About Kenny Nyhus Fadil
Kenny Nyhus Fadil has been raising backyard chickens for over a decade and automated his own coop in 2022 after one too many midnight runs to close the door manually. His flock of 12 hens lives in a fully smart-managed setup with an automatic door, climate sensors, motion-triggered lighting, and a remote feeder — all built on a $400 retrofit budget rather than a $4,000 prefab solution.
Background
Kenny started keeping chickens in 2014 in a small backyard with three Buff Orpingtons, a basic wooden coop, and zero automation. Over the next decade he expanded to 12 birds across two coops, lost more than one hen to predators that arrived between dusk and door-close, and gradually built the smart setup he runs today. Every recommendation on SmartCoopHQ comes from real-world testing in actual weather, with real predators and real power outages — not lab benches or staged product demos.
He manages a small portfolio of niche websites focused on smart home technology, urban gardening, hydroponics, and maker tools. SmartCoopHQ is his focused project for backyard chicken keepers who want to automate sensibly without overspending or over-engineering.
Specialties
- Automatic chicken coop doors — installation, troubleshooting, and predator-aware timing
- Coop sizing for flocks of 4 to 25 birds, including walk-in versus lift-top trade-offs
- Mobile and tractor coops for rotational pasture grazing
- Smart sensors, monitoring cameras, and apps that actually hold up in coop conditions
- Solar coop heating, automatic feeders, and DIY automation under $200
- Predator-proofing — what works against raccoons, hawks, weasels, and bobcats in real conditions
Testing Approach
Every product review and setup guide on SmartCoopHQ is based on personal use. Kenny installs each piece of automation gear on his own coops and runs it through at least one full season — including the cold snaps, summer heat, and predator pressure that test whether a product really works. Door openers are tested for door-jam recovery, sensors are tested through humidity cycles, and feeders are tested with the same hens that have spent a decade learning how to break things.
Connect
Find Kenny on LinkedIn or reach out through the SmartCoopHQ contact page.