I am new to the forum, but not chickens...I currently have several pairs/trios of breeding stock of Seramas, and am building a new 10 x 12' coop. I would like to have 6 pop doors on each long side of the coop, but I'd also like to have them automatically open and close (Yes, I know, a "dreamer"!) I've seen the door opener from England, but to purchase them for 6 (12, actually) doors is out of my price range...Has anyone here had any experience with this? I've seen some videos of other openers, but none that will take care of more than one at a time...
Thanks so much for any help in advance! I've learned so much already just from reading prior posts!
Juliette
Charleston, SC
www.pixiechickens.com
Automatic Door Opener
Hello Juliette and welcome to the forum!
HAYSTACK, where are you???
Haystack has been accused of sitting on his LazyBoy with a remote control for his chicken door..
Really, I think there was a thread on this somewhere..
Juliette, this is the only thing I've been able to find, and I found it through a discussion on DG:
http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Automatic_Door_Openers.html
They are expensive, but I would only need one of them. If anyone has any other ideas I'd be glad to hear them, too!
We had someone on the forum who had developed one that was superior to the English one and was getting ready to build them for sale--but we haven't heard from her is some time. It was Mcamden.
The link from Greenhouse_gal is the same one I was referring to...I have contacted them, and it seems I might be able to open/close all six doors via one opener plus timer through the use of pulleys...This would certainly be cheaper than I had originally thought. Of course, I neglected to say that I want to do this on BOTH long sides of the coop, for health reasons...One side rotated every six months, to keep the soil fresh and clean for the chickens. It's still a whole lot of money, but this is not something my husband nor I could ever figure out on our own. So, at the moment, this still remains our best option. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm all ears!
Juliette
Charleston, SC
Juliette, couldn't you funnel the chickens out the way you want them to go with a wire tunnel? I'm probably not picturing your setup, though, so that probably wouldn't work. Our chickens spend all day outside and just use the coop for egg-laying and sleeping at night; I use a deep litter method to keep the area fairly clean. We've had two doors also, in the past, but since we no longer let the chickens in the garden in the winter we don't use the second one anymore.
Greenhouse_gal-
Well, picture this...the coop is 10' wide, 12' long. Each 12' side will be divided into 6 cages/pens with a pop door for each one, containing a rooster and his girls. NONE of the roosters, or the hens for that matter, get along with one another, a fact that does not please me. This means that they all need individual runs as well...I purchased the breeding stock from a breeder, in addition to some chicks, but the grow-ups do not like each other! My plan is to use one side for 6 months, then use the other side. A corridor, so to speak, will run down the center, with a sink at the very end. My original intention was not to buy full-grown birds, but the opportunity presented itself, and I just couldn't pass it up. Hindsight is always wonderful, isn't? It certainly would have been cheaper to have started with chicks! I started a blog to document this adventure...I will post pictures here when I get further along in the process, so everyone can see how this 6-door opener will actually work!
Juliette, what a mess! Those birds' personalities are really driving you into some complicated and expensive accommodations, aren't they? I think I'd put 'em all in my freezer and start over again. I do see how your setup is supposed to work, though. Lots of luck with it!
I checked out the thread on DG dealing with automatic door openers; here it is. Maybe you can get some inspiration from it:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/877428/
Leslie