Hinges or sliding pop door?

[absinor]

Is their any benefit to either a sliding or a hinged pop door?

If sliding is best, does anyone have a good pic of theirs so I can see how to do the sliding mechanism?

Thanks!

 

[patandchickens]

Sliding is easier to control remotely while still having it be automatically fairly predatorproof when closed (you can weight it, let it drop down by a simple pulley system to open/close, and when it's closed the bottom edge can drop behind a strong board so that raccoons etc can't pry it out or slide it up). (A positive locking system is even safer, though).

Hinged can provide a useful little 'porch roof' over the pophole if you install it that way, to reduce rain getting in. To latch it at night you really need either a bar that slides over the opening, or a strong raccoon-proof (or inside) latch.

No matter which way you go, make sure to think about where shavings will fall when the door is opened in the morning and whether they will be jamming where the door wants to *close* in the evening. You want the opening designed so that spilling-out shavings fall cleanly away, rather than collecting where the edge of the door will later be supposed to close against.

Hope this helps,

Pat

 

[chickenfanatic]

i like sliding personally its just easier in my opinion.

 

[Anny]

I think sliding are easier to made draft tight. I kind of wish I put a sliding one on my coop (I have a hinged one that opens UP) I think with sliding you could open it from the inside or out side easier too.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I have coops with both. I hate the hinged it opens down to create the ramp. The chickens poop in the hinge area and it's really hard to close even worse when the poop is frozen.

For my sliders, I took a 1X2 piece of wood and cut out a notch lengthwise creating an "L" The door rides in the groove of the "L" Does that make any sense?