The Chicken Guard automatic coop pop door: is it worth the money?

Chicken Guard coop pop door review - pin for later.

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So you've considered the pros and cons of buying an automatic chicken coop pop door and decided it would be a good fit for your situation.

Great! But there are a lot of brands on the market. How do you decide which is the best?

In this article I review the Chicken Guard automatic door, which I have used successfully in my coop for the past seven years. We'll look at:

Why choose the Chicken Guard?

We manufacture and assemble each unit in our own UK factory to ensure our high standards are maintained and all electronics are enclosed in weatherproof casing ensuring reliable operation in the most extreme conditions. We confidently provide a no-quibble 3 year guarantee, although we obviously build our units to last far longer than that.

We even include the 4 x AA batteries that you will need. Alternatively, you could power with electric, via USB cables, although we don’t provide the cables.

Warranty and customer service.

ensuring reliable operation in the most extreme conditions. We confidently provide a no-quibble 3 year guarantee, although we obviously build our units to last far longer than that.

We even include the 4 x AA batteries that you will need. Alternatively, you could power with electric, via USB cables, although we don’t provide the cables.

You'll find some "reviews" on the internet saying that all the commercially produced doors are the same. That's not been my experience - and I've actually used three different brands, rather than just reviewed the Amazon reviews as a lot of people do. So my chickens have had plenty of experience - and I would never now go back to anything other than Chicken Guard.

Reliable

Slow closing

https://www.chickenguard.co.uk/about-us/

About 10 years ago I was gifted a flock of chickens by my mother. With no experience of hen husbandry, especially the importance of safe bed times, I soon fell ‘fowl’ of Mr Fox and sadly lost a few of my flock.

can also talk to a real person from our in-house Customer Services team.We have come a long way from my kitchen table to our factory and base in Cambridge.

We even include

Chicken Guard - motor only.

ChickenGuard

This isn’t a full coop door, but just a box that controls the coop door you need to install separately. It works between temperatures as low as -20 degrees and as high as 120 degrees (sorry people who live in -30 degree weather…)

It also runs off AA batteries, which is convenient, but given the other options, the price tag of over $200 is a bit high for just a control box.

Chicken Guard - the whole deal. Features.

You can buy it as a complete kit (yay for easy install) or just buy the motor separately.

Are you “mechanically inclined,” so making a DIY automatic chicken coop door is easy for you, or would you rather just take one out of the box and install?
How large is your coop door? If it’s not a standard size, a DIY option might be easier, or you can find a way to adjust the door size.
Do you want to use electricity, solar energy, or batteries? Do you want the coop door to be chicken-activated?

Opens & closes your chicken coop using a timer & light sensor
– Manually open and close your chicken coop with a push of a button
– Fully featured LCD display for ease of use
– Powered by 4 x AA batteries (included) or electric powered via USB (cables not included)

As well as the easy-to-programme timer, the additional built-in light sensor means you have two options for maximum security and peace of mind. The full Manual Control Feature and unique Failsafe Mode also provide increased security and flexibility for timings.

An integrated LCD screen ensures it is easy to set up and alter timings when necessary. You won’t need an 8 year old to programme this door! And we have even designed extra big buttons so you can programme the unit with your gloves on in the winter – we really do understand all about bad weather.

HOW DURABLE IS THE STRING USED?This is a common question and the answer is: VERY DURABLE. In fact, over the many years which we have been manufacturing and selling ChickenGuard units all over the world, we have had only TWO cases of the string has breaking. In both cases, it was rubbing on the side of the coop – so we kindly ask that you check this isn’t the case on your coop. For the technical folk, the breaking strain of the string is 25kg or 50lb – that’s about 12 healthy hens!

Do not use rechargeable batteries, as their voltage can drop in adverse weather conditions.
When the batteries need changing, the red LED will be permanently lit. The red LED always flashes every 30 seconds when the door is CLOSED.

And we have even designed extra big buttons so you can programme the unit with your gloves on in the winter – we really do understand all about bad weather.

Our Automatic Coop Door Opener comes in three versions; Standard, Premium & Extreme.

How easy is it to set up?

The most difficult part of setting it up as far as I was concerned was needing to cut the hole in the thick brick wall my main coop is made of. Previously, two large wooden doors were the only way the hens could get in or out.

Apart from that, calibrating the chord so that the door opens to its full length and closes tightly is a little fiddly, but as long as you follow instructions, it's not difficult.

So if you already have a door, setting this up will not be a problem. There's a lot of information on the Chicken Guard website, and a helpful video, here.

Chicken Guard pop door: is it worth the money?

Of course, this is an individual decision. An automatic chicken house pop door can save time and trouble, but it is not a substitute for good chicken husbandry. It's still crucial to make sure your chickens do go into the coop to make sure they're safe.

But if you're happy that your flock will be able to use it, then a pop door can be a real boon.

The Chicken Guard automatic door is not cheap - but then your chickens are worth investing money in. And this particular door will make sure that predators can't physically get into the coop.

My personal view, with more than 7 years' experience of automatic pop doors and more than 5 with the Chicken Guard, is that it's worth its weight in gold.

How many Golden Eggs is it worth?

I score products that I review, with 1 Golden Egg meaning "don't bother" and 5 meaning "too good to miss". In the case of the Chicken Guard automatic coop pop door, my view is that it's worth...