Mary Allen
When it gets dark early, many chickens go to bed before their owner gets home from work. Automatic chicken doors can help prevent predators from entering the coop at dusk.
There are quite a few electronic chicken flaps on the market. The manufacturers are called Kerbl, Axt Electronic, or Jost Technik. The latter recently presented its multifunctional “chicken door”, which has been on the market for six years, at the largest European small animal exhibition, the Europaschau in Herning (Denmark). It is a flap control for multiple stall systems. The product is aimed at farmers who have to close more than one barn in the evening. The main benefit is that the gates close automatically at dusk, protecting the chickens from predators.
The simplest version is equipped with a light sensor. It ensures that the flap opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. The entry-level model costs around 130 francs and operates a door. According to the developer, this “beginner” can be individually expanded. The flaps are available in four sizes: for chickens, ducks, geese, and an XXL version measuring 74 centimeters high and 48 centimeters wide. To ensure that the elevator has enough power, the door is made of two millimeters thick, robust aluminum. The basic model can be supplemented with an individually programmable timer.
The strength of the German manufacturer Jost Technik lies in the controls. Among other things, the chickens can be lured into the coop at dusk with the help of an automatically switched light. This can also be used for a lighting program that ensures a 16-hour day, as is usual in commercial poultry farming, and thus encourages the hens to lay eggs. Lamps with dimming function also ensure a day watch before sunrise.
The doors are controlled by a two-pin plug. If there is no electricity, there is also a battery option. The control center can control up to 64 individual flaps. A real-time clock ensures that the time changes automatically, and four light sensors ensure that the chicken coops can be divided into four coop groups. This helps if, for example, the chicks are only allowed out in the afternoon, the roosters at nine in the morning, and the hens before sunrise.
Also Thought Against Raccoons
With the additional functions of the temperature sensors, fans can be switched on or off depending on the barn temperature and the chicken house can be tempered so that the drinking water never freezes. In the case of greater distances between the individual stables, a cable connection does not necessarily have to be drawn. The flaps can communicate via WiFi if the chickens have internet in the barn. If the animals should return to the barn once during the day, the owner can even regulate the controls with remote control.
The raccoon is the new fox – at least in Germany. Some experienced chicken breeders even say that they are currently more afraid of this nocturnal predator imported from North America than of Master Reineke. A normal chicken door is no longer sufficient as protection. A raccoon’s front paws are like hands. With it, he can open almost everything that is not specially secured.
In Switzerland, a raccoon is shot from time to time. However, the hunting statistics only record isolated cases. There are also no known major lawsuits from chicken keepers. Nevertheless, Jost Technik has developed a “deluxe” model that can be equipped with a self-locking system for an extra charge, making the chicken house safe from raccoons.