hen house door opener on timer

Hi all
I have some chickens and a rooster in a hen house in my garden. I have close neighbours, so it's problem if the rooster gets out early in the morning.
I'de like to build an automatic door opener controlled by a timer, so the door to the hen house opens at a preset time and closes again at nigth. I don't know much about elecctronics, so it would be great if someone could help me out by letting me know what components I need, and how I should put them together.

I'm pretty handy when it comes to wood, so I can easily make a new door - that is, I'm open to any kind of design.
I would prefer the door opener to be powered by a battery that is charged by a solar panel

Any ideas?
Thanks in advance

Since you're not an electronic genius like the rest of us on this board :grin:, I would suggest you look at getting two off-the-shelf timers-some kind of hobby kit or something. Set one timer to turn on to open the door, and another to turn on to close the door. The "open" timer would fire a time-delay relay that would energize for a short period of time to drive a solenoid or motor/leadscrew or other mechanism to open the door. You want the time delay relay so you're only powering the solenoid long enough to open the door so you don't drain the battery. The door closer circuit would work in reverse. This is all off-the cuff, haven't thought it all out.

But one question: How do you ensure the rooster is inside when the door is closed? You could end up locking him out. Unhappy rooster!!

Someone wanted to do the same thing at the thread below:

https://www.edaboard.com/threads/225830/

The motor should be slow rpm and moderate power. Something like a windshield wiper motor. Perhaps you'd have it turn a wood rod so that a rope winds and unwinds around it. The rope pulls the door open.

To close the door it should not be forcible, since a bird might be squeezed in between. Therefore consider using a weight to pull the door shut. The timer will still turn on the motor in reverse, to let out slack in the rope.

It will be tricky to get one motor to turn two directions. You may end up needing two motors.