Automatic Door For Green Frogs

[dinosaw]

Just a bit of advice for anyone considering getting an auto door for their green frog, if you are keeping big birds then don't. I have got on quite well with mine for several years with medium sized birds, the cord would be forced off the pulley the odd time in the morning but it was rare, now I have some Silver Sussex in there (who are really big girls) it is off every single morning and is starting to drive me nuts, I wouldn't bother again. The problem is that the VSB unit can't be mounted directly above the door because of space constraints so the cord needs to run across two pulleys one of which is directly above the door, as soon as it is opening enough for the hens to get their head through they are forcing it up but they are so big they are actually forcing the cord of the pulley entirely too.

 

[chrismahon]

Sounds a real nuisance Dinosaw. My first thought was to add weight to the door, but how much you can add will depend on the capacity of the VSB. I had a similar problem with a door that wouldn't close, which resulted in the cord dropping off the pulley and I added weight to it, having found no obvious reason why it was sticking. Another idea is disks either side of the pulley which will have the effect of increasing the groove depth so the cord won't fall out.

 

[dinosaw]

I was mooting whether to add more weight to the door Chris, will give that a go first, I hadn't thought of adding discs to the pulley though so thanks for that suggestion will try it if the weight doesn't work. Apparently the VSB can go up to 3kg, though I will believe that when I see it.

 

[Marigold]

It would be worth contacting Green Frog customer service, Dinosaw. I've found them very helpful in the past and I think they like to hear about any issues with their products.