Cheaper chicken door contraption

How can I make a cheaper chicken door opener with parts I can find around my neighborhood?

Tom: Ashland, OH.

A car lock actuator is what Rob from Nifty-stuff.com uses. He found two electric car lock actuators on ebay for 11 dollars shipped, which is a lot cheaper than the drapery motor controller.

A junk yard might be a good place to find cheap actuators.

Read reviews of other automatic chicken doors:

While we're on the topic of automatic chicken care, check out our homemade chicken waterer which gives your birds clean water for days.

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Pop hole openers

Hey WaldenEffect, I too am looking for a cheap/effective auto opener. I found the same designs you have, but getting 120v to my coop is impractical, and I want this to be seriously cheap. I'm collecting the parts to try this one out: http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-A-Motorized-Window-Blinds-Controller-For-Les/

As long as you counterbalance the gate, the motor shouldn't have to work very hard, so this batter-operated motor should have no trouble. I like the added convenience of the light detection as well. This is well beyond my tinkering experience, but it looks doable. I'll let you know how it goes. Good luck! _david

Comment by David M — at lunch time on Friday, May 1st, 2009