Dog door in the winter ?

[NHChickengirl]

I am wondering if anyone has experience using a dog door so the chickens can go in and out of the coop during the winter without having to leave a door open and letting in all the cold NH winter weather ? The door does lead to a secure outside pen made with hardware cloth that a mouse can't even get into. I am trying to keep as much cold out while letting the girls choose to go outside if they want to.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

 

[drumstick diva]

I don't know if chickens would push hard enough to open a dog door. We used to have them for our dogs and they developed the bad habbit of being inside and sticking their head out the door so they could see what was going on. I guess they never noticed all the mice they were letting in but, I sure did. All that screaming can't be good for anyone.

A lot of chicken people had automatic door openers and they set it to let them out in early morning and to close at dusk. Works fine I imagine except for the late nighters who don't get back before the door shuts them out. Also in worst of winter the chickens are going to want to come in much sooner. Maybe someone who uses those openers can say what they do in cold climates.