Coop door help!

[Coop Z-ville]

Sure! It is a Vtech Video Monitor model VM342. It says it has a range of 1,000 feet, but our coop isn't that far away, about 150 feet. We have metal sides and roof on our coop which hinders reception, also, but this system works fine-we don't even need to use the antennas, and we get perfect reception. The display is color in the daytime and black and white (night vision) after it gets dark. We just basically plugged it in, put on the wide angle lens so we could see the whole roost, and we were good to go. My husband was worried that since it is an indoor camera, it might not do well in the extreme cold, but it made it through the coldest winter I can remember around here!

This will also support up to 4 cameras for multiple views, but we only needed the one. It is indoor only, so we didn't want to risk putting it in the pen area, even though it is covered.

Here are some pictures of the camera in the coop and the monitor in the house:

Of course, the roost is empty, as the girls usually hustle outside as soon as the door opens!

 

[cowboy bob]

This last fall I installed a ladies first door. Around $200. Would do it again without a second thought. Good luck.

 

[tYarisdaprincess]

OK, so I guess I am a little over-the-top with my my small flock of 5 "girls" that I have had for almost a year now. I have a wonderful Amish built coop with attached covered run-very strongly built and we made the whole thing pretty predator proof, as we dug down several feet to install a "sandbox" for the coop to sit on (coop is raised off ground). We also have an electric fence all around it. We are adding a lovely extension run at the moment, for more room for chickens to run around in and interesting things for them to play with. This also has electric fencing all around-the predators do not go near the coop and run. They seem to sense the danger of the wire, and once any curious passerby is "hit" they seem to warn others-ha!

Anyway, we started out with a regular pop door that I would go out to open and close every morning and evening. I'm an early riser, so it was no problem in the morning, but sometimes in the evening in summer (dumb DST), they would want to stay out longer and resisted going into the coop when I was ready to close the door, so I left the pop door open all night, since the run is secure.

As fall (and the thought of cold Indiana weather) approached, we decided to purchase an automatic door that opens at first light and closes when it is dark. We got the Pullet Shut Automatic Chicken Door, and I cannot say enough good things about it!
https://chickendoors.com/?doing_wp_cron=1553944531.7927069664001464843750
It works on a battery, has a photo sensor that performs perfectly! My girls are roosting well before it closes, but it has a feature that opens one more time for stragglers to come in then closes for the night. It also has a magnet override in case you want to manually open and close the door for any reason. Keeping the pop door open all the time is fine, especially with a secure run, but this past winter, with wind chills at -25 degrees, I wanted the coop door to close at night, for sure.

Also, my very talented husband rigged up a simple sensor on the door that lights up a small light under the coop when the door is closed-I just have to look out the window to see when the light is on or off to know if the door is open or closed. That wasn't enough for me, because I wanted to know for sure that all five girls were in for the night. So we installed a baby monitor camera in the coop. We couldn't get WiFi out there, but the monitor is bluetooth and it works fine. We have the V-Tech video monitor with 5 inch screen and a wide angle lens. I just turn it on and watch (and listen to) what's happening in the coop. I can see when all 5 girls are safely tucked in for the night. It also shows the temperature in the coo[.

I guess I'm a worrier, but this set up really is wonderful-for me and my chickens! I know it is pricey, but I am lucky to be able to have the fun of chickens without some of the worry-there's still enough to go around!

OMG thank you for all the helpful feedback! I too like peace of mind. The price though for the size with about 18 chicks, which I'll have by the end of the summer, may be a bit high. Thanks for the advice on the baby monitor too!

 

[Coop Z-ville]

Good luck!

 

[denise8762]

Hi there,

I am a new member and there is just so much to look through that all looks great! My husband and I live in South New Jersey and have 10 week-old chicks. We are converting our shed into a coop and have most of it figured out, but are stuck on the door. There are a lot of predators in the area as we are pretty rural- fox, eagle, hawk, roaming dogs, etc. Because of this we plan to make our run predator proof and not free range, with a covered ramp up to the door for the chickens to enter and exit the coop.

I do not like getting up before 8 am, so we are interested in an automatic door. I have been researching doors for week and there seem to be several kinds, but they are all so pricey! I have seen reviews that the ones with wires/cables seem to break or snap. The ones that are all one unit as the door seem pretty expensive. In your experience what is the best option? We do have power to the coop so the power supply isn't a big deal. What would be best in my my situation? We plan to eventually have up to 30 chickens. Thanks in advance!

Hell yes! Get one! I have 19 girls and a rooster and we had multiple attacks in the early morning by our pesky fox, I have since got the Chicken Guard Extreme Auto opener and it is a life changer. And now I don't have to get up and out to open the coop on crappy weather days and I have played with the times to make sure we miss out on the fox early am visits.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I have the Pullet-Shut automatic door. [email protected]. Love it. Chickens free range and get up before me. Very convenient. Still check at night and have occasionally found a bird outside but rare.
Also good customer service from this small company.

 

[Attila the Hen]

I guess you figured out what a pop door is by now. AKA the chickens door.

 

[squat]

We've had chickens for over 10 years now and purchased an automatic door about a year ago. We love, love, love it! It's the ADOR1 Automatic Chicken Coop door opener. It was about $199 and worth every penny. It has a solar sensor that makes it open in the morning and close at night and is powered by one 6 Volt battery that lasts about a year. It can even be programmed to re-open for any stragglers who didn't make it in the coop for the night. We looked at several others before deciding on this one. The Ador1 was less expensive than the others, simple to install, easy to operate, and doesn't require electricity. We are very happy with our purchase! Here is the link to their website: https://adorstore.com/

 

[Toothpick]

Not worth it in my opinion. I leave my chicken door open 24/7.
If you want the added convenience or are really concerned with predators then yeah...might be worth it to you.

It’s not a necessity by any means. Just a personal preference.

 

[mbailey78]

Hi there,

I am a new member and there is just so much to look through that all looks great! My husband and I live in South New Jersey and have 10 week-old chicks. We are converting our shed into a coop and have most of it figured out, but are stuck on the door. There are a lot of predators in the area as we are pretty rural- fox, eagle, hawk, roaming dogs, etc. Because of this we plan to make our run predator proof and not free range, with a covered ramp up to the door for the chickens to enter and exit the coop.

I do not like getting up before 8 am, so we are interested in an automatic door. I have been researching doors for week and there seem to be several kinds, but they are all so pricey! I have seen reviews that the ones with wires/cables seem to break or snap. The ones that are all one unit as the door seem pretty expensive. In your experience what is the best option? We do have power to the coop so the power supply isn't a big deal. What would be best in my my situation? We plan to eventually have up to 30 chickens. Thanks in advance!

I bought this door this past fall:
https://www.automaticchickencoopdoor.com/
It’s worked out really well so far. I’ve had chickens for 4 years. I still check on them every night but the door gives more flexibility. It’s also nice to not have to get up
Super early on weekends to let them out.
I posted about the door recently. Don’t know how to put the link to it or I would. Maybe you can click on my profile to see recent posts? If you can’t find it let me know and I can give more info/review.