More Chicken Door Issues

We had some freezing rain in early January that caused a problem in the chicken coop.  The battery operated chicken door refused to open.

We have not been on any sort of normal schedule since Christmas so it was not until nearly noon before I went over to the chicken coop to check things out.  I found all the chickens still stuck in the coop.  The door that should open at sunrise had never opened.  When I tried to open it manually the motor ran but the door could not open.  I placed some water in the coop and waited for Mike to return from town.

Mike used his pocket knife to try to loosen the front of the door but no luck.  Then he went to get a hammer and chisel and worked the door from the inside.  I accompanied him so I could record this event for the blog.

After chipping away at the frozen dirt surrounding the chicken door, Mike sent me back outside to try to open the door manually.  On my way out the people door, nine chickens tried to escape so I very quickly open and shut that door and latched it.  

When the battery operated chicken door finally opened the chickens headed outside.  Mike, however, could not.  I had locked him in.  

While Mike was asking if I had done this on purpose, I took a picture of the latched door and let him out.  At least he did not have to break a window.