Plexiglass pop door REALLY raccoon proof?

[All Ball]

Thanks, everyone!

Wow, that video was a great opportunity to see what those guys can do - I will have to think about how much I might have to weight it. I think I made a mistake in not putting the door inside the coop - maybe I will make an outside frame to cover the rails AND top of the door.

For background, I don't have a run - I have a microcoop in a fenced-in part of the backyard. Right now I am using locks but that means I have to be there to lock them and I would occasionally like to have a nightlife which I don't have with the current setup. And outside rails are OK here - no snow!

I am going to go back and research the automatic options I looked at - someone mentioned a counterweight to prevent opening the door - I'm not quite understanding how it works. It was talked about on BYC so it should be around here someplace!

Cheers all -
AB

 

[Mehjr10]

I used a car window motor, attached to a 13" wheel or more accurately a stool top. Then attached a rod which connects the wheel to the top of the door. when the door is down the rod is applying force keeping the door in the down position.. I can't open it when it is closed.

 

[All Ball]

Mehjr10,

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear from folks about! Excellent! That is great to hear that you yourself can't open it. I am curious what you used for the rod - wood or metal, and how thick? The coop is small - about 3 feet high with about 1 foot taken by the door - and my door is less than 1/2-inch thick so I'm needing something powerful yet pretty small. That's why I was thinking metal, but was trying to come up with ideas about some kind of salvaged piece I could pick up somewhere.

Thanks so much for sharing your great solution!

AB

 

[Mehjr10]

You will laugh at this one, it is actually a large paint stirring stick. Attached to the stool top then attached to the top of the door. I had the attachment point in the center to start with then had to move it off center to keep it from binding during the cycle.

 

[aart]

Mehjr10,
Can you post pics of your set up?

 

[Mehjr10]

I will try to take some today.

 

[All Ball]

A paint stick, that's a great idea!! If you do take pictures, that would be cool to see - thanks mehrj!

 

[Mehjr10]

Here is what I have without taking it apart.

Car Window Motor with Wheel Attached.

Coverd unit with old microswitches.

Lower view of Motor.

Lawn Battery to power the Door.

Timers for Open and Close, 8D cell Batteries to run the timers, IF the lawn battery gets below 12vdc the timers will not work but door will still open slowly.

Door Down with new switches.

 

[LittleBits]

Raccoons have all night long to figure out how to get to all that chicken dinner. They have hands just like yours, if you can do it, it's practically a sure bet they can too.

I have also read that raccoons can squeeze themselves into very small openings - like down to 3". Doesn't seem possible but I do believe it. They are determined predators and anything you can do to keep them OUT is a plus in my book.

 

[aart]

So the motor turns the 13" wheel 180 degrees giving the slider 13" of travel up and down?
Interesting. What's with all the shallow spade bit holes, reducing weight?