What Is An Automatic Chicken Door Really!

Anyone that has chickens in their backyard wants to keep them safe, and there are various methods in doing that.

But there is a product which is an automatic chicken door that can make life easier for you., and your chickens safer.

In fact, automatic chicken coop doors have been around for a couple of years now, so this product really needs to be looked into by the chicken owner to see if you need one in your chicken coop.

Is The Chicken Door For You?

Before we go any further…

Chicken coops with automatic doors…

What next…

You better believe it!

The automatic chicken door is here.

The way of the future and the chicken house has come into the 21st century with its own automation, and this one is not a bad idea.

Everyone who owns chickens knows what a struggle it is to keep them safe, not only outside but at night too.

Even if you think your chicken run is safe.

The predators out there are testing it, and the more determined and cunning predators will keep coming back and trying.

We all have suffered the pain of losing one of our chickens to predators at one time or the other, and it hurts more when one of the victims is a favourite of yours.

So what can we do to make the like of the predators hard and do the best in protecting your feathered buddies?

Do Automatic Chicken Doors Work?

Well I hope so, or why would anybody buy them, lets have a look into this…

The chicken coop automatic door has a small motor in it that when it is triggered it will start to run.

With the automatic chicken coop door, the winding pulls up the door and then the chickens are free to go outside their hen house.

And then pulls the door down to close the chickens in at nighttime.

The coop doors have a trigger that is either a light sensor or a timer.

Do Automatic Chicken Doors Work?

I knew you were going to ask that…

Yes, they do, as long as you choose the right one for your particular chicken coop, these automatic chicken coop doors do work very well.

So How Do They Work In Detail?

The automatic chicken door has a small motor that pulls the door open and shut.

They do this automatically based on either light sensors or a timer depending on what unit you choose to buy.

Now for the automatic chicken door to work properly, the motor and opener of the chicken coop door have to be able to handle the weight of that particular door.

The automatic chicken door also needs to have a design that prevents those predators from.

Yes!

Actually opening the door itself, such as a well-placed lip.

I told you some predators are cunning and try to work things out…

Those are the very reasons why it is important to get one of those quality automatic doors on the market.

If you just go ahead and buy the cheapest one on the market you find, it may not work very well, and your chickens might just pay the price of you being tight with your money…

The reason is that the sensors most probably will be of a lower quality, or maybe it will fail altogether, and that’s awful, when you are thinking that your chickens are safe when in fact they are far from safe…

Make sure by taking a few minutes to confirm that you have installed it correctly at the start, don’t just think it is going to work because you have put it in…

So if there is a defective part in the automatic chicken door right from the start, you need to talk to the manufacturer. Either they will typically send you a replacement promptly.

But if you are just not happy maybe you can get a refund and get a different automatic door for your chickens.

What If The Chickens Don’t Get Inside Before The Automatic Door Closes?

Now, this is a big question and I have thought about this too…

If you are a newcomer to having your own backyard chickens or even a seasoned chicken owner, of course.

You are going to worry about installing an automatic door for the coop, only for it to accidentally leave some of your chickens outside…

Shock and Horror!

Being chickens with the natural instincts they know when it’s time to roost, as this is an ancient instinct to get up into the trees if they are wild or inside their place of safety which is the chicken coop as the light fades.

And not only that, they do seem to follow each other in this instance as well..

Yes, so they do instinctively roost right before dusk falls.

This means that they will find their way inside the chicken coop before the automatic door shuts for the night, even if the automatic chicken door uses light sensors.

See also OverEZ Farmhouse Large Chicken Coop & Run - 6’6”W x 7’6L x 6’3”H Outdoor Chicken Pen Review

If you are a worrier and want to be sure, you can always opt for a timer instead of light sensors of course.

If you were me, I would have to go outside and make sure that your chickens are in fact going inside their chicken coop for a few days or weeks if you like.

To make sure that in fact what time they in fact inside their hutch, one and all. Then you can set the door to close after that.

Your chickens are not stupid, they will get used to what is going on, and the door closing.

After all, if you worry that all is well, just go and have a look for yourself at the beginning of dusk to have peace of mind for yourself.

And if for any reason, one or more of your chickens are still out in the run or field, just put them inside and change the timer back a little for the next night.

Until you have everything working well, automatic chicken door and chickens working together like a well-oiled machine.

Why Do You Need An Automatic Chicken Coop Door?

Yes, there are some people who might think that an automatic chicken coop door is just another unnecessary expense that they don’t need.

Are chicken coop doors automatic?

Really they would say…

What next?

Think of it this way… To ensure that your chickens are safe and also gives you more flexibility, say if you go away a lot, or maybe you are late from somewhere or even work.

These automatic doors are particularly helpful for this reason and can stop you from worrying about your feathered buddies.

Also, automatic doors are much less likely to be slammed shut by those heavy winds that you get at times. This just keeps your chickens safe really…

What To Know Before Purchasing Your Chicken Doors

There are a few important things that you do need to know or think about before you buy ahead and buy your own hen house door opener.

After all…

You don’t want to end up with something that is not going to be beneficial to you or your chickens right!

As automatic chicken doors can be a little on the expensive side, you do need to shop carefully for the door that best suits the needs of your chicken run and hen house.

You might not have known that there are manufacturers that sell just the control box (i.e. door opener) on its own.

