! Sheesh! She's not really a complainer so much as an announcer ... except when she wants out. THEN she complains. But, in the mornings when the girls start to lay, she produces a running commentary: "Ruby's in the nest box. She turned...