Smart chicken coop doors are sub-$100 on Amazon now.
If you want to spend a bit more and don't like "smart" doors, I used one of these for years and was reasonably satisfied: https://chickendoors.com/
In my next coop I think I want something with enough smarts to let me know if it ever fails. That is, it reports status and if the server notices it hasn't gotten a report, I get an alert.
I have a radio controlled chicken door that I control through home assistant via a hack rf. It has a reed switch placed behind the door, and a magnet attached to the door to let you know door status, with failure stating "open".
And then a reminder sent to my phone 10 minutes past dusk to shut the door, if it is still open at that time.
It's rigged but the confirmation is nice.
Edit: most of sensors run by esp32 boards running esphome. Also include a temp sensor etc, fed into home assistant
Several years ago I bought a product that aimed to solve this problem. It was a set of rails, a door, and a controller/motor that would raise and lower the door, via a string.
The door itself has a spring loaded catch at the bottom, which is retracted when the door is lifted, via a little mechanism built into the door. Pull up on the peg, the latch retracts, and you can slide the door open
The controller was the weakest part of this whole assembly. It worked, but was crude and often would lock hens out, like when summer thunderstorms would darken the sky. It just used a light sensor
Last year I replaced the controller with an Esphome device I built, and it's been going strong all summer and winter
I would like to compliment the video for being useful to purpose, simple, no annoying TikTok voice over, no voice over at all as it's not necessary, no unnecessary text. It's just a simple here's the thing, here's it working, here's why it works, and here's some detail on how it was built.
There's something about these basic self-locking/self-unlocking mechanisms that's so satisfying. It's like they exercise my brain in a way it's not used to exercising, like that really good stretch you do sometimes that really hits that spot. Reminds me of knots: I geek out about knots sometimes, and it's just so profoundly weird to think "in knots", I feel like an alien when I'm doing knots, or like my brain is doing cirque-de-soleil-type contortions. I guess this says something about how mundane my usual mental activity is.
I love mechanisms. It's amazing how much mechanical complexity we were able to build before the advent of computers. Even more so when you learn how very minor changes like shaving a few degrees off an angle can be the difference between success and failure. As an embedded systems developer, I've been fortunate to work with a number of talented mechanical engineers over the years and come to realize that the complexity that they have to deal with isn't that far from what we have to do in software.
If you want to think in knots, go down the internet rabbit hole of investigating how the knotter in a hay baler works :-)
I love how so many mechanisms revolve (hehe) around revolutions - because that's the simplest form of mechanical effort to make and use.
I also love the accuracy you can get if you work on it - I'm thinking things like those giant castle doors weighing multiple tons, but a child can push them open if unbarred.
When it comes to theorizing/storytelling about humanity meeting a larger galactic society, there are a lot of concepts about different species-character or specializations. I've always been interested in unusual answers to "what might distinguish us."
For a while now, "brains can think of knots" has been on that list. Imagine some aliens who are generally much smarter than us, but they need computers to indirectly create or solve knots, and textiles were a late- rather than early-invention.
Granted, this seems unlikely, but it's still amusing to consider.
Same. I enjoy thinking how different an alien could be, and how I'd discover things that were so constant in my life that I wasn't even aware of them, until someone completely different appeared.
Separate doors make it easier to access without releasing the chickens, if you need to (they're relatively habitual and if they never use the "people door" they won't really try to).
Easier to automate a small door, and control where it goes.
It looks cooler; people like "small doors for small things" - like the half-height garage doors at Walmart for shopping carts.
If small enough, it can reduce at least SOME predator incidents (but this is minor).
Here's my fun everything likes to eat chickens story. When we first built our house, nobody had ever lived within about 2 miles of our farm. There were coyotes everywhere. So I spent a couple years trapping and shooting them after they ate a couple of my chickens. Then came the racoons. They ate some chickens so back to trapping and shooting. Then weasels and minks. Except they could get into the coop through the windows in the wall that were covered in wire and 6' off the ground. So, more traps. Now it's bobcats. Oh, and don't forget the stupid red-tailed hawks and BALD FUCKING EAGLES as well. No trapping or shooting those bastards.
