1. Overview

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern the purchase, installation, and use of Mother Hen™ hardware, software, and cloud services (collectively, the "Service") provided by Smith Varmint Works LLC ("Smith Varmint Works," "Company," "we," "us," or "our"), a Tennessee limited liability company.

By purchasing, installing, activating, or using any Mother Hen product, you ("Customer," "you," or "your") agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service and return the hardware per our Return & Refund Policy.

2. Description of Service

Mother Hen 2.0 is an automatic chicken coop door with built-in cellular connectivity, remote control, scheduling, and alerting. The Service includes:

• Hardware: The Mother Hen 2.0 door unit (a motorized coop door with a built-in cellular controller and a manual button), a solar kit, one battery-powered door sensor for monitoring an additional door, and any add-on door sensors you purchase.
• Cloud Services: Remote open, close, and status; schedules by clock time or by local sunrise and sunset; alert delivery (push notifications); device management; and firmware updates delivered over the air.
• Mother Hen App: A customer-facing web application ("the Mother Hen app") for opening and closing the door, checking door and sensor status, setting schedules, and managing alerts.

2.1 What Mother Hen Is Not

Mother Hen is not a life-safety system or a replacement for human oversight. It does not:

• Guarantee the safety, health, or survival of animals;
• Guarantee that the door is open or closed at any particular time, or that a remote or scheduled command will be carried out;
• Prevent predators, weather events, power loss, or equipment failure;
• Detect every obstruction in the doorway (see Section 6.9);
• Operate as a medical, veterinary, or emergency response system.

3. Purchase, Service, and Pricing

3.1 Purchase

Mother Hen 2.0 is sold as a door unit that includes a solar kit and one door sensor. Additional door sensors are sold separately. Current pricing is published at themotherhen.net. The hardware becomes your property when it ships.

3.2 Pre-Order Deposits

If you reserve a door with a pre-order deposit, the deposit is applied to your purchase price. The remaining balance, plus any add-on door sensors, shipping and applicable sales tax, is charged before your door ships. The deposit itself includes no shipping or tax. Deposits are refundable as described in the Return & Refund Policy.

3.3 Service — Automatic Billing

The Service is billed monthly or annually. You choose monthly or annual billing when your door ships and can switch at renewal. Your service starts when your door ships and renews automatically each month or year at the rate then published at themotherhen.net, charged to the payment method on file with our payment processor (Square). The current rates are $4.99 per month or $49 per year.

How to cancel. You may cancel at any time, with no cancellation fee, by emailing support@svwllc.com (or through the Mother Hen app, where that option is available). Monthly service continues through the end of the month you have already paid for; no partial-month refund is given. Annual service continues through the end of the year you have already paid for; no partial-year refund is given. See Section 6 of the Return & Refund Policy.

Receipts. After each monthly or annual charge, we send you a receipt by email.

If your payment fails. If your payment method is invalid, expired, or declined, we will notify you by email and provide a fourteen (14) day grace period to update your payment method or cancel. If neither is completed within the grace period, your service will lapse.

Price changes. We may change the service rates with at least thirty (30) days' written notice by email. A change applies only to billing periods that begin after the notice period.

Effect of cancellation or lapse. When service ends, the door unit continues to open and close automatically, using the location and grace period in effect when service ended, and the manual button on the door unit continues to work. No settings can be changed, and remote control, alerts, monitoring of additional doors, and updates stop. The hardware remains your property. Resuming service requires re-subscribing.

3.4 Service Commitment

We commit to operating the Service for at least two (2) years from the date your door ships, subject to Section 17 (Force Majeure) and to termination under Section 11.2.

3.5 Hardware Pricing

Hardware pricing may change at any time without notice. Price changes apply only to orders placed after the change and do not affect orders already placed or hardware already shipped.

4. Account and Access

4.1 Account Creation

You must create an account to activate the Service. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account.

4.2 One Account Per Coop Site

Each coop site is associated with one customer account. Ownership transfer requires re-provisioning (see Section 10).

4.3 Age Requirement

You must be at least eighteen (18) years old to create an account and purchase the Service.

5. Customer Responsibilities

You are solely responsible for:

• Proper physical installation of the door unit, sensors, and solar kit, following our instructions, on a doorway that meets the published minimum opening size;
• Providing power, either from a standard power outlet within reach of the door unit or from the included solar kit;
• If you use the solar kit: placing the panel where it receives direct sun, and keeping it clear of snow, leaves, and debris. The door may stop operating if its battery runs down after an extended period without enough sun, and it does not warn you in advance when its battery is low;
• Keeping the doorway and the door's path clear, and keeping children, pets, and animals from being caught by the moving door;
• Confirming that the door has actually opened or closed when it matters to you, including by checking the Mother Hen app or the coop;
• Setting your schedule and your location correctly, so that sunrise- and sunset-based schedules reflect your site;
• Maintaining physical coop security — latches, barriers, enclosures, and the coop's other doors;
• Ensuring adequate cellular signal at the installation site;
• Regularly inspecting the coop, animals, and hardware;
• Monitoring alerts and taking appropriate action in response;
• Keeping account information current.

