My auto door is on a photo light sensor, so it opens automatically as soon as there is enough light. Right now that seems to be around 7am, closing about 8:30pm. Mine always go back into the coop when it is time to lay their egg.
Consolidated Kansas
- Thread starter ChooksChick
- Start date
My Roos are early risers and the rest of them would rather still be sleeping..
They will go back in to lay. I tinker with the clock so that the door opens around sunrise and closes around sunset. Now that is around 7:15 a.m. and about 7:45 p.m. depending on the cloud cover. I should probably have gotten one with a sensor, but sometimes it gets so dark when it storms that I was afraid it would shut them out.
Sharol
Sharol
My 2 hens are getting really close to laying soon! I bought a little wicker basket at Goodwill the other day for when I start collecting eggsI would love to see pictures of your baskets - I'll take one of mine too and post later..
I bought 3 ceramic eggs on ebay and they shipped yesterday. I just put one in each nest box? Do I pick up my hens and put them in the nest box to show them the box? (To the best of my knowledge, neither have gone into the box yet.. )
I think I have been letting my chickens out of the coop too early (7am) - I'm going to slowly change the time I let them out. I am going to let them out at 8:00 for the next week... then 8:30 for a week... etc. I really want them to start laying and thinking they don't have much time in their coop to even learn the nest boxes are there. They leave from their roost early in the morning and don't usually return until dusk and then just get back on their roost. What time do you let your chickens out of their coop?
That is my concern with the auto door. I am always home by that time but it worries me if I happen to be out.
Yesterday the door hadn't opened by the time I got out there at 7:30, and I discovered that the GFI breaker on the outlet in the garage that I use had popped during the storm, and the electricity was off in the coop (and had been for 5 hours). It isn't completely worry free, but I have it plugged into a UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for small outages. My main concern was the the electricity would flicker during that brief time that there is power to the door and it would change positions and then stay stuck down or up at a bad time. The way it works is that when the electricity turns on, it changes position. The power stays on 20 minutes through a timer and then turns off. When it turns on again, the door again changes position. I'm a worry wort, I suppose. The UPS will keep power to the timers for at least 30 minutes giving the timer time to turn off it is on at the time. Does that make ANY sense?
Sharol
Sharol
Yea I get it. I dont have any electric run to my coop I do it all the old fashioned way I suppose. The kids run out before they catch the bus and let the flock out and I go out there after I tend to my other animals to clean if need be or give water etc.
The light sensor seems to have a pretty high "tolerance" built in and doesn't close the door until it is quite dark. I've never had it close during a storm, no matter how dark out it got. My birds are typically in and roosting for about 30 minutes before the door closes.
You actually don't need power to the coop to have an auto door. Mine has a small solar panel that is installed on the roof, and that powers the battery. Supposedly it is able to store enough power so the door will continue to function even if there are several consecutive days without sun.
I ran electric to my coop via a 100' outdoor-rated extension cord. At the moment it is not in use as I don't have anything I need to plug. In but in the event I wanted to hang a heat lamp or something, I will have that option, but I'm really glad its not tied up powering the auto door.
I used an extension cord to run a fan this summer. I am very paranoid of having it plugged in and on the ground in rain and snow. I dont know if I have nothing to worry about or not but this bothers me. I worry about fire. I have seen the solar doors they look super nice especially for those mornings that you want to sleep in an extra hour and your morning coffee doesnt even get you going
I do not plan on using heat in my coop at all so wont need electric there and my brooder is inside, I really want to make a water heater for the waterer this year so I dont have to carry buckets of warm water to the coop. Although it saves money and is how gpa and gma did it I have health probs at a young age and carrying those buckets did me in...
But I will do it this year again if that id what needs to be done. I dont know if my old orange extension cord is outdoor rated maybe I will buy one that it and seehow I can get it off the ground.,.....
I do not plan on using heat in my coop at all so wont need electric there and my brooder is inside, I really want to make a water heater for the waterer this year so I dont have to carry buckets of warm water to the coop. Although it saves money and is how gpa and gma did it I have health probs at a young age and carrying those buckets did me in...
That is what we did, too. I keep checking it, but it seems OK, and both ends are out of the weather.
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