My DIY Automatic Chicken Door

[Tsheaby]

When I got chickens for the first time last year, my husband thought I was absolutely crazy as I surprised him with my new little fluff ball babies. I was so excited and had big plans to build them a coop during the time they were in the brooder. About 2 weeks before they were due to make their grand adventure to the great outdoors, 2 of the 4 started fighting and me being me, I panicked and thought they needed more space now. I panicked and very promptly went to Jax Mercantile and bought a cheap-o starter coop, complete with a nesting box and run. Fast forward a few weeks and it turns out, the 2 that were fighting were both Roos! My luck! And now, I was stuck with this silly starter coop until at least next spring. Since they free range, I have no need for their “run” to actually be used as a run... I had been transforming the entire thing into more of an enclosed coop for the winter and I open and shut the door(s) to their “run” every morning and every evening.

I’ve learned a lot this last year with my new babies, but one thing i was not slow to catch onto is that unless you want to take the risk of them being picked off and massacred by creatures of the night, you need to lock them in every night and let them out every morning. What?! I’m an adult! I’ve got things to see and travels to take... I also didn’t want to spend mega bucks on an automatic chicken door, when I have this bizarre makeshift setup going with my starter coop & I can easily transfer it to the new future coop.

I’ll save you the dry information on my challenge figuring out electrical relays and polarity switches but... if you’re a visual person, I made some fun wiring drawings for both a direct power source and solar powered.

Parts Needed:
-JVR 12V Timer Switch Programmable Digital 12 Volt DC/AC Battery Powered Timer - $11.99
http://a.co/d/iYs1EWL

- DC 12V 5A Coil 35mm DIN Rail DPDT 8Pin Power Relay + Socket Base - $11.88 (2 pc - you only need one, so find a 1pc for $6ish if you can!)
http://a.co/d/184sDkI

- Chanzon 12V 5A 60W AC DC Power Supply Adapter (Input 110V-220V, Output 12 Volt 5 Amp 60 Watt) DC Converter - $15.84 (if you already have a power supply, just get a wired connector adapter, for easy connecting/disconnecting)
http://a.co/d/9dGQXSi

- Linear Actuator Motor 750N 12V Dc 200Lbs 305Mm Stroke Electric Door Opener - $35.89 (whatever size you need)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Linear-A...S-305MM-Stroke-Electric-Door-Opener/959284971

- Electrical Wire & Cutters
- Drill / Screwdriver
- Small Phillips
- Electrical Tape
- Material as needed (door, cabinet sliders, spare wood for frame, etc.)
- Water proof container to store electrical in

TOTAL COST: $75 - You can definitely get away with less if you have some parts laying around, for example the power adapter could come from an old desktop monitor.

*NOTE* - you can also set it up sideways, so it opens and closes side to side instead of up and down, depending on your setup / space constraints.

*NOTE #2* - if any of the links above indicate they are sold out, search the site for the part and there should be more options... usually just a reseller. Th parts listed do not include the solar panel or battery option, so you’ll have to hunt those down if going solar.

Please tag me if you end up making one, I would love to see how it worked out. I posted this tutorial on Facebook back in November and many have already found success in making their own! I’ve been using it since November, and it has held up perfectly through frigid temps and ice/snow here in Colorado.

Hope you find this helpful! Enjoy!

 

[cavemanrich]

Nice job, but have a question,,,,
I don't see any limit switches, in diagram or in your actual constructed door.
What stops the actuator from wanting to keep going in direction of travel when gets to end of stroke. Are there automatic limits in actuator . When reversed polarity, then actuator starts in opposite direction of travel??? .
If it would be such,,,,,,, that would be great. As long as the full 12 inch stroke of actuator was utilized.
Not needing limit switches separately make things easier.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[nparks]

Hi! Could you post the link to your Facebook tutorial, please? Also, you had commented on my post where I mentioned having two coops and said I could easily make this useable for 2 doors. Could you explain how I could do that. What extras would I have to buy other than the linear actuator motor?

Thanks!

 

[cavemanrich]

Hi! Could you post the link to your Facebook tutorial, please? Also, you had commented on my post where I mentioned having two coops and said I could easily make this useable for 2 doors. Could you explain how I could do that. What extras would I have to buy other than the linear actuator motor?

Thanks!

I think the factor was the cost in that .
Copy,paste from above....

TOTAL COST: $75 - You can definitely get away with less if you have some parts laying around, for example the power adapter could come from an old desktop monitor.

Which translates to making 2 units relatively low cash out.
I'm still waiting on the limit switch question.

 

[nparks]

That make sense. Just wasn’t sure if I could use any of the same electrical. But even if I had to make 2 separate units it’s still WAY cheaper than buying two whole units online!

Once we get an answer on the limit switch I might give it a whirl! I’m not very handy with electrical, either is my husband so this could get interesting!

 

[cavemanrich]

I'm good with electrical. That is why I asked about the limit switches. I would only know the operation of those linear actuators if I had one and tested its operation.
In your case,,, if those do have built in limit controls, you can build two units and have one set of controls to control both simultaneously.
(one complete unit, and second only with actuator, and wired onto first's controls and power supply.)
Simple as just running some wires between the two openers.
Installing limit switches does get slightly complex. If not handy with electrical, does get challenging.

 

[Tsheaby]

Nice job, but have a question,,,,
I don't see any limit switches, in diagram or in your actual constructed door.
What stops the actuator from wanting to keep going in direction of travel when gets to end of stroke. Are there automatic limits in actuator . When reversed polarity, then actuator starts in opposite direction of travel??? .
If it would be such,,,,,,, that would be great. As long as the full 12 inch stroke of actuator was utilized.
Not needing limit switches separately make things easier.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Forgive me for my lack of electrical knowledge & terminology here, I had spent so much time piecing together YouTube tutorials and scouring electrical forums... I don’t remember what is what! However, You’re exactly right! There seems to be a built in limit in the linear actuator. It’s designed to be for a reclining chair, one that you can manually switch forward to recline, backward to sit back up.

With that process in mind, the timer I got has multiple settings for ON an OFF. I only use one setting. every day of the week at (currently in the winter) 7:20 AM it turns ON, which tells the DPDT relay to retract the linear actuator, in turn opening the door. It stays ON until 7:30PM which is set to turn OFF, in then telling the DPDT relay to reverse the polarity and extend the linear actuator, closing the door.

I say you can easily make two because of how cheap the individual parts are! The linear actuator is the most expensive piece and so far Walmart’s website was the most affordable I had found, though some that tried my set up did mention they found one elsewhere (on Amazon) I believe.

I’m a completely visual person (hence the diagram), because it took me forever to figure out the wiring... again piecing together bits and pieces of information and tutorials I had found. I did see some people have luck using a car radio instead, but thought it might be too weak when encountering ice, snow, or debris (coop litter). The actuator has a 200lb limit and has held up amazingly in all elements.

 

[nparks]

Great, thank you! Just ordered everything! I’ll let you know how it turns out

 

[robson1015]

 

[Tsheaby]

Great, thank you! Just ordered everything! I’ll let you know how it turns out

Awesome!! You can customize the door too, depending on what you want I.e. opening up and down, or side to side. Just depends on your coops. I used just spare wood to made my “door” and “frame” to guide the door.

I found a “kit” on amazon that came with a linear actuator, DPDT relay, and timer (literally the exact parts I’ve listed separately) and it was ridiculously priced. I almost feel like I’ve cheated the market

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me! Happy to help.

P.S. the wiring you use doesn’t need to be colored as shown in the diagram, I just colored it to show connection points.