Chicken Coops for Sale in Falmouth, Maine
Chicken Coops for Sale in Falmouth, Maine
Heavy Duty Solar Powered Automatic Chicken Coop Door
When we first got our chickens, each night I’d walk up to the coop & close them in. That worked great until the night I’d fall asleep putting our 3 kids to bed, or start watching a late-night movie, & suddenly OOOOHH SHIT, THE CHICKENS!!! …followed by a guilty run to the coop, wondering if I was about to find sleepy hens or a poultry massacre.
Chickens are a tasty snack for lots of predators. It’s a tough spot in the food chain. Locally we have raccoons, possums, weasels, foxes, coyotes, neighborhood dogs, hawks, eagles, owls… my friend Chris who loves fried chicken a little too much… Raccoons at night were my main concern.
A few months of this started to feel like Russian roulette. Like so many other pet chicken owners, I decided to try building an automatic chicken coop door.
On Youtube there are plenty of automatic chicken coop doors that use string to raise/lower a guillotine-style door, sliding vertically in a track. It’s a safe design — it won’t kill chickens if one gets in the way while closing — but I was worried the door would get jammed from ice & snow.
I wanted something with a direct drive to use with a door that swung up on hinges to open. Here’s what I ended up using:
- 12V linear actuator, 8″ extension, IP65 rated w/ built-in limit switches & mounting brackets: ~
- (2) 12V programmable digital timers:
- 12V DPDT relay w/ base:
- Wiring, inline fuse holder/fuse, terminals: $6
A/C dedicated power option:
- 12V 6-amp power adapter:
A/C with power outage protection:
- 12V 7-amp battery:
- battery maintainer:
D/C solar power option:
- 12V 7-amp battery:
- Low-watt solar panel:
- 12V solar charge controller: (optional)
Total cost: $81 dedicated A/C, $111 A/C battery backup, or $123 solar D/C ($138 w/ charge controller)
Linear actuators use a small motor to move an extendable/retractable arm. The arm moves very slowly with 50 to 200 pounds of force. Get one with built-in limit switches & an IP65 rating so dust/water/ice/snow is no problem — pretty great for chicken coops. There are various lengths for the arm travel distance. I got the 8″ model & it takes about 20 seconds to extend/retract the arm … plenty of time for chickens to move out of the way. Small 12V actuators like these usually have a rating of around ~5 amps, so make sure to use a relay, fuse & wiring that’s appropriate. Also make sure the actuator comes with mounting brackets, or you’ll need to come up with something.
Typically, actuators with higher force ratings mean slower movement. Same goes for the arm extension length — longer extension means your door closes more slowly — more time for chickens to get out of the way.
Next, how to power it. If your coop is near A/C power, you could use a 12V power supply instead of the battery/solar panel. Just make sure the power supply is rated for enough amps to reliably drive the linear actuator motor. Better yet, use a 12V battery permanently hooked up to a battery maintainer & you won’t ever have to worry about power outages.
Our coop is on wheels & we move it around our field far away from A/C power, so I needed it to be self-powered. Linear actuators only draw a few amps so a small 12V battery will do the trick — I had an old one lying around that wouldn’t start the lawn mower anymore, but worked great for the coop door.
To recharge the battery, I used a small 1.25-watt 12V solar panel. Since the panel’s power output is so low, it acts as a trickle charger, & that way you may not need a solar charge controller as long as the panel is in direct sunlight for most of the day. I’d still recommend a charge controller to make sure the panel doesn’t have a net drain effect on the battery in winter or other low-light conditions.
Last challenge was for the door to open in the morning & close in the evening. I went with a simple setup with very low power draw: two programmable 12V timers. The first timer (the “power timer”) switches on twice a day for 1 minute each to provide power to the actuator. The second timer (the “reversing timer”) energizes a DPDT relay concurrently during one of the power timer events to reverse polarity to the actuator. That opens & closes the coop door.
The last piece is a 12V DPDT relay wired as an H-bridge. This relay has 4 sets of /- pins: normally closed (NC), normally open (NO), common, & coil. The coil switches the common between the NC pins to the NO pins. For the H-bridge setup:
- connect your power source (+/-) to the timers’ power inputs. Fuse on the (+) wire.
- both timers: jump power (+) over to the 1st switch pin.
- power timer: connect 2nd switch pin (+) to a NC pin on the relay.
- jump that same NC pin (+) to a NO pin, but with opposite polarity.
- reversing timer: connect 2nd switch pin (+) to a coil pin (doesn’t matter which one).
- connect the linear actuator (+/-) to the common pins.
- connect ground (-) to the remaining open pins on NC, NO, & coil.
