![]() ![]() I often go out for supper at 6:30 and back around 8. They're not out until I get up in the morning AND the sun has fully risen. I adjust the time about once a month or so to accommodate light changes. I have to set the clock twice a year for daylight savings. I even expanded my coop and moved the door from the old to the new and it was a piece of cake. I have a very long outdoor extension cord ran to the timer. ![]() I've been using the "automatic chicken coop door" for 3 years. This should contain racoons and possums as well. We had a neighbor dog who did and he ran 1/4 mile before stopping. The fence is the main barrier, I have seen tons of fox tracks in the snow and they don't challenge the fence at this point. One charge indicator for all the stuff would be nice. We find out its dead because the door remains closed (seems to end up that way since the weight of the door is enough to make it slightly easier to close than open). The battery indicator is tiny and inconspicuous. There are 6v fences and 6v lights and 6v water heaters, but I should have standardized on one or the other and had one battery. Everything else is 12v especially the fence. I have ten ways of charging a 12v battery. I have to change the battery about every 6 months and don't have a 6v charger. When I am moving their paddock they stay out and watch but have never missed the train.ġ2V door not 6V. They are generally in the coop more than 30 minutes before it closes. It closes in winter when its about the end of legal hunting (for those who know the light level Im talking about). We have never had one miss the closing even with the door on that side. ![]() I like the opening time and it could even be earlier. They like to forage in the early morning for bugs, especially in the heat. The door opens pretty early and they are ready to come out immediately. ![]() the water collection roof has the low side on the SW. I always have the mobile coop door facing the southeast, with the feeder on the NE away from prevailing wind. I didnt know anything about chickens and just made a makeshift little coop with a few roosting bars and some nest boxes.Īfter using the Ador for two years, I think I can generalize a little. They do an awesome job of clearing my garden area and I can just rotate the net to let them clean up each area before I plant again. The beauty of the electric net is that my coop stays in one spot and I move the net every few weeks. You could add a solar charger for less than 100 dollars and it would be maintenance free. I had a battery and set it up to run off the battery that I charge every other week. I dont want to advertise, but premier 1 has the net fence and a Energizer for less than 300 bucks. The electric net fence is worth its weight in gold. The other 4 give me 5 a week as reward for putting up with them. Two of them are 5 years old and still give me 3 eggs a week. I had no interest in chickens, but they have made me love them. My chickens are rescues that were housed in awful conditions and not treated well. In the last three months I have 4 pics of the fox (possibly at least 2 different ones) just looking at my chickens and not testing the fence again. I have an electric net fence surrounding my run and have caught 3 pics of fox testing that fence. The trees I am watching line my chicken run. I have caught pics at all times of day and nearly everyday of a fox wandering through my yard. I have a trail camera setup to see what deer are eating all my trees instead of walking their normal trail in the woods( where I planted food plots for them). Some reviews of the light sensors say that in cloudy weather the chicken may be locked out. Gravity led chicken doors (the cheaper ones) seem to be a problem in areas with raccoons, as they learn how to open the door. The timer can be a problem as the chicken may be outside when it closes in summer… the fox has a party! Needs adjustments to the amount of chicken, but seems to work quite well according to the article.Īutomatic doors with light sensors or timers:ĭifferent models exist, some with timers, others with light sensors. The drawing is needed to understand the concept: As soon as the chicken all sit on the roost, their weight puts down the door. Made public by a contest of mother earth news So if a chicken is on it, no problem, but as soon as the fox makes a contact PAF! I was thinking to electrify 1 step from 2, and the others are grounded. Forgetting to close the chicken door, or having to work late one day, and the fox sneaks into the coop: all chicken dead.įly-in door: an opening for the chicken is placed 2 m above the ground, chickens fly in, the fox don’t.Ī variant to this is made by using ladder steps on poles, so the chicken can climb up instead of flying all the way. ![]()
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