Automatic Coop Door Opener: Your Experiences Please!

[mxmarg]

Thank you so much to everyone who is posting here!!!! This newbie needs all the help she can get!

 

[confusedbanti]

it was a special when the door first came out. But I would still buy it at $225 that's how good it is. Solid and works super ! Very happy with it

 

[rendezvous1838]

Poultry Butler Review
I have been using the Poultry Butler for about 9 months and it has been working like a champ.
The shipping was fast, installation was just a matter of screwing the door to the interior wall. I did have to cut a small notch in the ceiling of the coop because my door opening is close to the side, No fault of the PB. I had a concern about the exposed wire on the inside of the door , but it has not been an issue.

My coop is on the east side of our garage and quite shady. The photo sensor closed the door too early for the pullets to be inside for the night, so I am running on a timer rather than the photo sensor. I am glad I had an outlet available.

I have had to reset the motor one time in 9 months when I noticed it was not closed. A simple procedure requiring only a screw driver.

I would recommend it to a friend. It is so nice to not have to go out to open or close the coop. We have even left them alone for 4 days when we were out of town. Our neighbor collected eggs and no further effort was required of her.

 

[Wissa38]

My wife is quite handy and is making an automatic chicken door that will be set by a timer. We'll have to change the time on the timer with the changing of daylight hours, but that's fine. I think she's making it out of an old car antenna and some plexi. Anyway, it looks like it will work great. We live in a busy urban area and haven't had predators issues as yet. We also have two doors into the coop. The larger door into the covered coop, and inside this the door to the actual hen house. It's the door to the hen house that we'll be automating. I don't mind walking out and shutting the larger door.

We always make sure the girls are in with the coop cam we have set up. I totally suggest a coop cam, so much fun to watch their antics in the morning and getting settled at night. We got ours from a company called foscam, but there are many companies out there.

 

[canesisters]

I haven't read all of the prior posts .... but here's my 2-cents

I got the 'Pullet-shut' door and an THRILLED with it. I splurged for the photo-eye and solar battery so it is a completely hands off thing for me.
It was a snap to install and has worked like a dream since day one. I sat outside with it the first couple of nights so I could see WHEN it was sensing dark and closing - and the girls had been inside settling in for 30mins or more before the door closed. Also, when it closes, it opens back up for a minute and then closes for the night in case anyone got locked out.

inside:


outside:

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have the one from Flemingoutdoors and love it- the one that is made from plastic wood so it won't rot. I have been using it for about a year and am quite pleased. It won't work in a power outage though, so it is good to have another door to open if the power is out.

 

[OohLaLa]

The pullet shut door looks flimsy in the pictures, how does it Stand up to critters trying to open it? I was hoping to run on battery/solar any suggestions? Does the McMurry door work well? I'm building my first coop and find it difficult to choose the right auto door, at the right quality and price

 

[sianara]

I haven't read all of the prior posts .... but here's my 2-cents

I got the 'Pullet-shut' door and an THRILLED with it. I splurged for the photo-eye and solar battery so it is a completely hands off thing for me.
It was a snap to install and has worked like a dream since day one. I sat outside with it the first couple of nights so I could see WHEN it was sensing dark and closing - and the girls had been inside settling in for 30mins or more before the door closed. Also, when it closes, it opens back up for a minute and then closes for the night in case anyone got locked out.

inside:


outside:

(The "cane" sisters. Love it!)

 

[bruceha2000]

The pullet shut door looks flimsy in the pictures, how does it Stand up to critters trying to open it? I was hoping to run on battery/solar any suggestions?

Not flimsy AT ALL. Very well constructed, the frame is flat aluminum bent at 90 degrees to form the "lip' that is bolted to the coop and that the closed door rests against. Very stiff. I think it would be quite difficult to get between the edge of the door and the frame to pry with human hands and tools let alone paws.