And in fact, the door is sold separately. Or that there are the ‘all in one combination units with the control box and door altogether.

Read the advertisement carefully, you need an ‘all in one’ unit unless you are prepared to either pay a lot more or make your own door.

Look out for this when you buy.

If one unit does seem to be much cheaper than some other models – you need to ask yourself why this is?

Most all in one (i.e. combination) models are generally priced between $200-400.

Positive Features:

• adjustable timer or light sensitivity for control box
• ease of operation (fail-safe and manual override)
• wide range of operating temperatures
• wire is safely secured from rodents
• slow, gentle closure
• waterproof control unit
• customer service and warranty

Purchasing decisions you need to consider:

• type of control box
• power source for your controlbox
• opening mechanism
• weight of door

Power Sources For Automatic Chicken Doors

Control boxes on chicken coop door units can also be powered by these different sources:

• batteries
• mains electric
• solar
• combination of all three

Light Sensor Door

These clever light sensor-operated automatic chicken coop doors actually open when the sun rises and closes when the sun starts to go down.

Since these units are light-sensitive, be sure that no light will trigger off the door, so it will not open at nighttime.

You also need to think of that very bright moonlight that we sometimes get or even the motion detector light.

If you have a chicken house near to a driveway or a road that cars and their headlights at night might set off the mechanism.

You will have to place the sensor carefully on a west-facing wall to catch the morning sun depending on where you live of course…

Battery Powered Door

There are many people that just don’t have power supplies near their chicken coops, so because of this reason many control boxes now are battery-powered.

As we know battery power is a reliable source of power, where you don’t have to check anything that often, with the exception of the control box to ensure it all is functioning well.

So when you have a power outage, and with most good control boxes having a low battery indicator, so you know when you need to replace them.

See also The Ultimate Guide to Chicken Nesting Boxes

The only thing you have to worry about of course is battery life.

But you should expect to get about 6-9 months worth from 4 AA batteries.
You might think that this is relatively short-lived, it’s more than offset by the advantages of having your own automated chicken coop door.

Solar power is of course one of the best options for those chicken owners who are either off-grid or choose this over the battery-operated chicken coop doors.

And if you have lots of sun where you live, I would go for that.

It’s also great if you have your chickens running free on pasture, as it’s far away from the house or electric source.

However, if you live in an area that does not get a lot of sun, solar power can be a very good idea in areas that don’t have several days of sunshine, or in the Northern Hemisphere winter months.

Timer Based Chicken Door

So what about the timer-based option…

Some of the light sensor mechanisms are fitted with an emergency fail-safe option which is triggered by a timer-based mechanism.

So, if the chicken coop door has not been opened say by 8 AM then you need to go and open the door.

So a timer-based option, without a light sensor, is a great solution, and it is also cheaper and programmable.

There is one big advantage of using this program or override feature that this unit design has, and it is that you can vary the opening time based on the day, personal need, and even of course the seasons, when the timing of the light factor changes.

You will have to periodically adjust the program timing as the days get longer or shorter.

Opening Mechanism

The opening and closing of the coop door does have different power sources, mechanisms and programmable controls.

The mechanism can either be:

• motorized lift and close
• motorized lift and gravity close

You should always select a motorized lift and close for a well-controlled open and close of your chicken coop door.

In fact, the motorized lift and close should actually have an electric eye or positive stop to prevent any harm or injuring your chickens.

It should also have a small lip in front of the positive stop that will prevent those relentless predators from having a go and trying to slide open the chicken coop door.

Do you think they wouldn’t?

Think again!

Opening Mechanism

The opening and closing of the chicken coop door also has different:

• mechanisms
• programmable controls
• power sources

The mechanism can be either a:

• motorized lift and close
• motorized lift and gravity close

You should always select a motorized lift and close for a well-controlled open and close of the chicken coop door.

In fact, the motorized lift and close should have an electric eye or positive stop to prevent against harming or injuring your chickens.

Ideally, it should also have a small lip in front of the positive stop to prevent predators from sliding open the coop door.

What Size Door Do You Need?

This actually refers to the size of the ‘pop’ door.

This is where some units come in one standard size (12” x 15”); this is ideal for most breeds.

The largest of the chicken variety may not be able to squeeze their feathery bodies through smaller holes!

Now that would be a sight…

If you do have bigger chickens as well, an option is to use an aluminium door.

This actual aluminium chicken door will reduce the load on the motor and can reduce the weight of the door by a whole 90%.

As a typical chicken coop door can weigh around 4KG, however, an aluminium counterpart, measuring the same size, will be 0.3KG.

This is typical, yes, cheaper automatic openers will raise and lower doors of up to 1KG in weight.

If you get the more robust motors for your chicken doors, it will raise a 4KG coop door and not strain itself which is good.

You don’t want to be straining the motor and have it spluttering and jerking around as it opens, it is important to have a smooth operation of the door.

No need to be scaring your chickens so that they will not even go through the automatic chicken door installed especially for them is there…

Well, the chicken coop door automatic or whatever you want to call it, has its good points and not so good, but getting it right also requires your help.

But overall if you felt that the automatic chicken door is right for your chicken coop set up, I would be looking into what would be suitable for your own chicken coop.

There are different chicken doors for sale, all you need to do is find out which door is going to suit your corner of chicken haven.

Automatic Chicken Coop Door working