[tamnwill]

 :blink: Anyone had any experiences with these doors please? I've seen them advertised for between 100-170 pounds, either on timer or opens/closes according to daylight. Any ideas on where to get a cheaper one than stated above? thanks "o) We are away for a week in the Summer and my girls like being free range but always take themselves to bed about 7ish, so thought this was a possible option!

[hillfooter]

They are reputed to work well though you need a suitable pophole door which closes and opens vertically like a trapdoor.  Also they need to be not too heavy and you can buy a light galvanised replacement door if yours is too heavy or doesn't fall smoothly.

Unless your chx roost at dusk promptly the timer might be a good addition as I guess it's possible to set the closing after dusk to allow in the stragglers.

I have looked and have never seen any cheaper alternatives and secondhand ones are like hens teeth and well sought after on ebay.  The supply of cheaper ones is made worse and the prices held up by the agents operating buy back schemes too.  

However if you are practical and know about electronics you can design and build your own.  Using a dc motor with gearbox as the commercial one has, is more difficult as automatic stops need to be designed in using micro switches as limit detectors.  Alternatively you can use an electric car aerial as an actuator run off a 12V battery.  This has all the limit switches built in and usually is protected against it stalling due to a jammed door for example.  It is also a convenient solution if you also use an electric net as you can share the power supply/ battery.  You will need to arrange the mechanics so that the aerial travel is accommodated  (I use the roof ridge space).  Most aerials have too much travel to be used directly being typically 700mm to 1metre.   The best solution I've found is too to use a simple pulley arrangement.  A double pulley reduces the travel at the door to a half and a triple (block and tackle ) type arrangement reduces it to a third.  A pulley system also reduces the force needed to raise the door by factors of 2 or three in these examples so it can lift much heavier loads than the wimpy motor used on the commercial unit.  You should attach the cord to the end of the aerial solidly anchor the aerial (in the roof space for example) and run the cord over the pulleys the lower one of which attaches to the door. and the upper one which is mounted on the house directely above the lower one so a straight pull is exerted.  (If anyone is interested ask and I might be moved to post a photo of the pulley system)

You can then either design a simple light sensitive switch to operate it or use a timer though 12v ones are expensive.  

If electronic design is beyond you the simplest solution if you have a closeby power socket is to use a mains power socket timer powering a 12Vdc plug top psu (with about 2A to 3A capacity depending on your aerial) and drive the motor directly.  No need for a light sensor.  You can run 12V using a scrap length of old twin and earth mains cable (double up the earth and neutral to help keep the resistance down) to produce a twin wire cable.  If you can't source a powerful enough 12V plug top supply but have a 12V battery to drive an electric fence you can use the battery to power the aerial motor and a lower power plug top 12V supply to drive the Up/down signal to the motor which is usually only about 40ma.  

There's endless variations so that if you use an electric fence, the control circuit also switches the energiser on when the doors open and off when it's closed to save battery power between charges.

The parts to build your own shouldn't cost much more than £40 depending if you can source secondhand parts.  

With all things electric if you use mains power outside make sure that it is properly installed and has the required earth leakage protection and is safe. 12V is safe to run outdoors with a fuse protecting against over current.
HF

[Flowerpower136]

They are marvelous.  I got mine from Flytes.  Also got the metal door as was in the process of building the coop, so saved me making one.  Think it might be adviseable as a heavier door will use up batteries.

Our unit is a light sensitive one, and you can adjust the sensitivity to fit in with your chooks habbits.  To start with our kept shutting out a few stragglers.  Kept finding them camped out on the ramp, which is obviously not good at all.

Apart from that, works like a dream.  Highly recommended, and wouldn't be without it.

[pandora]

I have them on each of my houses - they are brilliant. I just have the standard one from Flytes with the light sensor, and don't have the problem of chickens being locked out. I work odd hours, and although my houses are enclosed within a well fenced chicken paddock I wouldn't put it past our local fox to get in one evening if I was late back. The doors are very good for peace of mind.

[taximan]

£40.00 for the parts and then you have to somehow build it just pay the £120.00 on flea bay they are well worth it.

[hillfooter]

£40.00 for the parts and then you have to somehow build it just pay the £120.00 on flea bay they are well worth it.

Well Tamnwill wasn't asking for a testamonial she was asking for cheaper options and for minimal technical knowledge you can make one which works well.  I hadn't costed the simplest option but here it is if you can master the rocket science required to build it.
All parts are available on ebay and include postage and I haven't done any indepth research to find cheaper options.

7 day Mains timer (mechanical)   £4.25
12V plug top ac/dc adapter         £3.10
Aerial                                          £18.00
Washing pulley set                     £ 4.00
Crock clips to attach to battery   £ 1.70

Total                                            £31.05

plus some scrap twin and earth wire and if you want to make a neat job so the antenna runs in a tube rather than being exposed add £2.25 or so for a 2 metre 1 & 1/4 inch waste pipe from Homebase.  A few woodscrews and small bits of wood to mount the aerial and a 3m length of low stretch cord, an eyelet to tie the cord to the door and you're away.  You have yourself a mains powered door opener and closer which operates off a timer.

The most expensive item is a brand new replacement aerial.  You need to source one that has a slipping clutch and a limit switch and is ideally 900 - 1000mm travel,  and is of the three wire modern type with +12V , 0V and up/down signal wires.  You can use ones which have a 700mm travel but you need to use a double pulley system rather than a triple one.  There are older aerial types still sold, sometimes called switch operated, which need a DPDT relay to drive.  Simple to do but adds about £4 and requires a bit more knowledge.  You can get scrap aerials for just a few pounds for even lower cost.  I bought a 40 year old brand new old stock Philips one on ebay for about £8 which was perfectly fine for the job but you need to know what you are doing and can at least use a meter.

Even if you buy the commercial one you need to mount it and maybe relace the door so some practical work is needed.  Building your own is cheap and fun and a whole lot more rewarding than handing out your hard earned cash for a commercial one. I've built 4 for under £100 using a common control unit all powered off a 12V battery I use for the electric nets.  I charge the battery continuously.  To do this with the comercial one would have cost inexcess of £500 so that's good sense if you are at all practical.

The photos show the door motor mechanism mounted on a Forsham Lenham.  The pulley system is a three cord "block and tackle" arrangement converting the 1 metre antenna movement to 333mm movement of the door and reducing the pull load to 1/3rd so it easily copes wth the rather heavy door.  The motor used here is a Philips 40year old aerial picked up for around £8.

HF

[hillfooter]

Oh and if you are wondering how I know if the door is open or shut once I fit the porch/run, Polly the parrot flies off the roof when it's open or perches on it when it's closed!!   Here he is flying!
HF

[tamnwill]

What an amazing buch of people you all are............i loved the pix  couldn't stop laughing, especially the floating parrot! if only the government has such dynamic minds eh! Thanks to you all 

[cheriton]

Hillfooter the floating parrot is ingenious but so funny lol  but on a more serious note I will put idea to OH to see if he can put his skills to good use.

[hillfooter]

A few months ago I posted this photo of my first flock of Sussex and some sharp eyed individual spotted the tiny flying cock over the house and asked what it was.  Well Polly the Parrot is the latest version of this door up flag.  It's more practical to use a bicycle reflector so that shining a torch up the garden on a dark cold rainy winter evening you can tell if the door is shut.  Arrange it so when it's down it's elipsed so doesn't reflect the light.

HF