Coop door help!

[tYarisdaprincess]

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.

Thank you! I will check it out

 

[Herb in PA]

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 used to open and close the door every night. After loosing to many chickens the last few years to hawks while in the run, the run is now predator proof. As a result, I only close the door to the run on days when I need to lock the girls into the coop. I usually leave the door open all summer long.

 

[tYarisdaprincess]

I used to open and close the door every night. After loosing to many chickens the last few years to hawks while in the run, the run is now predator proof. As a result, I only close the door to the run on days when I need to lock the girls into the coop. I usually leave the door open all summer long.

How did you have your run set up before it was predator proof, and what did you do to change it? Thank you for your advice!

 

[squat]

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.

 

[squat]

If there's no risk of predators, I probably wouldn't go to the expense, but after going without for eight years, we had a mink come into our coop early one morning before light and killed five of our hens. I was able to save one after nursing her for a couple of weeks, but the experience was upsetting enough for us to build a more secure coop and then add the automatic door. I no longer worry about waking up to bloody and/or dead chickens. Once it gets dark and the door closes, I know they are safe inside and nothing can get to them.

 

[craig732]

I installed this a couple of weeks ago and it is great: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0759YDWYT/?tag=backy-20