MATICOOPXAutomatic Chicken Coop Door Opener, with Timer & Light Sensor, Aluminum Door,Grey

Finding the perfect automatic chicken coop door seems like a simple proposition, but after researching and trying a variety of options I discovered most of the products on the market have significant flaws. I’m happy to say that the MaticoopX solves most of these and is the best solution I’ve been able to find. There are several advantages the MaticoopX brings to the table:* An Easy to Program Display Screen. It takes seconds to set the time or door functions, and it clearly displays battery level. Many other doors lack a display screen making programming difficult at best.* Best-in-Class Light Sensor: The light sensor on the MaticoopX is sensitive and fantastic, but what really sets it apart: When you’re setting the light triggers, the screen will display the current level of light being received by the sensor. That takes the guess work out of setting up the open/close door settings!* Door Retracts if Chicken is in the Way: Let’s face it, chickens can be stupid, and I’ve read stories of other doors trapping people’s chickens. But the Maticoopx will lift back up if something is in the way! See my video, I tried this with my own hand, and it works perfectly.* Multiple Time or Light Open/Close Modes: All of the different brands of chicken doors encounter the same problem when trying to determine how to close the door without leaving chickens outside. It’s easy enough to get a door to raise at sunrise, but trying to figure out how to close it at the right time based on light levels is difficult. The level of darkness at nightfall can be vary daily due to clouds, ambient light, porch lights, etc. If you’re not careful, you can end up with a door that closes too early (leaving chickens outside), or one that closes too late (potentially letting predators in). The MaticoopX helps solve these problems by giving you a variety of open/close options. You can choose to have the door open/close at preset times. You can choose to have the door open via light sensor but close via preset time in the evening. Or, you can choose to open and close the door both based on light levels. I prefer the light level method for both open and close, but if you’ve tried other doors you’ll know this can be maddening to set right. But the MaticoopX makes this much simpler as a result completely customizable light settings AND the fact that it displays the current light level on the screen. The sensor breaks down light levels from 1 (total darkness) to 180 (full sun) and when you’re setting the light meter settings it will show you exactly what the current level is. The door arrives set to open at 120 light, and to close when the meter reads 40. For my setup, I quickly found that 40 was too high and the door closed too early. (My door is mounted on an east-facing wall so it gets dark quicker there). The first night I used the manual open/close to let my chickens in. The next night, I simply went into the menu as soon as my chickens headed to the coop and determined that the sensor was reading 30. So, I set my door to close at 20, and I’ve had no further issues.* Well-Built, Waterproof Design: The roll-down door appears to be anodized aluminum and locks in place when closed. Predators are not getting in. The frame is also aluminum but backed with an additional rugged plastic frame. As long as you don’t over-tighten the door when installing, it should last well. The unit runs on 3 AA batteries that are protected by a waterproof rubber cover. The display is sealed with a rubber gasket and the exposed buttons are also rubberized and protected. It’s been through a heavy rain storm and temperatures between 20 degrees and 75 degrees Fahrenheit already without problem, but I am tempted to fashion an additional cover for the display in order to help the unit last even longer. That might be overkill, but it wouldn’t hurt as long as the light sensor is still exposed. It is advertised as not freezing in cold weather, something that is a problem with other doors. It hasn’t yet been cold enough here to really know for certain whether that’s the case. I would suspect that if you live in an area with a lot of snow that you’d want to have some kind of covering to keep snow from piling up on the top of the door and display, but that’s just speculation.* Excellent Instructions: It’s clear from both the design of the MaticoopX and the thorough instruction book that people who know chickens have designed this door. They give helpful advice in the instructions about placing and operating the door, and the instructions are clear with full-color pictures.So far, I’m very pleased with this door, especially at the current price point, and I’m glad I took a chance on the MaticoopX. Based on my research and experience to this point, I believe it’s the best option on the market.

Gone are the days of rushing home to secure the chickens - freedom is ours once again! I opted for this battery-powered option, since our coop is under a big shade tree, so solar wouldn’t work. And it’s too far from a power source, so corded wasn’t an option. The programming on this thing is an absolute breeze. The control panel pretty much explains what you need to do.Only possible cons:The other night I glanced outside and noticed the door was still up and the screen was glowing in the darkness and a blinking red light, which is unusual, so I went out to investigate. The display said there was a jam, and though I cleared the few inoffensive-seeming wood shavings from around the opening, it still wouldn’t close. So I popped out the batteries for a hard reset. It took a few seconds to reprogram, it closed itself, and we were back in business.And I will say that though it does have an anti-crush sensor, when I tested with my hand, it exerted a pretty significant force before reopening. I think it would probably be enough to decapitate a chicken, but in my opinion, if the chicken is stupid enough to stand there while the door is coming down (and it has enough noise that should scare off a chicken), then buh-bye, stupid chicken.I love this thing so much, I bought one for a friend who doesn’t have an automatic door. Its life-changing, I tell ya.

Update: 1.5 months later and the door is now dead. I changed the batteries, installed and uninstalled, but it’s not coming back to life. Pretty disappointed since I really liked it initially. And now it’s past the date of return. So that’s money down the drain. Very disappointed.I bought this mainly because it was the cheapest in automatic door that can ship fast. It was initially installed using a power tool by friend who is a contractor. It stopped working after 3 days. I changed the battery but it didn’t work. So I uninstalled it. And as soon as it was off, it turned back on and started working again. I found out later that you’re not suppose to use power tools on this or it will malfunction. It has since been working well again after I installed it using a screw driver. Do not install it too tight!The door itself is metal and seems to be predator proof. It appears to be well built.The door can be configured so it either closes/opens on a set time or using the light sensor. I personally programmed mine to open at daylight using the light sensor, and to close at a set time (9:00PM). I do like to check on my chickens before I go to bed to make sure everyone is in the coop. You can also manually open and close it by pressing the up or down buttons for 3 seconds. This makes it really versatile.The light sensor can also be programmed on the amount of light it’s detecting. I find that if you set it to it highest setting on a mid sunny day, it will detect the right amount of light for closing and opening in the morning and night.The instructions for programming the door is written on the door itself, which makes it easy since you don’t have to keep looking for the manual, cause let’s be honest, most people don’t read them, and most of the time they end up in the trash.

This is sturdier and has better controls than the one I paid over $100 for.

Chickens always want to be out of bed before me!! Seems it uses batteries pretty fast, but overall worth it.....not having to remember to shut them up at night and free reign in the morning.

It is sturdy, works great, install and set up are very easy. We are very happy with this automatic chicken coop door.

It was a pretty slick item, but it quick working once the weather got cold, and and has not resumed. I've tried new batteries, but it will not turn on.Would love a replacement and give it a try again, because I loved it other than that!

I am SO happy with this door! I live in Australia and spent ages researching the best door for me in terms of price, size, operation, security and reliability. This door really delivered on all these counts and has been life changing for me and my wee chooks. Now I’m confident that they get securely closed into their sleeping box at night and are safe from foxes and I no longer have to drag myself out of bed at 4.45am to let them out when it gets light. Still monitoring battery usage but so far it looks good. Easy to fit and operate. I’ve been using on the timer function as I’m more confident with that and it’s been 100% reliable.The door was sent to me from the US and came quickly at a very reasonable postage rate.Highly recommended!!!!

Pretty much redundant. It is always jammed and won't close. I can manually move it but it stayed in jammed mode. I wish I could return this!

Product worked as it should. However, it was only -10°c here and it would not function because it was to cold. Had to remove and go back to a manual door for the winter. Might install it again come spring.