Mother Hen helps you operate and monitor your coop door. It does not replace active management, animal husbandry, or physical security.

6. Service Availability and Limitations

6.1 Best-Effort Service

The Service is provided on a best-effort basis. We use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain uptime but do not guarantee uninterrupted, timely, or error-free service.

6.2 Factors Outside Our Control

Service may be affected by: cellular network outages, power failures, internet disruptions, extreme weather, hardware damage, radio frequency interference, or third-party service provider issues (including but not limited to BlueCherry, Hologram, and cellular carriers).

6.3 Maintenance and Updates

We may perform maintenance, push firmware updates, or modify cloud services at any time. We will provide reasonable notice for planned outages when possible.

6.4 Alerts Are 24/7

Alerts are delivered as push notifications from the Mother Hen app 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by design. We do not implement time-based suppression, quiet hours, or per-alert mute. You may turn alerts off entirely with a single master on/off switch in the Mother Hen app. We do not offer finer-grained alert suppression. This is a deliberate design choice for an animal-welfare and property-monitoring product, where alert timeliness can be critical to your ability to respond.

6.5 Push Notifications

The Mother Hen app runs in a web browser. Alerts reach you only if you allow notifications for the Mother Hen app in your browser; on iPhone, you must first add the Mother Hen app to your Home Screen. Delivery of any alert depends on your device, your browser and notification settings, and your network connection. You can turn alerts off at any time with the master on/off switch in the Mother Hen app.

6.6 Cellular Coverage Disclaimer

The Service depends on cellular network coverage at your installation site. Smith Varmint Works makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, that cellular coverage will be adequate at your specific coop location. We are not liable for any failure of the Service that results from inadequate, intermittent, or absent cellular signal at your installation site, nor for any changes in coverage that occur over time due to carrier infrastructure changes outside our control.

Customer responsibility: You are responsible for verifying adequate cellular coverage at your installation site. We recommend testing the door unit's connectivity in the intended installation location promptly after delivery, within the 30-day return window. If you discover after installation that cellular coverage at your site is inadequate to operate Mother Hen reliably, you may return the hardware for a refund per the Return & Refund Policy.

After the 30-day return window, refunds for coverage-related issues are at our discretion and are not guaranteed.

6.7 Firmware and Software Updates

Smith Varmint Works periodically releases firmware updates for Mother Hen hardware and software updates for the Mother Hen app and supporting cloud services. By using the Service, you consent to receive and apply these updates automatically, including:

• Updates that fix bugs, address security vulnerabilities, or improve reliability;
• Updates that add, modify, or remove features (subject to the material-change notice provisions in Section 16);
• Updates that change how the device interacts with our cloud services or with third-party services.

Firmware updates are delivered over the cellular network to the door unit. Update download and installation typically complete within a few minutes; during installation the device may be temporarily unavailable.

You may not disable, defer, or selectively apply firmware updates. Refusal to accept firmware updates, including by tampering with or modifying the device to prevent updates, voids your warranty and may cause the Service to stop functioning correctly.

Material feature changes. If a firmware update materially reduces or removes a feature you previously relied on (rather than fixing, improving, or adding to it), we will notify you in advance per Section 16. Minor changes, bug fixes, security patches, and feature additions do not require advance notice.

6.8 Remote and Scheduled Operation

The door can open and close when no one is present — by a command you send through the Mother Hen app or by a schedule you set. You are responsible for deciding when remote or scheduled operation is appropriate at your site. Remote commands and schedule changes travel over cellular and internet networks and may be delayed or not delivered. Sunrise and sunset times are calculated for the location on your account and may differ from conditions you observe. An alert that the door has opened or closed reflects what the door unit reported and is not a substitute for checking the coop.

6.9 Obstruction Sensing

The door is designed to stop and reverse when it senses resistance through its motor while closing, and to alert you when that happens. Obstruction sensing is a convenience feature, not a safety guarantee. It may not detect every obstruction — for example a small, light, or soft object or animal — and it cannot prevent every injury. Keep the door's path clear and supervise children and animals near the door.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Our IP

Mother Hen hardware designs, firmware, cloud software, the Mother Hen app, and all associated trademarks, trade dress, and documentation are the property of Smith Varmint Works LLC. You receive a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use our firmware and software solely in connection with Mother Hen hardware.