Everything. Everything eats chickens. I'm surprised I haven't seen a damn frog eating one of them.
Yes but they are usually just the first ones to get eaten. So now we keep a jersey giant to scare off the coons, and a bantam something or other to scare off the hawks/eagles.
I'm not around a lot of foxes, but I imagine so: They both burrow and hunt burrowing prey, so "lift and scrape this obstacle of the way" is in their skillet.
what's the chickenwire tunnel at the front door for? only thing i can think of is it lets the chickens see if there's a bird of prey above? but I don't know if that's something chickens are checking. or keeps certain large predators from fiddling with the door (but not large like a bear), but doesn't seem the door should open anyway
A while back they had a stump in front of the house with a family of foxes living in it and they pointed a game camera at it.
Night after night they got footage of the fox mama bringing back other people's chickens to feed to her kits.
The moral is, I think, that the well-built chicken coop is a good investment.
If you want to spend a bit more and don't like "smart" doors, I used one of these for years and was reasonably satisfied: https://chickendoors.com/
In my next coop I think I want something with enough smarts to let me know if it ever fails. That is, it reports status and if the server notices it hasn't gotten a report, I get an alert.
And then a reminder sent to my phone 10 minutes past dusk to shut the door, if it is still open at that time.
It's rigged but the confirmation is nice.
Edit: most of sensors run by esp32 boards running esphome. Also include a temp sensor etc, fed into home assistant
The door itself has a spring loaded catch at the bottom, which is retracted when the door is lifted, via a little mechanism built into the door. Pull up on the peg, the latch retracts, and you can slide the door open
The controller was the weakest part of this whole assembly. It worked, but was crude and often would lock hens out, like when summer thunderstorms would darken the sky. It just used a light sensor
Last year I replaced the controller with an Esphome device I built, and it's been going strong all summer and winter
https://pdx.su/blog/2025-06-11-how-a-simple-chicken-coop-doo...
If you want to think in knots, go down the internet rabbit hole of investigating how the knotter in a hay baler works :-)
I also love the accuracy you can get if you work on it - I'm thinking things like those giant castle doors weighing multiple tons, but a child can push them open if unbarred.
For a while now, "brains can think of knots" has been on that list. Imagine some aliens who are generally much smarter than us, but they need computers to indirectly create or solve knots, and textiles were a late- rather than early-invention.
Granted, this seems unlikely, but it's still amusing to consider.
My dad used to keep chicken and they just went through the same door and we'd just open it in the morning and close it in the evening.
Other people in my home town have similar arrangements and I feel I'm missing some important thing :)
Easier to automate a small door, and control where it goes.
It looks cooler; people like "small doors for small things" - like the half-height garage doors at Walmart for shopping carts.
If small enough, it can reduce at least SOME predator incidents (but this is minor).
I don't want to enter the enclosure, so I have my own door to go in and service the coop, fetch the eggs, etc.
The enclosure has a gate when I want to let the chickens out, as well.
Having an enclosure lets me leave the house for a couple days, at least, and not feel like I've imprisoned them.
Here's my fun everything likes to eat chickens story. When we first built our house, nobody had ever lived within about 2 miles of our farm. There were coyotes everywhere. So I spent a couple years trapping and shooting them after they ate a couple of my chickens. Then came the racoons. They ate some chickens so back to trapping and shooting. Then weasels and minks. Except they could get into the coop through the windows in the wall that were covered in wire and 6' off the ground. So, more traps. Now it's bobcats. Oh, and don't forget the stupid red-tailed hawks and BALD FUCKING EAGLES as well. No trapping or shooting those bastards.
Everything. Everything eats chickens. I'm surprised I haven't seen a damn frog eating one of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Biggest_Little_Farm
Similar challenges, but attempts at natural solutions (not easy, so much complexity)
Trailer: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UfDTM4JxHl8
Totally enjoyable watch, but I wouldn't look for real world farming advice here.
These kind of things is what the ‘www’ was created for - good vibes!
Why riddle it with ads?
Source: myself through wife which is maxed on chickens and has her own site with no ads
And I my point was I really like the site!
I promise to become lessvocal about the ads.