[GerryOB]

I know it might sound a bit of a strange question, but does anyone know where I can purchase one of the metal pop hole closing handles please?  I'm after the type that hinges so that the handle doesn't stick out and whack you in the knee cap.  We spent ages looking for the coop we wanted, which was similar to the cheap chinese ones on ebay, but built in the UK to much higher standards and also much bigger, so more room for our girls.  Only thing it doesn't have is the pop hole closing handle, which being disabled I feel would be a big help to me, meaning I won't have to get in there to open and close it manually.  Someone must make them somewhere.  Otherwise it's going to be a wire coat hanger job or something that will be left sticking out for me to bash into.  Many thanks in advance!

[joyfull]

failing that why not get somebody to drill a hole in the sliding door and attach a chain that you can pull. The chain would hang down when not in use 

[ehs284]

An amendment to joyful's:
Not sure how your disability affects you or from where you want to open the door, but this idea should cover most problems. Fit a cheap plastic pulley above the door and another to one side. Drill hole in top of door and attach cord. Feed cord through pulleys so it now hangs down at side. Fasten loose end to neck of a plastic pop bottle. Close door. Screw a piece of wood under bottle so bottle stands on this 'shelf' when door is closed. Put enough water in bottle for door to be opened when you lift bottle off shelf (so it hangs to one side). If you're worried about the door getting opened accidentally at night, then put less water in, so door automatically shuts, and put a loop in the cord to hold it open.
The second pulley can be on the coop, with the bottle hanging down at the side of the door, or to the side, or even some distance away so you could have a fence around the coop and operate the pop hole without going inside. Should cost £5ish. HTH

[GerryOB]

Thanks joyful.  I did toy with the idea of an eyelett either side of the pop hole door, with a piece of string, one threaded so I can pull it one way to open it and another threaded the other way so I could close it.  Would have to find a way of securing it so I didn't have to forrage around for the other end of the string that will close it though.  Maybe having an eyelett at the back for the 'close' string to go through, then feeding it back through more towards the front of the coop, and tying the ends together or just use one long piece of string.  Don't want to risk it being too long so the poor chooks get caught up in it though.  I just thought the handle would be less faffing about.  I suppose I could find a UK coop maker on ebay and ask if they would just sell me a handle.

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Gerry, from your description, does your pop hole open outwards and down?  Joy's idea is if the pophole slides up and down.  can you put a photo on of your coop and pophole?  Does it look the same as the chinese ones where the coop is inside the covered run?

whereabouts are you in the world?

[GerryOB]

Thank you ehs...another good idea there.  Not sure I am 100% understanding of it, but get the basic idea and will get hubby to have a look at your suggestion.  I know it would be easier to get him to do the opening & closing, but even he would still have to open the main door to open and close the pop hole, and he leaves for work early, so likely to be down to me anyway, especially if he forgot.

Grannie Annie - I'm in Surrey UK.  Not sure how to put pics up on here, so will try to describe my coop.  It's 9.3ft long, by about 3ft deep and about 4ft high.  Going from the left as you look at it, you have the double nest box on the side, then the roosting house with a little door and the pull out dropping tray below and that is all raised above another run area.  Then continuing to the rightare three further bays/panels covered in wire mesh that form the run.  It's similar to the popular (but not very good quality so I'm told) chinese imports, but UK made and much bigger with an onduline roof.  I will be making a few changes such as sanding down the top edges of the perches, as they are square and I understand they need to be rounded off.  It doesn't have the plastic tray in the pull out droppings draw either, so will see how it goes covered in newspaper.  If not, I may put some lino tiles on it to help with cleaning (although not sure if this attracts red mite?).  The pop hole is in the usual place, on the side of the roosting house, with the ramp (no roofing felt) leading down into the run.  Usually you see on the cheap imports, the pop hole door has a metal handle so that it can be opened and closed from outside the run, but mine doesn't have that.  It was the only major drawback but I felt the other benefits outweighed this and that somehow I'd make a way of being able to open and close from outside without need to open the run door.

It's bending down (in this instance) that I find difficult, so bending down and reaching in, would likely end up with me flat on my face in a pile of chicken poo 

Many thanks for the helpful suggestions.