Pullet-Shut Automatic Chicken Door - Excellent Quality

[jjpigg06]

I have been eying up buying the Pullet-Shut door with the solar panel. However, I have the Formex Snap Lock Large Coop which is made of a hard plastic instead of wood. Do you think it could still be easily installed? I'm not so handy, and I don't want to spend this kind of money if it wouldn't work. Any advice would be great!

 

[Stumpy]

I think you could make it work for your plastic coop. You might need to make a little mini frame on the inside to support it, having the frame sides go to the floor of the coop for extra stability.

 

[skunknchatter]

Just wnted to drop in and say I've had my Pullet-Shut with solar panel for 3 months now and I love this thing. No more going out to open and shut the coop. I've had zero problems with predators and zero problems with the door. We've had some nasty weather and the door operates just fine. No problems with the battery which I was worried about since we get well below freezing here. It still works and charges up perfectly. This is one of the best animal based purchases I've ever made.

 

[Bloveschickens]

I have a question about the solar panel, where I live we do get sun most days, but sometimes we have a cloudy day, and sometimes it is cloudy for about a week, especially in winter. On the website it says the solar panel requires 2 hours of sunlight a day. Can the solar panel store up energy from when there is more than 2 hours of sun to use when it is cloudy?

 

[AV8RChick]

My battery does store power with the solar panel. We have had a week or more of overcast skies and rain and the doors have not missed an opening or closing.

 

[Bloveschickens]

My battery does store power with the solar panel. We have had a week or more of overcast skies and rain and the doors have not missed an opening or closing.

Thats exactly what I was wondering. Thanks!

 

[markeddings]

I just ordered one after a lot of internet research and a couple of calls to the manufacturer. I was curious about battery life myself and decided on the trickle charger as I do have power to our coop and the summer shade had me worried about the solar charger option. According to folks at chickendoors.com, the battery should last about a month after a full charge. Like with most batteries, I am sure that is dependent upon temperatures, battery age and condition, and usesage. Looking forward to installing my door this week and not having to rush home after dark to close the coop door.

 

[ihearvoices]

I have had it in for a week. I keep finding my chickens on the wrong sid of the door at night. Help?

 

[markeddings]

Is it because the set closing time is too early for your chickens returning to the coop, or do your chickens not return to the roost at a pretty regular time?

I manually operated mine for the first few days until I learned ,my chicken's habits, then set the timer to open about an hour after daylight, and closing about 15 minutes after they all regularly returned to the coop at night.

Depending upon the predator situation in your area, you may just have to program it to close a while after dark to ensure they have all gone to roost.

Due to the recent time change and shortening days, I just reset mine yesterday to deal with the shrinking daylight hours. I figure I will have to adjust one more time by the end of November, and then I should be good for a while.

Hope this helps.

 

[ihearvoices]

Is it because the set closing time is too early for your chickens returning to the coop, or do your chickens not return to the roost at a pretty regular time? 

I manually operated mine for the first few days until I learned ,my chicken's habits, then set the timer to open about an hour after daylight, and closing about 15 minutes after they all regularly returned to the coop at night. 

Depending upon the predator situation in your area, you may just have to program it to close a while after dark to ensure they have all gone to roost.

Due to the recent time change and shortening days, I just reset mine yesterday to deal with the shrinking daylight hours.  I figure I will have to adjust one more time by the end of November, and then I should be good for a while.

Hope this helps.

Yes, this is it. Chicks feel like returning, but slightly later than the door allows. Since i bought the light sensor, i can't program my door (not that i know of, anyway).