Automatic Chicken Coop Door - Battery Powered Electric Kit with Auto Timer Opener and Solar Operated Sensor - Poultry Guard Essentials for Your Home Chicken Run

I really hesitated on this purchase because it was (in my books) quite a substantial investment. I did a lot of research and decided to purchase it for my new coop and I haven’t regretted it for a second. I went out every evening for two full weeks to watch it close on time and it has never failed in the two months I’ve owned it. Battery indicator shows 70% battery life after two months but we haven’t had any temperature much below freezing yet. Battery life, I’m sure, will drop more quickly once winter sets in. Easy to install and program. I had decided and designed the coop around mounting this inside rather than out because my back yard (I have city chickens) is very shaded and the door would face west. I was concerned the sensor may not get enough light in the morning so opted to run it on the timer function. What the description does not explain is that the unit displays the current light level with a numeric figure and allows you to program the light level required to open and the light level required to closed so I think I could have mounted this on the outside without issue and just programmed it to open at a lower light level! That said, I have one issue - there is no override to manually close the door in between your programmed open and close time if necessary. I wanted to close the chickens in last week while I changed some fencing and had to reprogram the unit to close the door. You then have to reprogram again to close at your usual time. Not a deal breaker for me and I’d definitely recommend this to anyone. Easy install, timer and light sensor options, super quiet operation and excellent battery life so far.

Very easy to install, came with everything needed. Works fine in rainy or windy situations. Using with orpington and farm mix chickens and the door is a good size. This device has saved chicken from predators given the paw prints of either a racoon or possum on the door. We have been able to take family vacations knowing our Coop Defender was helping to keep them safe. We did add a piece of wood across the bottom just in case a very persistent hungry animal wanted in and was smart enough to raise the door though I don't know that it's needed. I recommend installing while the door is in the tracks and to only hand tighten the door. We had to adjust the screws once as a result of the weather and wood swell. We had one minor issue and was easily solved with one phone call. The tech support was very friendly and knowledgeable. Overall, well worth the money this is a solid product that works great.

I had tried a Brinsea product that absolutely would not open or close during winter at a latitude near the Canada/US border. This thing works great by contrast. I bought it because it allows the opening and closing to be set by time and light (time/time, light/light, time/light, light/time) and figured I'd just use the time feature, but as it turns out, this one works great with light sensor too. It has a button to manually open the door which is handy if it gets stuck (one of my chickens pooped against the door, the poop froze to the door and prevented it from fully opening -- the manual open was handy there). And if you want to manually close the door if all the birds have gone into the coop before the sensor triggers a close, just put a finger over the light sensor for about 5s and the door will close. Battery access is better in this design too if this gets mounted near the eaves of a coop because rather than be a top removal process as in the Brinsea, the front face comes off in this model making it much easier to access the battery compartment when the device is near the eaves of a chicken house.

Installed this a few days ago and so far it’s doing its job and it was so easy to program.... love how it looks and so much easier, don’t have to wake up so early in the morning. Install was also pretty easy, you just need to figure out your hole opening for door and where to install the side brackets! This opener works on light and timer. I have mine on timer as the chicks are young and don’t want them to get locked out!

After SCOURING the Internet for a coop door that fit my small coop (my door’s wall is only 25” high), I found that this door opener can be modified! All we needed was our grinder to cut 5 inches off the door and a saw to cut an inch off the runners - and voila! Super easy to install and get the hang of the timer. Highly recommend !! EDIT: switched it to a new, bigger coop after 6 months, and a few days later it stopped working. I contacted the supplier and received the best customer service ever - big thank you to TJ for your kindness and assistance!! I sent back my mechanism, and as it couldn't be fixed, they sent me a brand new one. Will forever recommend this to all my chicken owning friends!!