We had concidered a timer with this originally, but that would have required a lot of work to constantly change times as the days got longer or shorter. My husband is a computer programmer and thought of making this computer controlled...but again it would be work. I wanted something where I could just...as they say, 'Set it and forget it' hahaha...and that is what we have. For the last several weeks I have not had to go out early in the morning to let out the chickens, or wait til they are all in to close the door. Their feed has been lasting longer, and the coop is much cleaner then before. I have found several new benifits to this door.
Free ranging and automatic coop door
when will you have another one done?
We are trying to figure that out now. We want to try to get a list of how many people would be interested, and that will help us cut cost, and in exchange we can sell them for less. After just the couple weeks of having ours done, I am fast realizing that this is worth so much more then I thought. Before I just wanted to stay out later...but the benifts are so cool. If we had to make just a couple by hand, then the cost may be higher, but I can ask my husband if he would be interested.
sweet i am for sure interested. Do you have a paypal account. Might be a good idea if you dont.
I sure do. I run a cleaning service, and some of my customers pay me with paypal.
sweet. Let me know what hubby says.
He said that he would want to wait for a little while either way. He is in the quality control stage now. He has been monitoring when the door opens, and closes, and what time the chickens are in before that. It looks like it is giving them about 30-45 minutes after the last one is in before it closes. One other concern is ice. If we get freezing rain, it could freeze the assembly, and cause the door to not open or close. So I am working on an awning of sorts that could be installed in the winter if the door is being used in an open area exposed to the elements.
I will keep you guys up to date on this, but let me know who else would be interested. It would really help out to get an idea of how many we could look into making at once, and that would help us find out how much they are going to cost ect.
-Melissa
okie dokie that is fine.
Mcamden, I'm new here and interested too... but only if it is pretty soon. I have a new job and won't be able to get home in time to put the girls in! It's causing me so much stress to get home before dark and it is getting dark quickly - and soon, I won't be able to do it at all. They love to be out so much I just don't have the heart to keep them in all day, so I'm going to have to buy something soon. Thanks!
Melissa,
I can make a helpful suggestion to assist your husband's design. The awing to prevent snow/ice build-up might be better adapted ... if it is removable and collapsible. This awning apparatus could also have light weight clear plastic strips for the birds to see and walk through (like a cat/dog door) but prevent blown snow from blocking the awning or passage way. Most people are concerned about snow and ice for just 1-2 months ... many not at all.
Kelly in Moxee
Yes, but definitely keep it available, because there are those of us with snow and ice for 4 months and more!
P.S. I don't have snow and ice... so don't let that keep you from releasing a fair-weather version soon!
Thanks for all the info. We are not waiting for the awning to be done in order to get these out. He is mostly negotiating with manufacturers at this point. I am keeping him up to date on everyones comments, and he is working as hard as possible to get some put together. We will end up assembling them by hand, and that took some time with our first one. The sooner we sell them, the more they will cost. That is why we are waiting...trying to get the best prices to produce each part, which will in turn make the total assemly cheaper to sell.
Just wondering, since it is getting really stressful for me to get home on time... what is the earliest you might get these out? Not a promise, just an estimate! I may break down and go with the UK model.... Thanks!
NO! I would not recommend the UK model. First of all...it is $300. Second of all...it sucks. It is a motor that pulls a string to raise and lower the door. Ours has a steel arm that opens, closes, and locks the door. If you want to spend $300...then I could probably push my Dh to do just one for now. To actually start selling on a larger scale...may not be for 2-3 months or so.
Let me chime in here as a newcomer who has been trying to find a low cost automatic door opener for a while - in preparation for putting up a coop this spring.
The UK model you are referencing is actually made in Germany but largely being sold out of England. I'm sure you can find it on German chicken web sites too but I for one don't read or speak German and so am unlikely to wander across them. They have been in production for a few years, and I have read review after review of people who are totally satisfied with them. I have yet to find any criticism in their operation beyond having to replace the batteries (4-AA's) every year or two, and a couple people that thought they opened too early and closed too late (in the realm of 15-45 minutes). I have not found anyone using them who has lost a bird to a predator. I also have a neighbor who has one who swears by it. So despite the impression of a string being used to open and close the door might be to you - it is clear to me that it doesn't 'suck'.
The downside IS the cost, but I think you are overstating what that is. You can buy the base unit for about $140. If you want to ADD ON a timer (as an alternative to sunrise/sunset - either/or) add on ~$50. If you want their door instead of your own its another $~40 (pricing here seems to vary depending on the page and order bundle). So getting the functional equivalent of what you are proposing would run under $200 including the door and assuming reasonable shipping costs. It will not 'lock' the door in a closed position, but I have found references to door designs that make this a non-issue. One version can be mounted inside the coop with the photo sensor running to the outside to detect daylight - a very nice feature in my mind.
See for yourself here: http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/backyard/
There are a few other folks selling them online - prices seem mostly to be the same or higher.
I've been very surprised that these VSB units are pretty much all I've been able to find - nothing in the US. While the home chicken market might be small, I would have thought there would be other applications that utilize the same thing. My hope was to find something under $100 - ideally well under. But I haven't even found what seem to be decent DIY ideas. A chicken coop is NOT doable without an automatic door for me, so this has been frustrating.
