How the Smart Autodoor makes winter easier for you and your chickens

We can learn a lot from chickens — they go to bed early, and know how to snuggle up together to get warm on a cold winter’s night, ready to seize the next day when the sun comes up. But, once we’re down for our long winter’s nap, it’s hard for humans to rise and shine when it means having to trudge out to the coop in the cold. Discover how the Smart Autodoor makes winter easier for you and your chickens when you employ this chicken-life changing piece of technology to be your personal coop concierge.

A Smart Autodoor for any coop

The Smart Autodoor is the perfect solution for all chicken keepers. It attaches to any chicken coop or run, and can be controlled via the control panel or through a mobile app. When connected to WiFi, the Smart Autodoor can be customized, opened, closed, and updated anytime, from anywhere in the world.

Like many ingenious inventions — think wind-up radios, compasses, or steam engines — Omlet’s Smart Autodoor is simple, but effective. This hands-free device has several customizable settings, making it perfect for any schedule, be it human or chicken.

The Smart Autdoor’s open and close schedules can be based on the sun or the clock. The daylight setting adheres to a schedule based on how much daylight is available, keeping your flock in their routine even when the time changes in preparation for winter. If you prefer to have more control over your coop, the time setting can be programmed to open and close the coop door at the times of your choosing. The manual setting enables you to open and close the door at the push of a button on the app or control panel, or by speaking a request to your Alexa or Google Home device.

Attaching the Smart Autodoor

The Smart Autodoor was made to be the perfect companion to our larger chicken coops. If your flock already lives in an Eglu Cube or Eglu Pro, installation is quick and simple. But, fitting the Smart Autodoor to traditional chicken wire, Omlet’s chicken run wire, or wooden chicken coops is also simple thanks to the corresponding attachment kits.

Once installed, the control panel is powered with batteries or through the direct wire connection. The integrated light censors of the control panel are intuitive, ensuring that passing headlights or sudden cloud coverage doesn’t trigger the Smart Autodoor to open or close when using the daylight setting. Positioning your control panel on the side of the coop with a mounting bracket will allow constant access to ambient lighting.

The optional coop light helps your hens head to bed on time. By installing the light around the roosting area of your coop, your flock will have a night light to beckon them to bed. The coop light will come on 5 minutes before the Smart Autodoor closes by default, but this time can be adjusted through the app to accommodate hens that may tend to stay out past their roost-time.

Why is the Smart Autodoor better in the winter?

Aside from the warmer mornings in bed, or sparing yourself a chilly trek to the coop with a few taps on your mobile device, the Smart Autdoor offers practical benefits for your flock in the winter. The seal of the Smart Autodoor further insulates our chicken coops by maintaining a draft-free environment. And, the control panel and Smart Autdoor mechanism has been tested and proven to perform in temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

The horizontally-opening mechanism of the Smart Autodoor is strong, designed to reliably perform in all weather conditions and to protect against predators. Instead of a string and pulley system, the components of the Smart Autodoor are nearly impossible for predators to pry open. But even with its strength, our automatic coop door has a delicate door sensor that ensures that no part of a hen is closed in the door. If the sensors detect an obstruction, the door will stop and reverse its path, and will try again after a few minutes.

Between holiday travels and the fluctuating daylight hours, keeping your flock safe and on schedule has never been easier. Like a true coop concierge, the Smart Autodoor eliminates the need for you to brave the cold outside of your cozy bed to let your flock out of their coop, or venture out in the freezing temperatures to close your hens in their house for the night.

Omlet and your flock

We’re here to make winter a more enjoyable experience for you and your flock. From our Smart Autodoor to our insulated chicken coops and chicken coop and run weather protection, we have everything you need to keep your chickens safe, warm, and covered throughout the entire season. Enjoy the warmer hours of the day with your flock, while our ingenious products take care of them during the cold. So snuggle up with your loved ones this winter, knowing Omlet is helping your flock do the same in their setup.