Poll: Do you have an automatic coop door?

[Rick589]

Although I haven’t completed the building of my coop (getting my pullets next April), I installed the Run Chicken “Eternity” model a month ago to test it. So far it has not failed. It opens 20 min after sunrise and closes 20 min after sunset. I’m impressed!

Have the same door. Never changed the factory settings and it has been perfect right out of the gate.

 

[avjudge]

Like some others here, I have a (so far) predator proof run and attached coop with no door between the two, just a chicken tunnel. That is the summer arrangement so they are out in the run as early as they want, and let out to free range when my husband feeds the horses & llamas their breakfasts.

In the winter that same combination serves as their run but they are let in the barn overnight where they have another coop. In the late dark mornings of winter they seem perfectly happy to wait inside that coop until my husband is feeding and herds the chickens out. We are feeding everyone’s supper just before dusk so the chickens either put themselves in via the outside pop door (which is closed when the barn is closed up for the night) or if that is blocked by snow we will let them in via the barn aisle/main doors.

 

[Mamilo]

The plus or the eternal?

The Eternal model. It has been fool proof since early September when I installed it.

 

[Karlkurla Chooks]

I'm curious about how many folks on BYC have automatic coop doors. I love mine and it seems like most folks I know use them, but I figured it might be interesting to see what folks on BYC are doing. If you're interested, take a few seconds to answer the poll!

I normally do not lock my chooks up at night. They let themselves in and out.

I do though have two lights on electric timer switches that come on near sunrise and around sunset, so they can see the way in and out of the coop.

 

[Scooby50]

I'm curious about how many folks on BYC have automatic coop doors. I love mine and it seems like most folks I know use them, but I figured it might be interesting to see what folks on BYC are doing. If you're interested, take a few seconds to answer the p

 

[Scooby50]

We have an automatic coop door. It is solar powered with a battery back up.

 

[HenHangout]

The door to my coop is always open but I have a gate opener on my run that lets my chickens out into the pen. Its solar/battery powered but the solar panel wasn't effective enough this winter. I run a power cable to the coop in winter anyway so atm its tapped into my house. I may have to get a bigger solar panel since I tap into my gate's charge controller to run other things as well.

 

[Rick589]

Update on my RunChicken door. Just noticed a few weeks ago that, although it never failed to open and close properly, it started to act oddly. In the evening it would close completely and then open about halfway and then close again and stay closed acting as though the anti-pinch function was detecting something in the way. We contacted the company and went through a flurry of emails (many of which they initiated if they didn’t hear from me for a few days) to troubleshoot the issue. They requested multiple videos of various test and examinations of the door in an attempt to figure out the issue and in the end could not understand what was going on. As a result they’re sending a new drive assembly free of charge (door is still under warranty) and I just received notice that the new part has shipped. I have to say that the customer service I received was terrific, engaged, and interested in helping me. It makes the cost of their doors worthwhile and worthy of future purchases.

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

What about...

Yes, electric, but it's unplugged

Lol

We have a FarmDay? Or something, planned on using it, had used it for a long while, then had a chicken start laying in the corner of their sleeping area, closed it, she went underneath- yeah, it's 6foot to get to egg lol- so we opened it back up. But it's there ... If we need it... Lol

 

[500Chickens]

my chicken coop has a hole cut in the side of it. thats the door