Hen coops aren’t simply cozy properties the place the fowl can relaxation at night time, they’re additionally important safety from predators. In the USA, for instance, coyotes are a critical menace to chickens and house owners must put actual effort into retaining them at bay. A sturdy coop can present good safety, however the proprietor must herd to birds out and in every day, closing the door to lock them inside when it’s darkish. That’s a problem, so lcamtuf constructed Hen Squisher 3000. It’s an automated coop door that doesn’t squish chickens.
Over the summer season, lcamtuf and their spouse constructed a extremely critical hen coop. They stay in an space with legit predators, together with grizzly bears and mountain lions, and chilly winters, in order that they went all-out with the coop. It has double partitions, double-pane home windows, an electrified perimeter fence, and even electrical shops inside for lighting and heating. By automating the door, lcamtuf can make sure the chickens stay protected, even when they aren’t residence to shut it up at night time.
Hen Squisher 3000 is an actuator that opens and closes the coop door. It may achieve this on the contact of a button or routinely primarily based on gentle ranges. Importantly, it has tunable stall torque settings. That’s the place the gadget acquired its identify, as a result of lcamtuf can enhance the torque simply sufficient to reliably open and shut the door, however not a lot that the door poses a danger to the chickens.
A small DC motor with a worm gear swings the door by way of sliding rod, which eradicated the necessity for a fancy linkage. An aluminum challenge field homes the electronics. An important part is a Microchip AVR Dx 8-bit microcontroller (particularly, the AVR16DD14). It screens gentle ranges by way of a regular photoresistor and drives the DC motor by way of a DRV8231, which has current-sensing to allow stall torque settings. Aside from that, it’s simply energy and buttons.
The Hen Squisher 3000 management field mounts simply above the coop door, the place lcamtuf can entry it when overriding the default light-dependent habits. And until the native predators discover ways to press the buttons, the chickens ought to stay protected and sound by way of the night time.
