??????Automatic Coop Door????

[CoyoteMagic]

I'm rethinking the electric fence. I'm liable to electrocute myself even though I was given wonderful directions on how to do it. I'm afraid I will 1)hit one of my waterpipes, sewer lines, or buried powerlines or 2 not be able to drive the grounding poles far enough. I live on a mountain, no such thing as unrocky ground!!

Anyone know where I can buy one in the USA or even better plans to make one???

 

[Poison Ivy]

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/catalog/2100-2107.html

They sell it and the price is about the same as the one in the uk.
I made my own door to go in it.

 

[Pelican49]

If my run is secure would I even need to shut the chickens in at night. It is so extremely hot here in the summer, I thought they might prefer sleeping outside, on roosts, in the run instead of being cooped. Is they a good/bad idea?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
CoyoteMagic, if that was you I replied to the other day about setting up an electric fence, I did not mean to scare you off of the idea

You can put the ground rods at some distance from the charger if necessary, so you can pick somewhere you *know* is far enough away from buried utilities.

Or if this is just a very small fence and you don't need too-serious predator protection you could just go with less of a ground, like a piece of rebar pushed 1' into the soil (you'd still need to stay well away from buried utilities, to avoid radio reception problems, and away from utility ground rods to avoid a small risk of giant electrocution in the event of a lightning hit to the utility line).

If your ground is way way too rocky for a ground rod, then you might consider a "positive-negative" fence, which is not *quite* as good as a normal electric fence but can still be useful against predators or to contain large livestock, and does not require a ground at all. To wire the fence this way, you string multiple wires, about 10" apart, and alternate which ones are connected to the ground vs the fence terminal of the charger. (So like if you have four wires, the odd numbered ones would go to the fence terminal and the even numbered ones would go to the ground terminal). This means that in order to get a shock the animal must touch BOTH kinds of wires SIMULTANEOUSLY (ie. touch one wire that goes to the fence terminal plus one wire that goes to the ground terminal). The fact it must touch both at once is what makes the fence slightly less effective, BUT you can be on solid rock or a foot of rubber or hovering in midair, it doesn't matter, no ground rod is needed. Does that make sense?

If you want the automatic door opener I do not think anyone except Foy's has them and I do not think any plans are available, although presumably a handy person could work something out eventually

Good luck,

Pat

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
It's a good idea *if* your run is really really predator-safe... but remember that sleeping chickens and awake predators is a tougher combination to keep apart than awake chickens and day-sleeping predators

Pat

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Quote:
This what my coop and run looked like before I added the the bigger run. The girls have access to this 10x10 run 24/7

The new run attaches to the end of the 10x10 dog kennel and the front 1/3 of the coop which has a pop-door to let the girls down into the run. The whole run is something 80ft x40ft. Takes up the about a 1/4 of my back yard.

They are very secure in the small run and coop. But I don't get home until after dark and don't want to leave them vunerable in the bigger run until I can get there to lock it back up. I have 8 girls now and planning to get a bunch more soon. The smaller run just isn't big enough for them.

 

[Poison Ivy]

I love my auto door I had to order mine through the guy in the uk. It was worth every penny. I like knowing my girls are shut in for the night since the run doesn't have wire buried along the bottom.

 

[CHICKENHEAD]

I would like to order from the guy in the us, but I dont know what all I need to make it work.

 

[Poison Ivy]

I bought the one as a package from the uk.
Here is the list of the parts. Now mine came with a door and I believe the us guy has you buy the door separate but you can make your own as long as it's not over 7lbs in weight. I used a piece of diamond plate cut to the size of my pop hole. I have a 17" x 20" opening so I had to make one to fit. I didn't use the sensor I wanted a timer so I can make sure all the girls are in before it closes and I set it to let them out at a certain time in the morning.

#2101 Doorkeeper (inside install w/ sensor)

#2102 Timer

here is the door parts I think his prices on them are way to much.

#2103 Sliding Door (9"w X 13"h)

#2104 Sliding Door (12"w X 15"h)

#2105 Sliding Door (13"w X 20"h)

#2106 Outside Light Sensor

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

I've been wanting to design an automatic door CLOSER for years. Basic idea is this: I can let the girls our in the morning, but I want to ensure they are closed up safe at night. I got home late from a party one night and a coon got my favorite girl.

One thing I'd like to do is use an actuator from a car door lock to pull a pin at night and release the door. In theory it should only take a few parts and wouldn't cost more than $50 or so. I just haven't had any time to do more than order the door lock actuators from ebay.

Any engineering / tinkering types want to work on a auto coop door closer with me?