I just got mine last week because the house (not the chicken house, the PEOPLE house) is being majorly reconstructed - totally gutted, posts, beams, sills and foundation replaced. That is the NEW part, originally built 1880-1890, hand hewn post and beam, probably dragged from somewhere and "attached" to the original house which was built more like 1840.

It was getting old for my wife to drive the 25 miles to let them out of the coop into the barn alley in the morning (the builders have dogs so no free ranging until they leave) then 25 miles back to the house we are in while the construction goes on (and on). Even in a 50 MPG Prius, a gallon a day to let the girls out was getting expensive. It will be, minimally, a wash on the price of the door since she no longer has to make the drive. Then I go after work to do things to the part of the house that is not being totally rebuilt. I let the girls out of the barn when the dogs leave or are put in the trucks/tied up.

It was easy to install, the hard parts were things like:
- oh, I forgot the ... up at the house
- hunt a second extension cord when the 1st 100' one was about 30' short of what I needed
- then go hunt the metric hex wrench (back in the house of course) when the blade popped out of the saber saw
and figuring out WHERE to put it. Based on the opening size stated on the website, I thought I could put it in place of the current door to the left of the people door and would have to add some wood to fill in. But, the frame is about 2" wider than the opening and was about 1/2" too wide to fit between the two 4x4 posts. So I put it on the other side of the people door cutting the 1/2" plywood wall as is likely the more typical install anyway. It JUST fit under the perch for the nest box and I moved the oyster shell holder to the side of the coop closer to the food. The door comes with four 2" bolts which stick a LONG way into the coop, I think an "enhancement" to the ordering process could be to allow the buyer to specify if they will be bolting through plywood or 2x4s. A 3/4" bolt would have been plenty for my install and I might get some.

I installed it Friday afternoon and programmed it Saturday to open at 9 AM and close a little after 8 PM since the girls have been heading in around 7:30. This is "at the time" programming, meaning you can't set the open and close times then turn it on. You have to open it at the time you want it to open and close it at the time you want it to close. It remembers that until you clear it and reset.

I considered the photo sensor and the guys said in an email that yes, one can extend the wires if 10' isn't long enough to reach outside - my coop is a re-purposed horse stall about 8' from the outside wall. But I'm not sure how dark is dark enough that it starts to close. Since it is much darker in the coop than it is outside as the sun starts to go down, the girls don't always get inside until it is pretty dark inside which would be a problem if the sensor decided to close the door when it got "dusky" and not dark enough for the girls to be in the barn.

I skipped the battery and solar or AC charger for the moment. I USUALLY have power in the coop but I don't during the construction. Thus the AC charger wouldn't work and I was not sure how much sun was enough to keep the battery charged. Instead I wired two 6V lantern batteries in series and hooked the door up to that. Works fine but they are not rechargeable so it isn't the long term solution, I don't want to toss batteries in the dump if I can help it. I might get the AC charger once we have power back. BTW: they said DO NOT use a 120V AC to 12V DC converter. If it spikes, the electronics will fry.

Last night (Sunday) I checked about 8:20 before heading to the other house to make sure the door closed and all the girls got in the first night with their new door. I found one of my Black Australorps sitting on the 4' tall gate (*) so she had missed the closing AND the "second chance" 10 second window a minute after closing time. I'm hoping they start to learn that the motor noise in the evening means "If you aren't inside now, get here soon". I'm thinking a good enhancement would be a tone that sounded about 5 minutes before the door closes so the girls have time to get in from the field if they haven't already decided it is time to roost. But chickens are smarter than non chicken owners think so they might be fine after that one miss.

(*) Turns out a 4' fence/gate is a perch, not an impediment to chickens moving through a space.

Bruce

 

[USMCJunglist]

I am currently designing an automatic door that opens in the morning and shuts at dusk. Would any body be willing to pay $100. for this device? I have built the first door, and it works great. I was told I should market my idea. Any thoughts?
My idea is completely different then the ones that are on the market right now.