Cheeper Keeper Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener - Complete Chicken Coop Door Opener and Closer Kit, Safe for All Standard Sized Chicken Breeds

Well I must say I was reluctant to purchase an automatic coop door because of the high entry fee to get into the club. No one makes an affordable unit that I could find. I finally settled on this unit from Cheeper Keeper. I liked all the good reviews and it would fit my small coop, so I purchased it. $230 dollars and a couple of days later it arrived. I can tell you today that all the 5 star reviews come from people who no longer have to close their coups at night and open them in the morning. No more forgetful light night runs (sometimes in the rain) to shut the door, and no more unhappy chickens stuck in the coop for longer than they wanted in the mornings. What a nice luxury to have. It really is a game changer as they say. The only issue I have is that I do wish the aluminum door was better protected to remain flat during shipping. Mine had a slight bend at one corner and when I tried to straighten it out I ended up putting a slight curve to the door. I mean very slight, but this door works to tight tolerances. It has to slide up and down in the tracks easily or it won't work. I worked on the door till I got it flat. Then I oiled the tracks and now it works flawlessly. It is a bit of a process to get the tracks on plumb and spaced perfectly. If have a slight bend or curve to your door panel you will have to straighten it out. Be sure to install the paper clip that joins the door to the string, before you install the door and 2nd track or you might not be able to get it thru the door clip hole.I installed the batteries and put the cover back on and no voila! It didn't work because of the door bend. It wouldn't slide downward in the tracks with gravity alone. Oiled the tracks, straightened the door a little more and... Voila it worked this time and has been for a couple of weeks now. Every now and then I check on it and make sure everything looks ok. I installed a bottom board that keeps critters from being able to reach under the door to lift it. You know how smart those hungry raccoons are. I did wonder how well it would work with the lifting string outside and exposed to the elements. It has been thru a couple of rainy days and is still working great.These auto coop doors are expensive and I really think they should be $100 or less. I welcome more competition to drive the market that way. Maybe one day there will be smart doors with an app and alert notification if not closing properly or have low batteries. I'm sure there are some people who have already made some, but not producing them commercially. Anyways for spending $230 it should have all these features and more IMO. But alas I must digress. 5 stars for the convenience for me and safety for my little flock of egg layers. I've lost enough to predators who want to eat them, and this really is about their protection. I guess that is why these can cost so much and we are willing to pay it. I hope you find a solution to your coop door needs. This one is working for me and I am thankful.

I would buy this product again in a heartbeat. We installed this door in April of 2017. It is now November and we have had only one issue with the door, but it probably had more to do with the installation than the product itself.Predators love tasty chickens. Don't we all? When we raise chickens for OUR OWN use (pets, eggs, or for our own consumption) Well... that's a different story.Having lost nearly our whole flock last year, we knew it was time to do something different.Along comes the Cheeper Keeper Door.We installed the door and opener on the INSIDE of the coop and purchased the optional outside light detector which was easily installed with a small hole through the coop wall and a bit of silicone adhesive. Exposure to the elements: sun, rain / snow, wind (blowing sand), etc. can be tough on ANYTHING. We felt that it was best to install the door on the inside of the coop.Because of the configuration of our hundred year old coop, we had to do some modification of the bracing of our existing coop. Either that, or install it in a place where we couldn't easily see the door from our house. Being an OCD Engineer, I really wanted to be able to see the door, so we modified the bracing to allow for the needed footprint to install the door. If you have the clear space in a wall to install the door, no modifications are necessary. OR, if you have enough room to install just the door opening without having to cut through braces, etc... this door can easily be installed on the outside of the coop. We had enough room to do that, but we opted to install everything on the INSIDE... thus... more extensive work.The instructions are quite clear and when followed, the door works exactly like it is supposed to: Open in the morning, closed at night.Our one hiccup: The door wasn't open one morning and most of the birds were trapped inside. Some were outside. Upon investigation, I found that the lift string wasn't connected to the door! See, there is a coated paperclip that connects the string to the door. Somehow, the string disconnected from the paperclip. I surmise that an overly excited chicken jumped up into the hanging (or closing) door causing the paperclip and string to become disengaged. It was an easy fix... I simply bent the paperclip so that such an action won't cause it to disengage. We haven't had a problem since.I think that the paperclip is there so that if the door is frozen shut with ice, the paperclip will spread open and disengage the string; thus saving wear on the motor.Oh... a tip... Since the coop is a couple of hundred yards from the house, we applied strips of reflective, adhesive tape to the outside of the door. By flashing a flashlight at the door, we can easily confirm that it is closed when it should be.A great product so far. Last year, we started with 30 chicks and ended up with 1 by fall. This year, we started with 30 chicks... one died at age 2 days, four were roosters (who went to another owner)... now, in November, we have 25 laying hens.I'd say it works well.