[happychick]

I'm thinking of getting a light activated pop hole opener/closer.
As they are so expensive i wondered how good and how reliable they are. When I go out for the evening I really fret that my chickens will be eaten by Mr. fox and can't relax until I'm back home and I've closed the coop.
I dont want to put them away early on light evenings so wondered if that was the solution. What do you think?

[treacleminer]

I've had the same one for the last 5 years, have changed the battery twice in that time.  It has been really useful, with advantages such as not feeling guilty if you are not up at the crack of dawn to let the chooks out, and if you are away in the summer, whoever is looking after the chooks for you doesn't have to come round at about 10.00pm to persuade them its bedtime!

[bellagirl]

Yep ! They are great, Worth every penny.
1 Have a relaxing lie in without feeling guilty
2 No getting wet and cold going out to open and close early and late or in the dark, looking for the torch.
3 No worries about getting home if your enjoying a night out or in.
4 Relaxed hens and happy owners
5 Start eating pellets earlier than they would if they had to wait for us.
6 Late for work. chickens are already out so no worries for you.
They also give plenty of time for the hens to go to bed so dont worry about them being locked out.
We did help them by putting up a light in coop for a for nights. But now after a few weeks we are reaping the benefits. [ our coop does join a large run ] But free range in the afternoon. 
Hope this helps.

[Nickchick]

Hi Happychick

We fitted one last Saturday and I must say that it is fantastic .  We used to say that Sky Plus was the best thing since sliced bread but this really takes the biscuit.

Nichola x

[Elcie]

I moved my chickens to the allotment last weekend with their new friends and we fitted an automatic pop hole opener.  Expensive = yes, worth it = definitely.

[Nikkithefoot]

Mine girls' pop hole opens horizontally, can it be fitted with an automatic opener or do I need to redesign the door?

[happychick]

Thanks thats really useful to know and I was worried it might lock them out too early but you've put my mind at rest.
Will definetely get one. Does anyone know which is the best one to buy or are they all pretty similar?

[Flowerpower136]

Huge fan, couldn't do without.

However, we do occasionally get the odd one shut out!  To start with, you will have to watch for this, and adjust the light sensitiivty of the thing to match their natural bedtime.

Mine play 'chicken' with ours  Loitering on the ramp till the very last minute, then limbo under as it comes down. Tut.   As I said though, occasionally they don't make it in time and have to camp out on the ramp till I do my rounds.  So they're not absolutely foolproof, but not far off.

[lucylou]

nikkithefoot - pop hole openers only work on drop down doors or those that drop down at an angle(such as on the forsham arks) -if you contact wells poultry the lady there can email you a diagram of the different ways of fitting one, she is really helpful - you can buy a door kit that shouldnt be too difficult to fit onto your existing pop hole and i dont think they are vexpensive,  lucyloux.

[mollski]

WERE can i get 1 please?

[Elcie]

WERE can i get 1 please?

I got mine from Wells Poultry and bought the metal door and runners too which has worked perfectly - well for the week it has been fitted anyway!

[Nikkithefoot]

nikkithefoot - pop hole openers only work on drop down doors or those that drop down at an angle(such as on the forsham arks) -if you contact wells poultry the lady there can email you a diagram of the different ways of fitting one, she is really helpful - you can buy a door kit that shouldnt be too difficult to fit onto your existing pop hole and i dont think they are vexpensive,  lucyloux.

thanks lucyloux I'll certainly look into this

[hillfooter]

Yep ! They are great, Worth every penny.
1 Have a relaxing lie in without feeling guilty
2 No getting wet and cold going out to open and close early and late or in the dark, looking for the torch.
3 No worries about getting home if your enjoying a night out or in.
4 Relaxed hens and happy owners
5 Start eating pellets earlier than they would if they had to wait for us.
6 Late for work. chickens are already out so no worries for you.
They also give plenty of time for the hens to go to bed so dont worry about them being locked out.
We did help them by putting up a light in coop for a for nights. But now after a few weeks we are reaping the benefits. [ our coop does join a large run ] But free range in the afternoon. 
Hope this helps.

You missed maximising the daylight they get so they lay more reliably in winter too.  If you are at all practical and know a little about electronics you can make your own for a fraction of the bought cost.
The timer is a useful addition if you want to keep them in a little longer in a morning but is relatively pricey.
HF

[Squibbs]

Mine girls' pop hole opens horizontally, can it be fitted with an automatic opener or do I need to redesign the door?

The opener relies on gravity to close the pop hole - so you will have to do what I did and modify the door to open vertically. You can have it slide up and down or open like a trap.

Depending on where you get it from you may get the unintelligible instruction manual, if that's the case a couple of the resellers have a more understandable instructions.