chickens are hard work

[bj taylor]

i'm jealous of your automatic door. that is on my short list. i have lights outside the coop that come on at dusk. i'm wondering how to work that out with light sensor for the automatic door.

 

[artsy1]

The sensor has a 10 foot wire that you place anywhere on the coop. We moved it around a few times to get the right location. I really did splurge on the whole get-up. I got it at chickendoors.com because they had many good reviews. Hubby wanted the easiest one to install out there. SO with the sensor and battery and door, it was around $280.00....worth every penny..

 

[goldnchocolate]

i'm jealous of your automatic door. that is on my short list. i have lights outside the coop that come on at dusk. i'm wondering how to work that out with light sensor for the automatic door.

I think that you can also put them on a timer rather than using a sensor. I have a few hens that wait until the last possible moment to go in and they would probably get caught outside the door if it closed at dusk.

 

[gardendufus]

Actually, I suspect I have the same door as the OP. The Pullet-shut. Also on solar and with a light sensor. The door doesn't actually close at dusk, it closes at dark. I sat outside a couple of nights and watched. The hens are in LONG before the door closes. the shortest time after they entered that I saw was 1/2 hour. And they have a feature built in where the door closes and then a minute or so later it reopens in case anyone got shut out (I've never seen that happen) to give them a second chance to get in.

I agree that the auto door was the best investment I ever made (it actually cost as much as building my 8 X 10 coop). But even before, I was amazed at how easy chickens were to care for. They never cursed me when I was a little late to come out and open their door, just seemed happy to see me.

Large feeders, large, nipple waterers. DEEP LITTER requires only annual or semi-annual cleaning out of the coop. Some do it quarterly.

I could easily leave my hens for a vacation of a week, minus the egg collection. But they would be lonely, so I'll have my neighbor come over to check feed and water every 2-3 days or so. After all, he will get free eggs from me when they start laying.