Automatic door opener

[start living]

Mine do too! I think the dark makes them uncomfortable and they want to feel the safety of their coop.

Interesting thought. Maybe it helps if I put up a light in their pen at dusk to encourage them coming inside.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well when it’s warm it will draw moths and that will defiantly give then incentive lol

 

[Cayuga momma]

My cayugas go in once the sun starts to set, but they are probably following the chickens.

 

[MaxwellHouse]

My Muscovy ducks go in on their own. Interestingly, it is always the same time regardless of whether the sun is going down. I do not think they know about daylight savings time. LOL

I want to get an automatic door but scared that it will somehow malfunction. Also, I recently lost one in the MIDDLE OF THE DAY to what appears to be a bobcat!?!? I am in the Miami area and did not see the bobcat but I am finding droppings that look like bobcat. Due to this recent death of my beloved girl I am keeping them inside unless I am with them. I have an electric fence that goes around the house but I let them go all over the yard and something snatched her from the wooded area. I did not find blood or feathers. There one minute and then gone the next. The other ducks did not even notice.

 

[BornToQuack]

We're in the process of adding an automatic door to our duck house, as well. I have similar concerns about it malfunctioning, closing on a duck/foot, or closing before all three ducks are inside.

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Tevyes Dad

 

[SailorNoMore]

@BornToQuack please keep us updated about your installation and how it goes.

 

[BornToQuack]

@SailorNoMore sure thing! My husband (@Leonardo da Quacko) is building/programming our door from scratch, but I think he's almost done.

We've agreed to start off with just having the door open automatically in the morning. That way, our ducks will get used to having the door open on its own. At night, we'll herd them in as usual until we're more comfortable with the setup.

 

[BornToQuack]

For the most part, our girls are pretty good about bedtime. At first, I used to toss blueberries or raspberries into their house to lure them in.

Now, I just say, "ok girls, bedtime!" and they'll start heading to their house. I'll follow behind saying encouraging things like, "good girls," or "good ducks" and they just walk on in.

 

[Tevyes Dad]

@Tevyes Dad

My automatic door was never a problem as far as hurting a duck by closing on them (they didn't like it and learned to stay clear when it moved). However I did have one day when it didn't open for some reason and we had been out late and slept in. It was a very hot day and we almost lost our whole flock (The house was never intended to hold them in the mid-day). We did lose our beloved Pekin, Snow. So from then on, we always made verified the ducks got out (by camera) then could go back to sleep once we knew they were out. Other than that one time it always worked though ad we used it a couple of years. It is no longer in use since i built them a secure kennel that they can go to from their house day or night. So my take away is they can be very convenient but don't trust them 100%.