Poultry Butler Coop Door Opener

I saw the mail truck pull into the driveway and the driver retrieve a very long box. Oh, the Poultry Butler Automatic Coop Door was here. Now to open it and start going over the instructions. We had decided that it was going to be installed on the Jersey Giants coop.

I had sent pictures of our Jersey Giants coop to Chris of Poultry Butler. He told me that he could custom make a Poultry Butler coop door for me, but since this is a review of their product, and most people will not get a custom door made, we went for the large “off the shelf “ model that opens vertically. But it was really nice to know that we can get a custom coop door from them if we need it. There is also a smaller door and a horizontally opening door.

Choosing a location

After opening the box, I could see that it was a coop door with a frame around it that was tall enough to enclose the door when it was either closed or open. The instructions said the the Poultry Butler Coop Door could be mounted either on the inside or the outside of the coop. But for exterior installation, there were special requirements. They are that the top of the unit be covered and the transformer be protected from the weather. Since our Jersey Giants’ coop and run were covered by one continuous roof, we decided to mount it on the exterior of the coop.

The coop door that we were replacing was a solid door with hinges on the left and a latch on the right, so it swung open. The main problem with that is it always seemed to swing closed again—especially when the chickens decided to sit on it. I even used a small rod that I would push into the ground to hold it open, but they would still manage to get it closed. So then I would find that the hens were laying their eggs in the run on the ground, which did not make me happy. So I was really looking forward to see if the Poultry Butler Automatic Coop Door would really work for us.

My husband had to both cover the opening from the old door and mount the new door. So he took measurements of the front of the coop and got a piece of plywood that would do the trick. He cut an opening in it for the new door but painted the wood before attaching the new Poultry Butler door to it. Next, he mounted the door per the instructions, and the programmable timer next to it. The wiring to the timer were already hooked up, so that made it easier. He did have to find some very small screws for the timer since they were not included.

Setting in place

Then he took the whole piece of wood with everything attached to it over to the coop. He lined it up and I held it place while he ran some screw though it in to the coop so it would not move. I then ran the cord with the light sensor through the coop and out the back. I had to choose an area that would be in the dark at night. We have a dusk-to-dawn light that comes on in the evening, and I did not want it to interfere with the operation of the automatic coop door opener. So since there is another big coop next to the Jersey Giants’ coop, it partially blocked the light from between the two coops. The light sensor also has a sensitivity setting if there was an issue.

Now I had to run an extension cord out to the coop to plug in the Poultry Butler Automatic Coop Door. The door was set in the closed position, so when I plugged it in, the door started to open—yes, it works! And I like that it opens and closes slowly so that a bird can not get caught in it.

The Giants did not know what to make of all the fuss. They were really good about us being in there multiple times and working in there. The hens decided to check out the new door first. It took a little longer for our great big rooster to decide to go in and out of the new opening. This one was smaller than the last door. But he figured it out and has has no problems coming and going.

I close up all of my coops and check on all of my birds every evening so it was getting dark and I went by the Giants coop and could see that their new Poultry Butler Automatic Coop Door was closed. That was nice to see. In the morning as I was getting ready to feed all the animals, I could hear a slight humming noise. Since it was not a noise I was used to hearing, I looked for the source. It was the coop door opening on it own as the sun was coming up. It is actually very quiet.

Plenty of options

The programmable timer has a lot of options for setting the time, date, and when you want the coop door to open and close in the morning and evening. You can even program the door to open at different times during the week, like on weekends.

Another nice feature of the timer is that it has a lithium battery in case of power failure. The battery life is three years.

One last option is being able to hook the Poultry Butler Coop Door up to a five-watt solar panel. It is not included, but can be added for remote locations or where it is not convenient to run an electrical cord. I think that is what we are going to do—I want to add a small solar panel to open and close the door and then the cord will not be in the yard.

I also have the door opener set on “automatic” so that it will open and close as the sun comes up and sets. I like this option because it gets light out earlier every morning and stays light out longer in the evening this time of year. So I do not have to do anything or change anything, the opener will take care of it for me.

I really like that part. I am very happy with the Poultry Butler Automatic Coop Door.

Key features

• Programmable digital controller/timer with indicator light

• Light sensor that opens and closes the door at dusk and dawn

• Choice of vertical or horizontal opening doors

• Worm drive for smooth operation

• Very easy to mount and install

Poultry Butler Automatic Chicken Coop Door

poultrybutler.com

724-762-2507

Creekside, PA 15732

cdongilla@gmail.com