HUGE flaw with automatic coop door

[Elemental]

SERIOUS flaw with an automatic Chicken door!!! I just lost 4 chickens (including my sweet little Light) because I did not recognize a HUGE flaw with the automatic chicken door that I purchased 2 years ago. The door is pulled up and let down by a cable and it was easily lifted by the raccoon. I am adding a latch today, but I wanted to warn others.

 

[Kelsie2290]

So sorry for the loss of your birds raccoons are nasty smart predators. You might want to mention the problem you had with the door/model in the Reviews section.

 

[tcstoehr]

Yes, that is a glaring weakness. When I went shopping for an automatic chicken door opener, I ignored all of the "string-puller" models. Their advertising was bold enough to claim that the chickens were safe from predators with the door closed. Until a raccoon lifts it I figured.
I eventually got the Ador1 which has a gear drive and the bottom of the door is between two metal edges which keeps anything from bending the door or reaching under it as it is in the bottomed-out closed position. However, the door will move slowly if sufficient upward force is applied to it, so I doubt it is truly raccoon-proof.

 

[Elemental]

Thank you Kelsie,

I'm going to take it as a learning experience and be more aware of weak points in my coop and run. I didn't want to blast the company I bought the door from since there are other companies that produce a door that is similarly designed.

Thanks for the hug.

 

[thomasboyle]

Sorry for your losses. One way to make the door more secure is to make it so the door drops below the floor level. Its easy to modify an existing coop / door. Simply nail down a 1x2 that is the length of the door's width on both sides to the door when it is closed. This makes it so the raccoon cannot access the bottom edge of the door to lift it up. While it may be possible for something to simply push the door up, making it so they can't put their claws under the door's edge will make it more secure.