How reliable are automatic coop doors?

[mossyoakpro]

How reliable are automatic doors?

My neighbor has one. I don't know what brand, or if it's set up correctly, but it sure hasn't sold me on the idea. It seems to work... sometimes.

Mine has not failed yet....for the first few nights I stood out there to make sure it closed, then I would go out before I go to bed to see that it closed....now, I have no reason to go out to check on it. It just works...I have mine on the timed setting so I know what time it is supposed to close and open

 

[ForFlocksSake]

Mine has not failed yet....for the first few nights I stood out there to make sure it closed, then I would go out before I go to bed to see that it closed....now, I have no reason to go out to check on it. It just works...I have mine on the timed setting so I know what time it is supposed to close and open

Thanks! Which door do you have?

 

[mossyoakpro]

Thanks! Which door do you have?

Omlet...pricey but so far a great investment. I splurged for the coop light that plugs in to it too. Been running 4 months and still 100% on the batteries. Extremely easy to program as well.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm happy with having an auto door. I have a standard Chicken Guard. It's mainly because we don't keep to normal hours so this way the chickens are let out in the morning (7:45) before I get up (around 9). And on the occasional afternoon or evening when we won't be home around sundown, the chickens are safely locked up in the coop without us having to stop by to take care of it.

We still check to ensure the door opens and closes daily, it's not a replacement for that.

We very rarely travel but for those times, the auto door means we don't need to have a pet sitter come by to open up/lock up, which we had to in the past.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

I checked out their website the other day. I’ll be honest- the instructions and programming overwhelmed me also I didn’t like how there isn’t an option to program times for open and close. It’s light activated only.

My Mom was like that with the VCR.

 

[SloughiGirl]

I have a Hentronix door. Love it! Girls are nice and secure…once you get the hang of programming it, it’s great.

 

[Bananabread]

I have Ador1 and haven't had any concerns with it. I was a skeptic in general at the beginning, concerned it would not open up one day and my chickens would be trapped in the coop and nobody would hear their song and dance of frustration. That said, haven't had an issue. It does what it's intended to, nothing more, nothing less, opens with sun up, closes with sun down and it's reliable. Haven't tried any of the other ones but can't imagine they'd be in business if they were horrible. I went with Ador1 because it was recommended by the farmer who sold us our hens which made her reliable source numero UNO

 

[Mouthpear]

I looked at that one but I think horizontal would work best for our setup.

Here is a comment I left on another thread. The ADOR can be place horizontally. I am NOT endorsing the doors since I have never purchased and used any of them. Since I build my own and have built some for others. Sometimes I have had to replace a commercially made and sold door, with one I made.

I do not do this as a job or to make money, it is just a hobby of mine. Do this for family, friends and neighbors, and word gets around. I have only had to go back once to move the door to another coop because the coop was destroyed by a fallen tree. Door survived but the coop was totalled.

But like I tell many people on this site, that they can fairly easy make their own. Using a SONOFF or a MHCOZY smart switch. From what you said so far, I take it that you may have a good WIFI signal at the coop? If you do you, can have the coop open and close at sunrise and after sunset using Alexa or Google.

You can also make it work with two $13 timers.

The "hardest" part is charging the battery. But amazon has many affordable solar charging kits that will do the job. It doesn't take much. The timers or the smart switches don't take up too much power. In this video I am using a Dual channel timer, that does the same as two SPDT timers, opening and closing 3 actuators, 3 times a day. It lasted 9 months on a single charge.

Again if you have a good WiFi signal at the coop and if you want to make sure the door is actually closed, you can use a SONOFF DW2 (Window Door) sensor, to let you know the door is closed.

In any case I hope this helps and good luck finding what you need.

 

[Mouthpear]

Word of caution with the Run Chicken doors or that is to say the fake ones.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/choose-the-automatic-door.1568556/post-26815211

 

[Shadrach]

Ive gone back and forth about getting an automatic door for our coop. I think I may have even made a post about it a while back. We have a coop attached to a run and do not free range. The run is secure but technically something could dig under. We aren't too concerned because we are in a neighborhood, have NEVER seen a raccoon, coyote, fox or possum, never had our trash messed with, and when my husband uses his stinky fish carcass fertilizer for the garden its never tampered with. We also have a 6 foot wooden privacy fence around our entire yard and are enclosed by fences on three sides from other neighbors. we also have a large yard full of dog smells from our 4 hounds. The entire perimeter of our home has cameras and none have EVER caught an animal other than a deer and stray cat. I know there is still a risk, but for now we aren't concerned.

That being said, I have no desire to test our predator theory once the sun goes down. I go out every evening to shut the coop door (which is an extremely secure coop) and open it when the sun comes up. It's not the biggest deal in the world to do it but I wonder if Id be happier with an auto door. I know there are a bunch out there and im mostly looking at the run chicken one, but I guess my question is how many people are thrilled with their auto doors and how many regret it or hate it. I have wifi cameras inside the run so I could check to see the door is shut at night and open in the morning, but has anyone here had an incident where the auto door didn't open or close? Anyone have an incident that had them go back to a manual door?

Like most things, they are reliable until they aren't. A slightly trite response but an honest answer to your question.

I have the standard model from Chicken Guard. I've had it a few months. So far it's worked. I know people who have had this model for longer and so far they've worked.
I think the best approach is to assume at some point it will fail and make arrangements on this assumption. For me the important factor is the coop door opens in the mornings because I can't be there to let the chickens out. I will eventually move the auto door opener to the coop extension which will mean that the chickens can leave the coop but not the extension where I provide food and water.
This is the current arrangement. The auto door opener will be fitted to a door at the end of the coop extension, the part with the white tarpaulin.