2022 | Automatic Chicken Coop Doors – Automate Your Coop!

If automatic powered chicken coop doors are designed to make your life easier, they should be relatively simple to set up and use, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Also, some models don’t perform as expected and wind up either trapping your flock inside all day or locking them out at night.

So, what should you look for?

The best automatic chicken coop doors will:

• Come with a programmable timer and a battery.
• Feature a photocell for detecting daylight.
• Be weatherproof.
• Have an auto-stop safety feature.
• Have a manual-opening option.

Now that you know what to be on the lookout for, carefully read through the reviews below to select the model that best fits your particular coop and needs.

Best Overall Automatic Chicken Coop Door

Using a top-quality chicken door can make life easier for you and safer for your chickens.

The best options give you the versatility and control you need to care for your flock year-round.

JVR Automatic Chicken Door Coop Opener Kit

The JVR Automatic Chicken Door Coop Opener Kit offers a convenient way for chicken owners to protect their flock with a programmable automatic timer and sturdy construction.

If you’re looking for convenience and reliability, this coop door from JVR is a breeze to install and operate.

You don’t have to worry about any complex cables or wiring. Instead, simply attach the door, plug it in, and adjust the default settings to meet your flock’s needs.

It’s wide enough to accommodate even larger chicken and duck breeds.

A programmable timer with a user-friendly LCD screen makes it easy to set opening and closing times to keep your chickens safe.

This door offers you a hands-off way to keep your chickens safe and secure throughout the night, making it the top contender for the best automatic chicken coop door. 

Pros:

• Automatic open and close function.
• Programmable timer.
• Easy installation.
• Large enough for most backyard birds.

Cons:

• Weak safety sensor.

Best Value Automatic Chicken Coop Door 

While automatic chicken coop doors can save a ton of time and hassle by automating your coop set up, they’re pricier than their manual counterparts.

Fortunately, you can find quality budget options that offer great value for your dollar.

Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener With Motor & Timer

If you’re looking for value without sacrificing performance, the Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener offers top-tier quality without a hefty price tag.

The Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener features a large, sturdy build that can easily fit most birds.

It’s tough enough to stand up to even persistent predators and easy to install in under 30 minutes.

Using a simple dial, you can program how far you want your door to rise each morning. 

A heavy-duty motor and solid metal rails ensure that the door lifts every time with full clearance space.

The entire assembly is weatherproof for a longer lifespan and comes backed with a one-year warranty.

This chicken coop door is built for durability but at a much more affordable price than similar alternatives.

Pros:

• Durable build.
• Weatherproof design.
• Heavy-duty motor.
• Easy to install and control.

Cons:

• A bulky, heavy design.

Runner-Up: ChickenGuard Extreme Automatic Coop Door

A powered coop door may not be the best option for every chicken owner.

If you don’t want to rely on the grid and aren’t quite ready to go solar, you may want to opt for a battery-operated door.

ChickenGuard Extreme Automatic

The ChickenGuard Extreme Door Kit Combo offers a reliable, battery-backed workhorse of a coop door opener.

This coop door boasts a simple installation and a low-maintenance design, making it a good long-term choice for chicken owners.

It runs on four AA batteries so that you don’t have to worry on cloudy days.

The door features an LCD screen that allows you to set a timer for opening and closing, or you can set the LUX light sensor to detect dawn and dusk each day.

Thanks to a robust laser-cut aluminum design, this door can last for years with proper care and is backed by a three-year manufacturer’s guarantee.

Pros:

• Works well on cloudy days.
• Connects to a battery bank.
• Easy to set up and maintain.
• Programmable timer and light sensor.

Cons:

• Doesn’t work well in cold conditions.

Best Solar Swinging Coop Door Kit 

Many solar coop doors boast a sliding design, which can pose a potential crushing hazard for birds.

Swinging doors can help to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries, making them a popular choice among chicken owners. 

Coop Controls Automatic Coop Door Opener Kit

With this door opener kit from Coop Controls, you can convert your swinging door to solar power with convenient, hands-free operation. 

If you don’t want to replace your coop door, you can simply reconfigure it to work with solar power instead of connecting to the grid.

The Coop Controls Automatic Coop Door Opener Kit converts swinging doors into automatic, solar-powered units with a simple installation.

You won’t need to swap out your door or change the coop structure to accommodate the kit.

Once installed, the kit uses light-detecting photocells to open automatically at sunrise and close at sunset.

You can also program a delay of up to 60 minutes if your chickens need more time to settle in for the night. 

If you’re looking for quick and easy installation, this door opener kit works with just about any swinging door design to transform it into an automatic, solar-powered unit.

Pros:

• Works with almost any swinging door and coop design.
• Easy to install.
• Automatically opens and closes based on daylight.
• Programmable delay.

Cons:

• Doesn’t include a backup battery.

Pair one of these automatic doors with a few solar chicken coop lights (find the best options here) to further save time, money, and effort!

Buyer’s Guide for Automatic Chicken Coop Doors 

When buying a chicken coop door, there are some important considerations to keep in mind to keep your flock safe, happy, and healthy.

Safety Features

Automatic chicken doors can pose a potential health and safety hazard for your birds without proper safety sensors.

As your door closes each evening, you want to ensure that it won’t harm any fowl that might get in the way.

This is especially true when it comes to sliding doors, which can easily injure or even crush unsuspecting chickens from above.

It’s best to look for a coop door with a sensitive safety sensor to keep your chickens safe as they file in for the night.

Most safety sensors are designed to detect resistance and stop the door in its tracks, much in the same way that elevator and garage doors do.

If the door makes contact with a chicken, the sensor will shut off the motor before the door can cause any more damage. 

Opening Mechanism

Most automatic coop doors are able to open themselves so that you don’t have to check on your flock at the crack of dawn each day.

You can find some options that have a programmable open-and-close mechanism where you set a timer for sunrise and sunset.

With this type of door, you’ll have to pay close attention to daylight hours as they change throughout the year.

For an even more hands-off approach, you can find coop doors that use photocells to detect light.

This type of door opens and closes automatically depending on sunlight levels.

While this offers a convenient option on sunny days, sensitive photocells may cause the door to close prematurely during dark or cloudy days.

In these cases, some light-detecting doors have a timer-based or remote control backup.

Related Questions:

Here, we’re going to go over some of the most common questions that chicken owners ask about automatic coop doors.

Do Solar Chicken Coop Doors Work On Cloudy Days? 

Solar-powered chicken coop doors need plenty of sunlight to work and have enough energy stored to open and close.

This can be a problem on dark or cloudy days when light is scarce. Most chicken owners combat this by hooking the door up to a backup battery pack, storing excess energy for cloudy days.

Can an Electric Chicken Coop Door Be Converted to Solar?

With the right equipment, it can be fairly easy to convert an electric coop door to a solar-powered one. You can rewire a door to connect to a solar panel as opposed to your home’s power supply.

Instead of getting energy from the grid, the door will be use electrical energy converted from sunlight to operate.

Wrapping It Up

With electric, battery, and solar options available, the hardest part in selecting an automatic coop door is deciding which type best meets your needs for safety and dependability.

With this in mind, the ChickenGuard Extreme Automatic Coop Door is a wise choice for almost any coop.

Because it’s not a plug-in or solar design, you won’t need to worry about power outages or cloudy days jeopardizing the safety of your flock.

Simply keep fresh batteries on hand and you’re covered regardless of the electricity supply or available sunlight.

With features like a manual open-shut option, programmable timer, low-battery warning, light receptors, and a highly visible door-closed indicator light for peace of mind, you can relax knowing that your chickens are safe and secure each night – all with no effort from you!