If when you’re all done the actuator operates the opposite from what you want, just flip the actuator’s connections to the relay’s common pins.
Next, program the timers so their clocks are set identically. Let them sit for a few days & figure out which timer is faster than the other. Use the faster timer for the reversing timer.
Power timer: set for two daily events (morning & night) of 1 minute each. For example, 6:30AM- 6:31AM and 9:00PM – 9:01PM.
Reversing timer: set to run concurrently with the morning power timer event, so it comes on sooner & stays on longer than the power timer. For example, 6:30AM – 6:35AM. I prefer the morning run so if anything goes wrong it only means the door won’t open (no big deal).
Whenever you change the time, make sure the reversing timer is always just a bit ahead. This way you can have the morning event start at the same time on both timers.
Check the timers after a month. I was surprised to find my timers get about 20 seconds off from each other. To compensate, I set my reversing timer event to stay on for 5 minutes — energizing the relay coil is a very minor drain on the battery. That way my system can run for over a year before I’d have to resync the timer clocks. I change the timer settings 3-4 times a year anyway, to adjust for daylight.
Here’s the whole system in action:
UPDATE: In the video I mention mypushcart.com as a good source for the actuator, but they don’t include mounting brackets. Lately you can find IP65-rated actuators on eBay with mounting brackets included for the same $60 price, with free shipping.
Chicken Coop On Wheels Designs in Falmouth, Maine
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Falmouth Maine" into any one of the numerous search engines and a wealth of information will pop up. This information will provide links to other websites that will be informative and will provide the right direction for finding Falmouth Maine chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Falmouth, Maine With the huge increase in poultry maintaining there has been a similarly large increase in the range of poultry stuff on sale. Chicken real estate is a proceedings in point. It's also a timeless instance of the good old bandwagon being got on as various potential fowl real estate experts pitch a range of lodging declaring to be the suitable remedy to your chicken real estate needs. Typically the price looks desirable, the house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look desirable. Definitely they know a high quality chicken house when they see one? There are numerous economical as well as awful coops swamping the market. I recognize this as I've tested a number of them in the field, and seen a ewe run directly via one when the feed pail appeared. The result was nothing but a pricey heap of firewood and also a tiny group of bemused and also now homeless bantams.
Baby Chick Enclosure in Falmouth, Maine
Typically these mass produced versions are created of quick grown hardwood - come the first decrease of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a doorway that won't shut, or ripping the doorway furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking occupants. The very first warm and comfortable day means the wood dries out and cracks, the really felt roofing system bubbles and boils, and come nightfall the chickens choose not to go in. This is not due to their frustration at the decrease of their when appealing property however due to the fact that the hovel is currently a haven for, as well as possibly abounding, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it stated on the blurb that it would certainly match four big hens when that equipping density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, and also what are you entrusted? A couple of joints as well as some kindling. A suitable coop for thee to 4 birds must cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can depend upon whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run affixed. Assuming you are ranging your birds in a huge room and the pop opening door allows enough for the breed you keep, then the primary demands of real estate come down to 3 factors which will define the variety of birds your house will hold; perches, nest boxes as well as air flow. Most types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost in the evening, this perch needs to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off edges so the foot sits pleasantly on it. The perch should be more than the nest box access as chickens will additionally normally search for the acme to perch. A perch below that will have the birds roosting in the nest box over night (which is by the way when they generate the most poo) resulting in dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the floor of the house that leg injuries might occur when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens need regarding 20cm of perch each (in small breeds this is clearly less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your home they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that crazy about roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Ideally your house needs to have a least one nest box for each 3 birds and also these should be off the ground and in the darkest location of your house. Your home ought to have sufficient ventilation: without it after that condensation will certainly develop every evening, even in the chilliest of weather. Be aware, air flow deals with the principle of cozy air leaving through a high gap drawing cooler air in from a lower space - it's not a collection of holes on contrary walls of the house and at the exact same level, this is just what's called a draught. If you have a house with a run attached then the points above are still real, yet you ought to likewise consider the run dimension. The EU optimum legal stocking density for a free array bird is (as well as let's encounter it, one of the motivations for keeping some hens in your home is potentially enhanced or much better well-being) 2,500 birds each hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m made even. Take a close check out several of the bargain residences - it could well be your home has the ideal perches, correct air flow and enough nest boxes for a sensible number of birds, but will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? And so as the stating goes, "you get just what you spend for". You could believe you've grabbed a bargain, but you and your flock can rue the day you did. Purchase the ideal house and it will last for a couple of years, if not longer provided the right treatment. In the long run your poultry and your poultry maintaining experience will certainly be a lot the better for it.diy coops
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