I was thrilled to read that mcamden was working on an alternative - until I got to the expected pricing. For what is essentially the same cost I would be more inclined to go with a proven product than something that may not be functioning in 6 months. But if you could get the price down significantly I would be game to try it. If you could sell this for say $80/unit (w/o door) you would likely OWN the US market for years to come as low effort chicken raising continues to grow in popularity.
You'd mentioned using magnets earlier ... I'm not sure if those factored into the prototype or not, but it occurred to me that motors from automobile window openers should be used. Runs off a 12 volt battery, has about the same travel distance, and junk yards all over the nation have to have thousands of these sitting around (no idea how they would hold up over time). Just thought I'd pass that idea along since your husband is obviously pretty handy.
I bought an automatic door that has a light sensor and a timer. You can use either one you want to. It works great. He is in Wales. the info is below. great guy super product. keeps me from having to get up at the crack of dawn or like you say if you get delayed in town or something.
Wells Poultry Housing
The Bungalow
Twyncynghordy
NP23 4HJ
www.chicken-house.co.uk
01495 313838 / 07970 517938
Walterd-
I went to the site you are referring to. I selected one opener, one door, one timer, and the required one pully minimum. With shipping, and the conversion rate...it came to a total of $261.414 american dollars.
The following postcodes are classed as Highlands and Islands IV, HS, KA27-28, KW, PA20-49, PA60-78, PH17-26, PH30-44, PH49-50, ZE, BT, IM, TR21-25.
Item Name Quantity Price Total
vsb (b, Timer, Hen, 1 x ur, airmail) (remove) £148.00 £148.00
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Subtotal £148.00
Current shipping is Please SelectAir Mail Shipping £0.00
Your Location : United States - Iowa - change
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Currency is British Pound Total £148.00
Click on the 'Checkout' button to pay for these items (€187.89, US$261.41 Approx.)
And for just the unit, and the door (no pully or timer) it is US$192.53 Approx.
I am sure this is a wonderful door, but despite those saying it works for them, I would not feel comfortable where I am located. We have badgers and racoons who can get into anything, and with a door that is steel, and locks when it closes, I know that nothing is getting in.
Our door does not require options other then a solar panel for those without power. It is a single unit, and everything is included. I would not want to take a chance with my flock that the day the batteries die is a day when I don't happen to notice. It took one night last year to loose out entire flock, and I said I would not deal with that again.
I don't need to convice the world that our idea is better then anyone else's. I just know that I have not found anything in this country like this. Please let me know if you have, but I have spent a lot of time looking. I came up with my idea for me, and my chickens. It was the interest I received from othere here that made me feel like pursuing the idea of producing these for everyone else. You dont have to buy it, and you certainly dont have to like it. But I love mine more them my new memory foam bed, more then our new LCD tv, and ALMOST as much as having a paved driveway instead of rock!
Melissa
I for one will buy one form Melissa and her hubby. I don't want to make a political statement but I would prefer to keep my money locally. Plus I would assume that the shipping from her in the US would be a bit cheaper. Let me know when you are ready Melissa.
Thank you! I will say, that the reason this is going to take a little time is because we are trying to get the best prices as possible for all the parts, and mechanics. We are going to assemble them ourselves to take off even more of the cost, and this will be passed on to everyone else. We dont need to make a fortune on this...heck...my husband already makes the fortune with his regular salary! This is just exciting for us. Its something that is incredibly cool, and that we did together.
I really want to get a little video of our door working, and put that on my website. We will be selling these online when they are all ready, but again...I cant say when yet since we have to wait for the companies we are hiring to build the circuit boards, and the framing for the door. Also trying to get better deals by buying photo cells and other items in bulk. Its a large initial investment for us, over $10,000. I will keep everyone posted though either way. :) I just hope that I can help people to enjoy their chickens the way I do (with very little effort).
If you want to go with the timer AND purchase a door ... I agree you are in the ~$250 range. I personally don't see the point in having a timer AND a sunrise/sunset sensor. Everyrthing I'm reading says chickens live by the sun so something that is reliable around its light sensor should be fine. Doors are easy enough to make for nominal $$ - but obviously it would be something simple.
Adding on a solar array to keep a battery charged is a great feature as well. But this would seem to be an expensive feature. Since most people without all this fancy technology are already used to visiting their coop at least once a day I would think that replacing batteries (before they die - say once or twice a year) on a regular basis is easy enough. I would suggest offering a lower cost option without the solar components.
I'd be VERY interested in seeing your door in action! Please post here when you have a visual!
UPDATE FEB 9 2009 (sorry, couldn't get the reply function to work!)
I ended up buying the VSB unit from England. I bought the unit itself, their metal door, and the timer (just in case I want it later). The total was $154 GBP which translated into about $218 USD. This included shipping (which was significant at better than $30), and so considerably less than has been talked about so far on this thread. I expect that changes in the exchange rate helped me out here, though I've not tracked them since this discussion started. I purchased from Wells Poultry and delivery took a little better than a week.
I've not installed it yet (coop still under construction) but expect from feedback made by other customers this will work just fine. I can say at this point that this thing is exceedingly well put together. Sturdy, well machined, and obviously well thought out in terms of layout of the components and choices of materials. Though this will easily be the most expensive component of my coop I think it’s a good investment for anyone needing their chickens to have a higher level of self-sufficiency!
This message was edited Feb 9, 2009 11:52 AM
Hi again, I'm back and I need to get a door... so I'm pricing everything I can find and would love to consider your door. Can you please get in touch with me? I would what you would like for it and how much time you need.
Thanks!
AmyduckATaolcom