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Dropped $85 on an automatic coop door and it saved my flock from a raccoon
Two nights ago I heard a ruckus in the run around 11pm and went out with a flashlight. The auto door I bought for $85 last spring had already slid shut, and there was a fat raccoon pacing outside the frame, trying to figure out how to get in. When I used to shut the coop by hand, I'd sometimes forget on nights I got home late from a roofing job. Since I put that door on a timer, I haven't had one late close. Now I want a second set of eyes on the setup, has anyone had their auto door jam or fail to close when it gets really cold?
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the_margaret10d ago
I get why you like the door, but I wouldn't count on it as your only line of defense. Those things are great until they aren't, and a timer or light sensor can act up in cold snaps when the battery gets weak or the track ices up. A raccoon is one thing, but a determined predator will keep working at a stuck door for hours, and you won't hear it from inside the house. Keeping a manual latch as a backup costs nothing and takes ten seconds before bed. We had a neighbor whose auto door quit closing after a hard freeze and he lost four hens in one night. Check the door every evening anyway, even with the timer.
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