ChickenGuard Classic Door Kit Combi - 'Extreme' Auto Coop Door Opener Plus Aluminium Pop Hole Door with Oak Runners, Indoor/Outdoor Automatic Chicken Coop, Backyard Hen House Accessory

I read all the reviews and searched for similar products before ordering. $249 seemed steep for an aluminum plate, two wooden runners, and a simple motor that winds a spool of string, but the programmable features and ease of use (as well as a lack of suitable alternatives) makes it worth it. The good: install took me about half an hour all told. I pre-drilled and counter-sunk the runners to keep them from splitting. The instructions were fine and the controller was easily programmed just by following along. It can be set to Timer, Manual, or Lux (sensitivity to light) for raising and lowering. Since I mounted mine on the inside I set it for Timer. Worked perfectly every time. Not having to go outside and let them out in the morning or lock them up at night makes up for all the additional expense. The “could be better”: The runners are solid red oak, and I would have preferred something outdoor-rated to protect against the elements. I would suspect these might swell with humidity and precipitation, and that could impact the ease of opening/closing. I decided to mount ours on the inside of the coop since our existing door has been frozen shut before with a combination of ice and snow. I can’t imagine this door being reliable in those conditions. If your door is not protected from the elements and you live in a cold climate, I would give consideration to an inside-mount. All in all, I would buy again if we decide on a second coop. Eat the one-time expense and start sleeping in on the weekends. :)

This thing sat outside for almost 2 years without being used. I put batteries in it this weekend and it still works like a champ. Good product! Worth every penny.

I purchased this for my chickens so we could leave for a weekend getaway and not worry about finding a chicken sitter. As long as your chickens are trained to go into the coop at night, this automatic door will lock up behind them at night and let them out in the morning. First, it is very easy to install if you have basic handy skills and tools, and it comes with simple instructions. It comes with the screws and batteries for the opener. The sliding aluminum door part is about 12 inches wide, so if your coop door is larger than that you might have to modify your door, or cut a new, smaller one. Make sure to test that the door slides smoothly up and down before making your final tightening of the rails. Setting up the Chicken Guard door opener is very simple, as well. It also comes with easy to follow instructions for calibrating the door, setting the time, and choosing what function you want it to run on. If the string that lifts the door starts to fray at the end, add a little clear nail polish. The door opener can open and close based on light conditions, on a timer, or a combination of both. We mounted our door inside the coop, so it functions on the timer. As light conditions change with the seasons, you will have to adjust the timer if you choose that option, but this is also very simple to do. The instruction manual also said you can adjust the device's light sensitivity, so if your coop is in a shaded area that doesn't receive much sun you can compensate for that if you want to open and close based on light conditions, but I have not tested that feature. The door is light, but most regular chicken predators are not going to break through it. A bear probably could, but they're not getting through a door that small, anyway! A racoon might be able to get it's little fingers underneath the door and lift, or if it is especially clever pull up on the string...but you can remedy that by installing the door inside your coop or putting a little lip at the bottom of the door to prevent anything from lifting it. I don't think most predators are quite that smart, anyway. So far, a great addition to my coop. Edit 1/4/2022: We had a bought of -30 degree weather, and the door now requires recalibration, and possibly new batteries. It doesn't matter much to me that the door is not opening because the chickens aren't going to go outside in that weather anyway, but be aware this device (even the Extreme) isn't going to go unscathed in extreme cold temps, even if it is mounted inside. I've found once it drops below zero you get a "Door Calibration" error or something to that effect, and eventually the cold completely kills the batteries. Edit 3/8/2022: With spring approaching, we're now having a thaw-freeze-thaw patterns, and snow that found it's way inside the coop has melted and evidently soaked into the rails, as the wood has swelled and makes opening and closing the door impossible for the device. This is mildly irritating, as it's getting warm enough for the chickens to go outside on their own free will, but I'm having to manually open the door. Also note, if you live in a place where heavy amounts of blowing snow and raging blizzards are common, there is a tiny gap between the wall and the top of the door when in full closed position that will allow snow to be blown in by clever winds. You can remedy this by having a secondary door on the outside of the coop (our door is inside mounted) that can be closed in the event of blizzards to help prevent snow blowing in. Also of note, it's difficult to find replacement rails for the door. I was hoping that ChickenGuard sold metal rails to avoid the swelling issue completely, but it appears the only alternative is a $67 complete replacement that I'm not positive will work with our setup...bummer. I feel like ChickenGuard should offer metal or durable plastic replacement rails, as I'm not sure that even sealing wooden rails will completely fix the swelling issue in the type of conditions I deal with.

Arrived quickly with no problem. Husband installed this in our chicken coop. He said it was easy to install. So far very dependable--no problems. It is great not to worry about having to close the coop door. The gals go in at sunset. The door shuts shortly after. Have to remember to adjust the closing time though as sunset time changes. Uses batteries but we chose to plug it into the installed outlet. Gets a 4 instead of a 5 because it seems of flimsy construction. Frame is wood instead of metal and the mechanism to open and shut the door uses string(!) not wire to pull it up and down. Afraid either the wood will rot or the string will break. But so far so good.

I hesitated buying this--it's expensive, and it's for chickens. I mean, it's a total first-world product. But oh, what a great little product it is. Quite easy to install, very simple to program, working flawlessly. Chickens are out at first light and happy all day...I was worried it would shut before they were all in to roost at night, but we programmed it to close by sensing the light outside, and apparently, the chickens are programmed the same way! Nice and sturdy, strong little motor. Worth it. Really. We thought about finagling our own version of this, and normally would have, but this really does such a great job, we couldn't be more pleased.

Facile à installer et à configurer. c'est un bonheur de ne plus de lever à l'aube pour ouvrir à des poules impatientes de sortir. Idem pour le soir (attention, les premiers temps, certaines poules couche-tard se sont faites piéger par la système... il faut venir vérifier les premier temps que tout le monde est bien rentré). On peut mixer horaires et intensité de lumière pour les ouvertures/fermetures. Système supporte très bien le froid et les intempéries. A recommander

Era da un po' che mi guardavo in giro per acquistare un prodotto simile alla fine o scelto questo e sono soddisfatto. Installato in poco tempo istruzioni in Italiano per ora funziona perfettamente, io ho impostato apertura e chiusura con il timer nulla da eccepire. Consigliato.

Ottimo acquisto, lo consiglio vivamente.

Fonctionne très bien

Quel plaisir de savoir ses poules en sécurité ! Après un déménagement, le premier et soir, je n'ai pas retrouvé lelectrificateur d et clôture. Résultats : 5 poules chappardees par un renard... Heureusement chickenguard nous sécurisé a présent les nuits de nos poulettes. Plutôt Simple a mettre en fonction. J'ai opté pour la fonction minuteur car on j'ai une poule rebelle qui rentre toujours très tard. Je recommande.