Chicken Coops for Sale in Byrnedale, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Byrnedale, Pennsylvania
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 Guides in Byrnedale, Pennsylvania
A good place to start any search is the internet. Simply plugging in the phrase "chicken coops for sale in Byrnedale Pennsylvania" 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 Byrnedale Pennsylvania chicken coops. What to look for when buying a chicken coop in Byrnedale, Pennsylvania With the significant rise in chicken maintaining there has been a just as big surge in the range of fowl stuff for sale. Poultry real estate is an instance in point. It's also a traditional example of the excellent old bandwagon being jumped on as different potential poultry housing professionals pitch a selection of lodging declaring to be the excellent solution to your chicken real estate requirements. Often the price looks eye-catching, your house looks eye-catching, hell even the clean-cut family members standing there feeding the chickens look appealing. Surely they recognize a professional chicken house when they see one? There are lots of economical and unpleasant cages swamping the market. I know this as I've tested a number of them in the area, as well as seen a ewe run straight through one when the feed container showed up. The result was nothing but an expensive pile of fire wood and a tiny flock of bemused and currently homeless bantams.
Chicken Coop Enclosures in Byrnedale, Pennsylvania
More often than not these mass produced models are built of quick grown wood - come the first decline of rainfall they swell, leaving you either blockading a door that will not shut, or tearing the door furnishings off in a vain attempt to launch the squawking residents. The very first warm and comfortable day indicates the lumber dries out and also fractures, the really felt roof bubbles and also boils, and also come nightfall the hens refuse to enter. This is not as a result of their dissatisfaction at the decrease of their once eye-catching residential property however considering that the hovel is currently a sanctuary for, and also possibly crawling with, the chicken caretaker's bane, red mite. Add the fact that it claimed on the blurb that it would certainly suit 4 large hens when that stocking density was based upon the Circle Line at 5pm on a Friday, as well as just what are you entrusted? A few joints as well as some kindling. A decent coop for thee to four birds ought to cost you approximately ₤ 300 though this can rely on whether you elect for a complimentary standing house or one with a run attached. Presuming you are ranging your birds in a big area and the pop opening doorway allows sufficient for the breed you maintain, then the main requirements of housing boil down to three factors which will define the variety of birds your house will certainly hold; perches, nest boxes and also air flow. A lot of types of chicken will certainly perch when they go to roost at night, this perch ought to preferably be 5-8cm large with smoothed off sides so the foot sits easily on it. The perch needs to be higher than the nest box entrance as chickens will certainly also naturally search for the highest point to perch. A perch lower than that will certainly have the birds roosting in the nest box overnight (which is by the way when they generate one of the most poo) bring about dirtied eggs the list below day. They should not nevertheless be so high off the flooring of the house that leg injuries could possibly happen when the bird comes down in the morning. Chickens require regarding 20cm of perch each (in tiny breeds this is clearly much less), plus if greater than one perch is mounted in your house they ought to be more than 30cm apart. They will certainly hunker up with their neighbors yet are not that keen on roosting with a beak in the bloomers of the bird in front. Preferably your house should have a the very least one nest box for each three birds as well as these should be off the ground as well as in the darkest location of your home. The house needs to have adequate air flow: without it then condensation will certainly develop every night, also in the coldest of weather condition. Know, ventilation works with the concept of cozy air leaving with a high gap drawing cooler air in from a reduced gap - it's not a collection of holes on other wall surfaces of your home and at the exact same level, this is what's called a draft. If you have a house with a run attached after that the points above are still true, yet you should also consider the run size. The EU maximum legal stocking density for a cost-free array bird is (as well as let's encounter it, among the inspirations for keeping some chickens in the house is perhaps enhanced or far better well-being) 2,500 birds per hectare, that's maximum one bird per 4m squared. Take a close check out some of the deal houses - it could well be your home has the appropriate perches, proper ventilation as well as adequate nest boxes for a practical variety of birds, yet will each of the chickens have anything greater than an A4 sized piece of ground to spend the day on? Therefore as the saying goes, "you obtain what you spend for". You may assume you've got hold of a bargain, however you and your group might rue the day you did. Acquisition the best house and it will certainly last for a few years, otherwise longer provided the right treatment. Ultimately your poultry and your chicken keeping experience will be considerably the better for it.diy chickens
More Posts
Chicken Coops for Sale in Ashville, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Analomink, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Brackney, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania
Chicken Coops for Sale in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania