When Should an Automatic Coop Door Close? Are my chickens night owls?

[Dragonfly Farm]

My coop has the automatic Ladies First Chicken Door:

https://www.ladiesfirstchickendoor.com/products/

This thing is supposed to close when it starts to get dark, using it's solar panel to detect this. And it generally does a good job at this.

My problem is my hens never make it in before it closes. This is my first time with a flock so I don't know if something is wrong with the door or the chickens. I'll explain what is going on:

The door has a solar panel and detects when it starts to get dark and closes then. However it doesn't wait until night. It closes generally about when the sun is about a hand's breadth from the horizon. Though there are houses and trees in the way of this so it is hard for me to tell exactly. It isn't actually dark at this point though so the hens haven't though to actually go inside!

Do your hens start to go inside around then? Should they be going in before it gets actually dark? Are my chickens waiting out a stupidly long time? I've noticed that when they want to go inside it's generally dark enough in the coop that they sometimes don't make it all the way up onto the roost, choosing instead to roost on the raised lip of the poop board. Fortunately the lip of the poop board is a roost sized bit of wood and there are few enough of them that they don't poop on each other. But that indicates to me that maybe they're going to bed too late?

There are only 3 of them and they are only about 6 months old, they have had no older hens to teach them when to go to bed.

Does the door need fixing or do they need training?

I have a battery powered door and have it set to close after dark so no lady is left out in the cold. I also have a light on a timer inside the coop so as dusk approaches, the light turns on and stays on for a couple of hours. It goes on early in the morning, too, during the short winter days. Maybe you could rig a light up to shine on the solar panel to keep the door open longer? Honestly, what we do for these birds….(I’m still serving Beakie her smoothies 3xday…she turns 4 this year)

 

[drmolarmagic]

I had that same solar powered and light activated coop door but had the same issues. Some of my hens like to stay out late so they'd get locked out. I changed to a door with a remote and Alexa controlled. When I go out to say goodnight and give treats I close the door from my iphone. If I'm out late I can check on the run with the cameras I have with one app and then close the door with the other App. Seems to be working out well, its been 5 months now

 

[teesngln]

My chickens go inside just before it's totally dark. And my auto door has a delay that closes 20 minutes after sunset, so they're always inside by then (Run Chicken door).

Can you change any settings on yours?

 

[APK]

Can you mount the panel on a swivel and try pointing it towards the setting sun. There are certain light meters available, you can test it out and see if there is a particular direction where there is more light around the time the hens are going in, and the point the solar panel towards there.

It might buy you a bit more time to get your flock inside.

 

[Lils Roost]

I'm looking at the Ladies First door now for a new coop build. From what I've read there are two buttons inside the sliding area where you can adjust for extra opening or closing times. Their videos show them as small green buttons that are underneath all the other electronic parts. Please let me know if this helps because it may help me with my decision as well.

 

[drmolarmagic]

I last posted on this thread 6 months ago and I still have chickens that like to stay out past sundown. A few seem to enjoy the after hours in the run. So I still maintain that the automatic door I control from my phone or Alexa is the best option. Even if I’m away for a few days. I open the canera app and check the run and if anyone is still out I leave the door open and check back later. When they are all in I can close the door from the other app. Likewise if the weather is bad and we’ve had some really strong storms here this spring, I don’t open to keep them safe. It’s very convenient. Just my personal set up and opinion