Auto-door for coop

[Jamity46]

Amyone have an auto-door for their coop? We are going away the end of the month and don’t have anyone to care for my feathered friends. I thought this would be a nice if they work and could be nice if I ever want to sleep in-lol. Do they work well? I’m afraid of the ducks getting locked out! I’m going to post on the duck feed too! Any info you have would be great for a newbie!

 

[Melky]

I don’t know about ducks but contemplated this myself for hens. I have not made the switch at this time because a woman posted on BYC that she had a predator attack because a chicken accidentally got locked out at night.

 

[jthornton]

I don’t know about ducks but contemplated this myself for hens. I have not made the switch at this time because a woman posted on BYC that she had a predator attack because a chicken accidentally got locked out at night.

A chicken will only get locked out at night if the door closes before dusk, this is a problem with doors controlled by a photo sensor only. Well if the coop is not safe (in the chickens mind) that the chicken prefers to roost outside would be another reason for a chicken to be locked out. I've been using my own design auto door for well over a year and never has a chicken been locked out at night.

You also need to know your chickens habits well before installing an auto door...

JT

 

[jthornton]

Anyone have an auto-door for their coop? We are going away the end of the month and don’t have anyone to care for my feathered friends. I thought this would be a nice if they work and could be nice if I ever want to sleep in-lol. Do they work well? I’m afraid of the ducks getting locked out! I’m going to post on the duck feed too! Any info you have would be great for a newbie!

I have an auto door of my design... 3 weeks is not much time to install and test an auto door good luck finding one.

If it was me I'd work on securing the run so they can come and go as they please with protection then when you have more time investigate an auto door.

JT

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

I have an auto door, the ador 1, for my chickens. It works well. One got locked out at the very beginning, but It didn't take long for them to figure it out. I check every night to make sure everyone made it in. Time to order and install plus make sure they are using it, is not on your side with only 3 weeks.
I am not sure how it would work with ducks though. At least not mine. I have to herd them into their coop every night.

 

[sharkerbaby]

I have an auto door and I LOVE it. I decided on the Pullet-Shut Door, with the solar panel /charger and light sensor options. It has a much smaller profile than the other sliding type doors and suited my needs much better.

I have had it a bit over a year and have so far not had a chicken locked out. The light sensor opens the door at dawn and closes at DARK (as opposed to dusk), my birds are well settled in by the time it closes. It took about an hour-ish to install and set up. And virtually no training or acclimation time for my chickens.