How reliable are automatic coop doors?

[Miss Flowerpot]

It was pretty expensive, but I love the OverEz automatic chicken door. It's not horizontal, but it hasn't failed me yet and I love the metal spring vs. a string. All I do is look out the window each night to make sure it's closed, which is great in the summer because I get eaten alive by mosquitoes.

 

[MiMito3]

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?

I have the Ador1. Have had it only 3 months but works perfectly so far.

 

[momma2chickies]

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?

We have a solar-powered auto coop door that I purchased on Amazon. We kind of scrambled at the last minute to finish up the coop & run, to get the chickens out of the basement before we needed to go out of town for the week...and I was really overwhelmed with researching stuff so I picked the best rated solar one I could find. And of course, it went on sale for about 50% off just a few weeks later.
I currently have it set to dusk/dawn settings, but I either need to move the panel or switch to "timed" settings. If it's been rainy overnight, and/or overcast in the morning, the door doesn't open. Lately we've had some stormy evenings so we've had dark skies, and the door will close earlier than usual so I've had a couple stragglers. Thankfully I check every evening anyway just because we're new to this and still trying to get them to roost in the coop (sleeping in 1 nesting box, ugghhh). I'm just hesitant to switch to time settings because I know it's a PITA to adjust constantly with the daylight hours, and we have known predators in the yard. I have a solar wifi cam facing the outside of the run/coop, but thinking I need to install one either inside the coop or the run too.
This has become quite an expensive venture this summer, new to chickens...

 

[Pen147guin]

I have the Ladies First Chicken Door from ladiesfirstchickendoor.com. Works great for my setup. My neighbor uses the same and loves it.

 

[pcgboca]

I am going to post a full review ASAP as I am new to the forum and this is my first reply. I have (2) JVR Wi-Fi model auto coop doors. The reason I went with these was I wanted a door that I was 100% positive no small critter can open by prying it up from underneath. This design of the JVR is a screw driven rod that is impossible to move when closed and the door is metal - I love it. its secure with a good install.

Good and bad is you need 120V and Wi-Fi which were no big deal for me but may make this a no go as it cannot be used without Wi-Fi. They do have other models with timer only and no wi-fi so still check them out. Finally the sensor placement is critical as the proximity sensor is not good enough range and if your not careful this door can close on a chicken and that will not end well. I use Cameras to confirm no chickens in the door way and close it remotely till I can get a better sensor. Good luck on finding the perfect door, I think I found the make/model for me and my coop is auto open in the AM and been running for weeks. Time will tell on the long life. Door has 2 year warranty so it should be good. Good Luck on finding the perfect door for your application.

 

[lagrange chicks]

I use a timer for the one I built, I set the timer so the door closes after dark to stop the chance a chicken would get crushed.

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

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

The omelet door is horizontal. Do you mean vertical? Seconding the Omlet door, has been great for us too.

 

[danlan]

I got the Chicken Run T50 for my coop. I've only had it for about a month, but so far I'm super pleased with it. Runs on 2 AAs (I haven't had it long, but I've been told the batteries can last a year). Installation was less than 5 minutes and you can program it with your phone really easily.

For example, the default is to open at sunrise and close at sunset based on a light sensor, however, I programed mine to open at 10 am. I've noticed lots of predators around in the early morning, but later in the morning, we are up and about, my kids are in the yard, and the predators are gone so I set it to let the chickens out then. The chickens have food and water in their coop so that's not an issue.

 

[TaylorGlade]

I got the Chicken Run T50 for my coop. I've only had it for about a month, but so far I'm super pleased with it. Runs on 2 AAs (I haven't had it long, but I've been told the batteries can last a year). Installation was less than 5 minutes and you can program it with your phone really easily.

For example, the default is to open at sunrise and close at sunset based on a light sensor, however, I programed mine to open at 10 am. I've noticed lots of predators around in the early morning, but later in the morning, we are up and about, my kids are in the yard, and the predators are gone so I set it to let the chickens out then. The chickens have food and water in their coop so that's not an issue.

We got their solar version and could not be happier! Very reliable

 

[Chickcozy_Mason]

We have a chick cozy automatic door. We cheated out the first time and bought a knock off which was useless. The chick cozy was a mid price point for auto doors and we are very pleased with it. It can be set to light sensor or manual time , it has a battery life indicator and was super easy to program and install. It opens horizontally which we also liked because we are in Canada and need to compete with snow and ice, the design of this just worked better. The menu/control panel of the door sticks out over the door itself above it and almost protects it from weather. I would and have recommended it. It has been a game changer. Worth the cost for me to enjoy sleeping in on a sunday and the chickens to be happy and independent.

Thank you!