Automatic Chicken House Door
Well, a couple of weeks ago I decided that we needed to bite the bullet and come up with an automatic chicken door opener and closer. Truth be told, this "need" is just an indicator of some greater problems in our family priorities. Namely, that we are away from home far too often and we haven't developed those reciprocal relationships with our neighbors where we're comfortable asking them to help with farm chores when we are away.I wanted the door to be completely automatic and pretty dependable. To me, that meant that it should be controlled by a timer. There are some really nice solutions out there, but they are a bit pricey for my budget.
A friend helped me come up with an approach using an old garage door opener, limit-switches, and a few other odds and ends. He even gave me the garage door opener. Then I ran across a post on a chicken forum from a guy who had used a retro-fit automatic drapery opener and closer. It was simple, a lot less bulky and dangerous, probably more reliable, and not a whole lot more expensive.
Anyhow, I ordered mine from SmartHome.com at a time when they were having a pretty decent sale. It took a couple of hours from start to finish for Kyle and I to build, install and debug. We did encounter one problem however. The motor comes with a child safety switch that didn't work and effectively rendered the motor inoperable. We ended up taking the motor apart and soldering a jumper in place to defeat the child-safety feature. Also, in the process of testing and adjusting the limit switches built into the motor we noticed that the door was slipping down a little each time. This was easily fixed by adding the counterweight shown - several heavy steel brackets - that approximated the weight of the plywood door.
It has been two weeks now and the door has worked flawlessly. Considering the predator problems we have had, the peace of mind this gadget provides is well worth the expense to us. Now we just need to find a neighbor who is willing to share the benefit and responsibilities of a milk cow.
Keith
posted by The Bradshaws at 7:50 PM
7 Comments:
Wow, that is a great idea!!!!!
I'm not mechanically inclined in the least, so I was wondering if you ever have to worry about squashing a chicken when the door goes down? It sure looks like a nifty idea!
Lynn,
No need to worry about squashing a chicken. The door goes down pretty slow and isn't really all that heavy. BTW, your reaction is pretty typical. I've gotten this same question from at least 3 or 4 other folks.
Keith
Ha! This is brilliant, Keith! I'm just wondering what times you have it set for, and what happens if there's a rebel in the flock who isn't in at bedtime? (I'm just thinking of my own chickens and guineas, some of whom have a disobedient streak.) So far, thankfully, we have had zero predator issues, astounding in rural NH.
Emily,
I have it to close just after dark - about 8:15 now and about 30 minutes after daylight - about 6:00 am. Of course, I'll have to change this every now and then to keep up with the shortening and lengthing of the days.
Keith
I am trying to research the automatic chicken door thing as the only ones I can find for sale are in the UK and quite expensive. Is there any chance you might share a plan for your chicken door with us? I'm not quite electric or motor savvy, but if I had a pile of parts in front of me I could probably put something together. You did a great job building yours.
At the moment I don't have any chickens, but the cement pad for a new tool shed (aka hen house) is being poured this week. I expect to have the shed finished in time for spring chicks.
Thanks for any advice. I enjoyed your story.
I hope that you have read the next post. Please do not duplicate this design. It was severely flawed.
Keith
Post a Comment
<< Home