Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener

This automatic chicken coop door opener is one of the best additions we have added to our chicken coop so far!

It makes caring for our free-range chickens that much easier. It’s a simple way to keep them safe at night and let them out first thing in the morning so they can run free as soon as possible! It’s one of those things I kinda wished we got sooner and here is why…

First, I think I should give y’all a little background on our chicken situation here on the homestead: We have 17 chickens, all of which are hens. No rooster. They are 9 months old now. We have a chicken coop under a large oak tree on 4 acres of land. Before we purchased our automatic chicken door opener kit, we were opening the front door to the chicken coop every morning and closing it at night. Our chickens were not fenced in during the day. They free ranged all day and then put themselves to bed in their coop at dusk.

However, if we weren’t home we wouldn’t be able to open the door and the chickens would be confined to the coop all day. With the automatic chicken coop door opener, we can let our girls free range during the day and be safe at night, even when we’re out of town!

Why get an automatic chicken coop door opener?

For starters, if you are anything like me, you forget things. I realize last minute before I go to bed that I forgot to shut the chicken coop door! By the time I realize this, three or four hours have already gone by and our chickens have been roosting in the coop in the dark WITH THE DOOR OPEN!

Why do I do this? I ask myself. Is it really that hard to simply walk over and shut a door?

Here’s the issue. We live in a relatively rural area. As soon as dusk approaches, it is not long before stray cats, slinky foxes, cunning coyotes, and many other critters are snooping around the backyard. I know they are there because I’ve seen them first hand, we catch them photo bombing our game cam, and we also find little “surprises” of poop, hair, or other things laying around. The fact is, there are many predators that would love to get their paws or claws on some unsuspecting chickens!

You worked hard to raise your chickens | Keep them safe

For those of you who have had the experience of raising your chickens from little “hatchlings” to full-grown egg layers, you know the hard work you put into your chickens should not go to waste.

Sure hatching or buying some little chicks from your local farm, online, or tractor supply may not have been too expensive. But we all know there is much more to chicken care than the initial purchase. It takes some TLC to make sure your chickens grow to be healthy and strong. The joy and fresh eggs they provide us, later on, are well worth the effort.

Having an automatic chicken coop door opener can give you a little more piece of mind just knowing your chickens are safer.

Installation | Easier than you think

We ended up selecting the “Chicken Guard Extreme Automatic Chicken Coop Pop Door Opener and Door Kit Combo” on Amazon. The reviews for this product were great and we are very happy with it so far! It’s a pretty big investment but after reading lots of reviews, you definitely get what you pay for with the Chicken Guard. It gives us a piece of mind that our girls are able to not be cooped up during the day and can be secure in their coop at night when they are the most vulnerable.

4 Tips for installing your automatic chicken coop door opener:

Tip 1: Frame your doorway the right way

Jeff made sure to pick out a convenient spot to frame the chicken door. We needed it in a place where we could easily get to it if it ever needed to be worked on. We also wanted an easy place for the chickens to go in and out of the door during the day.

Jeff treated all of the wood pieces he used for the framing and the included wood runners with a wood sealer. This was not mentioned in the kit instructions but he did it to prevent the wood from being damaged by the elements.

He used a level to make sure the runners were square and parallel to each other. This is essential so the door will open and close smoothly. He also installed an extra piece of wood on the bottom end of the door to protect it from rock obstructions and also to keep predators from being able to slide the door open.

Tip 2: Test your door to ensure a proper fit

The kit provides a pair of grooved runners so the metal door will slide inside them. Before you install your door opener/timer device, give your door a test slide up and down these runners to make sure the door moves freely. Your door is now ready to be connected to the opener.

Tip 3: Your automatic door opener/timer device

There is a string that connects your metal door to the door opener. Make sure it’s tied securely. Install your door opener/timer directly above your door so that nothing will block the string that connects the door to your timer. Make sure your sting is in a vertical straight line. You can also use pulleys if you decide to install the opener in a different location. Doing so could put additional stress on the small motor so be careful if you decide to go that route.

Tip 4: Choose the best program settings for your chickens

Not all chickens behave the same. You are going to know the best time for your automatic chicken coop door to open and close. Some chickens are up at the crack of dawn just squirming to get out of their coop so they can free-range. Some chickens go immediately to their coop as soon as the sun starts to go down. Others will wait for you to come and greet them. It all depends on you and your chickens.

You can set your door to open and close manually, by timer, or by the light sensor. The settings and door calibration are very simple to set since the opener walks you through a setup wizard. We have our timer set so our door closes just after sunset and opens at sunrise. It has worked perfectly for us.

For our particular automatic chicken door opener kit, the timer requires 4 AA batteries which were included in the kit. It says the battery life should last about 6 months.

YouTube Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Installation Video

Check out our YouTube video below and watch Jeff install this automatic chicken coop door opener. We plan on providing more details on the design and other safety features of our chicken coop in the near future so stay tuned!

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What is it really like to take care of chickens?

How about you?

Do you have any experience or advice about how to keep your chickens safe from predators? Leave a comment below!