We’ve all been there: It slipped your mind to close the coop door one night, or you slept in one morning and awoke to your flock still stuck inside and squawking to get out. For us, this was too often of an occurrence due to long or late work hours and I found that my flock was confused and could not settle on a routine. Not to mention the predator risk of keeping the door open late at night. In comes the Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door. Life. Changer. You can read the full specs and purchase your own on their website. I do really love this product and it has made our life so much easier! I would recommend this product to any backyard chicken keeper, for flocks big and small. If this product interests you then keep reading for additional details.
Versatility
When my package came in the mail I was so excited and opened it up right away! I was greeted by an overwhelming amount of different screws and attachments. I was so intimidated that I immediately handed this project off to my husband. He then installed the door in a matter of 10 minutes and handed most of the hardware back to me. Turns out, Omlet provides you with every piece of hardware you might need to attach the door to either a wooden coop, a wire mesh run, or any Omlet manufactured plastic coop. They provide you with everything you could possibly need in one box.
The settings for this door are also the most versatile I’ve seen. There are 3 operating setting: manual, timer, and light. All 3 settings work as described. Manual setting means the door only opens and closes when you press the button. Timer setting means you can set the door to open and close at specific times of the day. Light setting means it opens and closes with the daylight. We chose to use the light setting as chickens naturally form a routine based on daylight hours. I was skeptical at first but the light sensor on the operating panel is quite accurate and opens right at sunrise and closes at dusk. The question I get the most is ‘Have you ever had a chicken get locked out at night?’ and the answer is yes and no. The only chickens that have ever gotten locked out were the new/young pullets that had not yet learned the bedtime routine from the rest of the flock. I would have to put them inside myself for the first few nights upon introduction to the flock. After that, I never had a problem.
Safety
The Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door does provide security at night from predators. It’s unique horizontal design makes it incredibly difficult to open once it is shut, unlike a guillotine style door which can be pried open from below by a motivated predator.
The Omlet Automatic Door also has built in safety sensors so that it will not continue to close if a chicken is in the way. It will reopen and attempt to close again in a few minutes. This safety feature is where I encountered a problem. I assume this feature only works if an entire chicken is sitting in the doorway – not if a smaller body part is in the doorway. I arrived home from work one night, shortly after sundown and I went to go check on the flock as I always do. I was greeting by one of my young pullets squawking at the top of her lungs with her head stuck in the door. I am not sure how she ended up in this predicament, but none the less it seems this safety feature had failed me. She was thankfully not injured in anyway, just very unhappy.
Reliability
I waited 5 months to write this review as I wanted to make sure this product would stand up to the cold New England weather. It is now almost December and the Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door has seen some very cold nights here. Some nights in the single digits (Fahrenheit). The door has opened and closed at it’s appropriate times without fail every day. The battery life is also quite impressive. The battery life is still at 80% after 5 months so I can foresee the batteries lasting a whole full year!
We did purchase this product on our own accord. It was not sent to us as a sample by the company. Even though this post may contain affiliate links, be assured it is an honest review of a great product!
