My review of the Omlet automatic coop door. A must have for busy, time poor chicken keepers.

Automatic chicken coop doors make use of a timer or daylight sensor to open and close the door on the hen house enabling the keeper to let the birds out into the run or to free range and to safely shut them away again at night.

Initial impressions:

The Omlet auto coop door arrived well packed and the box contains all the fixings you need to add the door to whatever coop you are using. Although it is designed to work seamlessly with Omlet chicken coops, the door can be easily fitted to almost any coop.

Below: Unboxing the Omlet coop door.

The control box is compact and the panel is easy to read and back lit so you can read it clearly at any hour of the day or night.

How I tested:

• First of all I got the door out of the box and had a good look at the components and build quality.
• Secondly, I set the door up on a test bed and put it through 400 complete open and close cycles.
• Thirdly, I fixed it to the coop and let the chickens have a play.
• Lastly I tested the door to see if it was safe and how it dealt with obstructions.

First use of the Omlet auto coop door and light:

The Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door is the only one on the market that opens sideways, every other model lifts a door in runners.

Below: Here is the close cycle for the coop door sped up with time lapse showing how the light works with the automatic coop door.

The coop light comes on 5 minutes before the door closes and shuts off just after the door has finished closing.

The instructions are clear and concise with a picture of every step.

Below: Assembly is simple and takes only a few minutes. All you need is a Phillips screw driver.

One of the things that has impressed me immensely with the Omlet coop accessories is all the fixings are supplied even for the older coop models. The fixing supplied also allow you to fix to almost any home built or store bough coop as well.

The first test: The build quality.

I opened up the working parts of the door and was happy to find quality rubber seals around all of the electronics and brass bushes in the moulded plastic where the fixings screw in.

Below: The build quality of the Omlet Automatic coop door is very good. Metal gears, rubber seals to keep the moisture out and brass bushes moulded into the plastic for the fixings.

There is plenty of length to the included cables and the connectors are solid.

The build quality is impressive, and it's clear that Omlet has put a lot of thought into both functionality and aesthetics.

The second test: 400 open and close cycles.

You might be wondering why I picked 400 open and closing cycles when testing the Omlet automatic coop door. This is just over a years equivalent use.

Below: Putting the door through its paces by opening and closing it 400 times.

The truth is I wanted to see how long the batteries were going to last but when the batteries were showing 60% charge remaining after 400 full cycles, I decided to call it a day.

Cluckin.net is supported by its readers and is a member of the Amazon affiliate program and can earn from qualifying purchases -  You can buy the Omlet Auto coop door from amazon or direct.

Below: The control panel is back lit, easy to read and simple to use.

This translates into two to three years of battery life under average usage conditions.

The third test: What do the hens think of it?

It took me around 25 minutes to install the automatic door on my coop and because my hens are used to auto doors in the coops they settled into it just fine.

In the eight weeks I have been using the Omlet door We have had 9 large and powerful storms here in the UK dumping everything from huge amounts of rain and hail to snow and freezing rain as well as freezing conditions and the door has coped admirably.

Below: The hens emerging in the morning. They were used to it in no time at all

All of my chickens got to grips with the omlet door on day one.

Is it safe?

I shut my fingers in the door to see what happened. The door is perfectly safe, once it realises it cant close properly it opens fully and tries again.

Below: The safety test:

It turns out the door is perfectly safe for chickens. It runs off 6 volts supplied by 4 AA batteries so there is no risk of shocks.

What I liked and what I didn't like:

There is a lot to like with this product:

The door is sturdy, well built and has an incredible battery life. The Omlet automatic coop door is easy to fit and has all the fixings included.

What I didn't like about the Omlet auto coop door:

It is expensive.

Cluckin.net is supported by its readers and is a member of the Amazon affiliate program and can earn from qualifying purchases -  You can buy the Omlet Auto coop door from amazon or direct.