Auto coop doors!

[Tre3hugger]

Check out "run-chicken". They are a small Scandinavian company with a great product at a VERY competitive price. I have one and love it. I also have an Ador. It is the most expensive option. The two doors work about the same. IF you live somewhere with wet cold winters though (like NY) I would recommend getting the awning to go with the door. This will prevent rain and snow freezing up the tracks.

This is the one I have had on my chicken coop for about a year now. Works great, most rugged, also most expensive. Runs on an included lantern battery which for ma lasted about 8 mionths. https://adorstore.com/products/ador1-automatic-chicken-door

This one I have had about 5 months and it works exactly the same as the Ador. It is a bit thinner and has a plastic motor housing instead of metal. It comes in a bunch of colors and runs on AA batteries. Shipping was fast and great customer service. https://www.run-chicken.com/about-model-t50

This is the awning I have over both to keep tracks dry/clear. (probs not necessary in a well covered run) https://adorstore.com/products/overhang-canopy-for-ador

 

[Driley62]

Check out "run-chicken". They are a small Scandinavian company with a great product at a VERY competitive price. I have one and love it. I also have an Ador. It is the most expensive option. The two doors work about the same. IF you live somewhere with wet cold winters though (like NY) I would recommend getting the awning to go with the door. This will prevent rain and snow freezing up the tracks.

This is the one I have had on my chicken coop for about a year now. Works great, most rugged, also most expensive. Runs on an included lantern battery which for ma lasted about 8 mionths. https://adorstore.com/products/ador1-automatic-chicken-door

This one I have had about 5 months and it works exactly the same as the Ador. It is a bit thinner and has a plastic motor housing instead of metal. It comes in a bunch of colors and runs on AA batteries. Shipping was fast and great customer service. https://www.run-chicken.com/about-model-t50

This is the awning I have over both to keep tracks dry/clear. (probs not necessary in a well covered run) https://adorstore.com/products/overhang-canopy-for-ador

Funny you mention the run chicken one. I had seen it and noticed the price. I liked the price be was concerned about quality. Now it for sure is at the top of my list because of price point.

 

[Driley62]

Check out "run-chicken". They are a small Scandinavian company with a great product at a VERY competitive price. I have one and love it. I also have an Ador. It is the most expensive option. The two doors work about the same. IF you live somewhere with wet cold winters though (like NY) I would recommend getting the awning to go with the door. This will prevent rain and snow freezing up the tracks.

This is the one I have had on my chicken coop for about a year now. Works great, most rugged, also most expensive. Runs on an included lantern battery which for ma lasted about 8 mionths. https://adorstore.com/products/ador1-automatic-chicken-door

This one I have had about 5 months and it works exactly the same as the Ador. It is a bit thinner and has a plastic motor housing instead of metal. It comes in a bunch of colors and runs on AA batteries. Shipping was fast and great customer service. https://www.run-chicken.com/about-model-t50

This is the awning I have over both to keep tracks dry/clear. (probs not necessary in a well covered run) https://adorstore.com/products/overhang-canopy-for-ador

Looking at the description, it's 9.4 inches wide and 13 inches tall? The last dimension has me kind of confused. How's the quality of the door? I'm the kind of person that usually doesn't purchase online because I can't see it in person to pick it up and see/feel quality lol

 

[Tre3hugger]

So far the quality is good. Shows basically no signs of wear. It is protected by the awning. The selling point on run-chicken for me was it has the locking sprocket motor driven door. So it locks closed, thwarting the prying fingers of raccoons and other night predators. That is a feature I only recall seeing elsewhere on the vastly more expensive ador, The main differences I can see is the battery type and the Ador is stainless steel. The run-chicken is aluminum sandwiched in hard plastic I believe.

 

[gtaus]

I do not have power ran to the coop nor do I think I can bury wire to run electrical to it with the amount of bedrock on my property.

FWIW, I live in northern Minnesota and in the winter time I just run a 100 foot outdoor extension cord on top of the ground out to the coop for the water heater. Of course, the extension cord will get buried under the snow, but it does not matter. My outdoor outlet is a GFCI outlet, so it should trip the breaker before anyone has a chance to get shocked. So far, 2 winters with an extension cord, under the snow, out to the coop for the water heater and no problems. It works for me.

I would think that if you could dig a shallow trench of maybe a couple inches, you could lay underground wire and/or electrical conduit out to the coop. Make it easy to dig up if it does not work for you. I'm not an electrician, so you can take my suggestion(s) with a grain of salt.

As to an automatic door, I too have considered that. However, in the winter, I have to often chip off ice and use a shovel or pick to break the pop door free from the rails. So I would first have to build some kind of awning or enclosure to protect the door from freezing rains. For the moment, I don't mind going out to the coop twice a day to open and close the pop door because I also take that time to check their food and water and general health. But there are advantages to an automatic door that would be nice.

Hope you find a solution that works for you.

 

[australorpia]

To people with the Ador door... Did you get a stainless steel or galvanized version? I just received mine and it's galvanized. The description says it's galvanized now, but the picture shows it to look stainless steel, which I was hoping it to be. I know galvanized can last a long time, but stainless lasts longer, especially when outdoors.