The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Daisys Mum on June 26, 2010, 08:19:05 pm
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I am not a night person so would like to buy an automatic door closer for the chook house as there are always a few dirty stop outs who just wont go to bed till late. Does anyone have one that they would recommend and how much does one cost?
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I have a fab one, doesn't cost much either ......my hubby ;D, I certainly couldn't wait up for the chooks to go to bed either. Good luck in finding one, will be interesting to see what the replies says as they do sound great especially for the summer nights :wave:
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Here's one I found, it's not exactly the cheapest of contraptions (which is why I don't own one yet lol!) http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Auto_Chicken_House_Door_Opener.html (http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Auto_Chicken_House_Door_Opener.html)
Hubby's definately a better option ;D ;D ;D
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The door closer mentioned above is exactly the one we got - yes it seems a bit pricey at first but it is worth its weight in gold as far as I am concerned. It was very easy to install and we haven't looked back :)
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Do agree hubby is the best option and does it most nights when he is at home, unfortunately he works away and is gone for 4 weeks at a time.
Had a look at the door closer mentioed and it looks great, just have to save up now.
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Just be a little bit wary that not all of your chooks may go into the coop in time and get shut outside. That happened to a friends of mine and Mr Fox got the late nighter - their dogs heard something and were let out but the fox had killed the chicken but didn't get it away with him.
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That seems awfully expensive. As the 'hubby' of the family it seems that the duty in question will fall to me for a while yet. :)
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mine fart about from 9pm to 20 past then wander in! suits us as we are still up being eldest and i so one of us is around to lock them up
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spikey_fridge some of mine are still farting about at 10.30 and get quite stroppy if asked to go to bed then (just like teenagers then) ;D ;D ;D
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My OAP hens go to bed at 8.30 - it's the ducks that are the dirty stop outs!!
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We got a VSBbi Automatic Door Opener from Wells Poultry Housing & Equipment.
Cost £183.14!! but that included an aluminium pop-hole door and runners as well as the timer, pulley unit and light sensor. I think that still works out more expensive that the website mentioned previously on this thread.
The fitting instructions were not that user friendly but we managed OK and set it up yesterday. We have it on a timer but there is a light sensor option aswell.
Went out to check at about 10.45pm last night and two chickens were asleep in the grass (that's NEVER happened before!) and the door was wide open. I think we didn't set the timer right so we reset it and then it worked fine.
Came out this morning to find the door had opened as expected. Have checked timer today and it is definitely keeping correct time so I think I had just set it wrong yesterday.
I think the chickens will take a little time to get used to it. They usually go in by 10.30pm so we have it set to 10.45.
Hubby complained a bit about the expense but within minutes of fitting it he was making plans to be away on Tuesday night (I'm away all week with work) - so the thing had better work right between now and then and the chooks I hope will get used to it quickly.
I think it is going to be a worthwhile investment but I don't quite trust it yet.
Susanna
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i have to say as much as i love chucks i dont think its worth dipping into your pocket
for your last pound to spend on things like a door closer.
you can spend a lot on these little creatures with regards to mite powder, verm-x etc.
im not saying these powders and wormers arent important because they are as we use them ourselves.
but as for gadgets i dont think so.
to me smallholding is about beating that trend to spend spend and doing things that we ourselves are capable
of doing e.g building things around the place that mayhave cost quite abit in shops etc.
hope i havent offended anyone in explaining as to what i believe the good life is all about ;D
langdon :pig: :cat: :chook: :dog: :goat:
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Sorry Langden but I can't make an automatic door closer I must have missed that eposide of Blue Peter and I am fresh out of sticky backed plastic so will have to dip into the chicken fund. They do actually earn quite a bit from the sale of their eggs and after all it would be for their benefit as I work most weekends not getting home till midnight sometimes.
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I think you are right Langdon in making things to save money where you can, but on the other hand if simple devices can be used to make small holding easier, then why not? :P
I can see you now, milking your dairy cows by hand, churning butter and making cheese with a cheesecloth! ;) And imagine Mrs Langdons face when you tell her that rather than spending on the washing machines, she can go down to the river to pound your clothes with some stones ;D
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I think you are right Langdon in making things to save money where you can, but on the other hand if simple devices can be used to make small holding easier, then why not? :P
I can see you now, milking your dairy cows by hand, churning butter and making cheese with a cheesecloth! ;) And imagine Mrs Langdons face when you tell her that rather than spending on the washing machines, she can go down to the river to pound your clothes with some stones ;D
;D ;D ;D ;D I think her reaction would be very like mine! (Stick it where?)
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I bought one for about £120, it doesnt have the timer but does have the light sensor.
It does close the door at a reasonable light in the evening after adjusting the sensor and I have never found any of ours still out when I finally get round to going down in the evening and double checking and closing the run door. I have also checked it when its really cloudy and it doesnt shut them out.
Best money I ever spent, there is nothing worse than getting caught out in the evening somewhere and knowing your chicken are not safe and away. Dont think of as much as the primary system of locking them in - just a great secondary failsafe, if, for whatever reason you forget or cant make it.
They are very expensive for what appears not very much high tech electronics, but it does have some clever bits in there to automatically stop the gate if it gets stuck, resets and retrys again without burning the motor out, stops automatically at the top and the bottom and the battery last for years.
Plus they are easy to fit, just get a jigsaw, a drill and a screwdriver.
I did think about making some lever device that would only operate the door if all the choock were sat on it - but then I realised it wasnt the great egg race and I was no Professor Heinz Wolff ;)
Ta
Baz
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I agree with Langdon that I get a HUGE amount satisfaction and positive creative energy in making and fixing stuff myself..... especially if it involves scavenged pallets - but I have heard SO many chicken keepers say that an automatic door was the best investment they ever made - so we decided to get one.
We are very lucky in that our little enterprise doesn't necessarily have to pay for itself although I do sell some eggs if we have a surplus and they are not difficult to shift!!
Hubby is away now for 24hrs so fingers crossed everything will be OK when he gets back.
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