7.2 Restrictions

You may not reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble Mother Hen firmware or software. You may not modify the hardware in ways that interfere with the Service or violate FCC regulations.

7.3 Cellular SIM Card

The cellular SIM card inside the Mother Hen door unit is leased from our cellular partner, Hologram, and remains the property of Hologram (or its successor cellular service provider). The SIM is provisioned to operate only with Mother Hen hardware and only with our cloud services.

You may not:

• Remove the SIM from the Mother Hen door unit;
• Transfer the SIM to another device;
• Use the SIM for any purpose other than operating Mother Hen as intended;
• Tamper with, modify, or attempt to read the SIM's stored credentials.

Removal, transfer, modification, or unauthorized use of the SIM voids your warranty, may cause the Service to stop functioning, and may violate Hologram's cellular service terms. If you tamper with or remove the SIM and the Service stops working as a result, the failure is not covered by the Limited Hardware Warranty and is not eligible for refund under the Return & Refund Policy.

8. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW:

(a) SMITH VARMINT WORKS LLC IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OF CHICKENS, LIVESTOCK, PROPERTY DAMAGE, LOST PROFITS, OR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE.

(b) OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING UNDER THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO SMITH VARMINT WORKS LLC IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

(c) THIS LIMITATION APPLIES REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.

(d) Third-party services and equipment. Smith Varmint Works LLC is not liable for any failures, outages, errors, harms, or damages caused by third-party services or products, including but not limited to: BlueCherry, Hologram, cellular network operators, internet service providers, electrical utilities serving your property, or any equipment, service, software, or content not provided directly by Smith Varmint Works LLC. This includes any losses or damages flowing from such third-party failures, regardless of foreseeability, and regardless of whether such third parties are named in our Privacy Policy as subprocessors.

9. Assumption of Risk and Use at Your Own Risk

9.1 Acknowledgment of Risks

You acknowledge and accept that use of Mother Hen carries inherent risks, including but not limited to:

• Property damage, including damage to your coop, outbuildings, fences, electrical systems, and any other physical infrastructure;
• Loss of, injury to, or death of livestock, including all chickens, ducks, geese, and any other animals being monitored by the Service;
• Personal injury to yourself, members of your family, your employees, your guests, or any other person on your property, including but not limited to bodily harm, paralysis, and death;
• Economic loss, including but not limited to lost profits, lost business opportunities, lost wages, business interruption, and the cost of replacement livestock or equipment;
• Injury to animals or people caught by the moving door, including where obstruction sensing does not detect an obstruction;
• The door opening or closing at a time you did not expect, or failing to open or close when commanded or scheduled, including because of loss of power, a depleted battery, loss of cellular service, or equipment failure;
• System failures, including false negatives (the system fails to alert you when an alert was warranted) and false positives (the system alerts you when no real issue exists);
• Failures of third-party services or equipment, as further described in Section 8(d) and Section 14.

9.2 Use at Your Own Risk

You use Mother Hen entirely at your own risk. You acknowledge that Mother Hen is a door-control, monitoring, and alerting product, not a guarantee of livestock safety or property security, and that no monitoring system can prevent all losses.

9.3 Regulatory Compliance

You agree to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations relating to: keeping of livestock and poultry; animal welfare and humane treatment; electrical installation and wiring; wireless equipment operation including FCC requirements; sale or distribution of animal products; and any other domain relevant to your use of Mother Hen.

9.4 Waiver and Release

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you — on behalf of yourself, your spouse, your children, your family members, your agents, your successors, and your assigns — hereby waive, release, and forever discharge Smith Varmint Works LLC, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from any and all claims, damages, demands, causes of action, lawsuits, and liabilities arising from or related in any way to your use of Mother Hen, regardless of the legal theory under which such claim might be brought.

10. Ownership Transfer

If the coop or property where Mother Hen is installed is sold or transferred, the Mother Hen system must be re-provisioned under the new owner's account. The original customer's data is not transferred. Contact us to initiate an ownership transfer.

11. Termination

11.1 By You

You may stop using the Service at any time. If you cancel your service, see Section 3.3 and the Return & Refund Policy for applicable terms.

11.2 By Us

We may suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms, engage in abusive behavior toward our systems or personnel, or fail to pay for the Service after notice.

11.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination, cloud services cease. The door unit keeps opening and closing on its last schedule, and the on-door button continues to work; remote control, alerts, door monitoring, and updates stop. Your hardware remains your property. Data retention following termination is governed by Section 7 of our Privacy Policy, which distinguishes between lapsed subscriptions (dormant retention for up to twelve months) and explicit cancellations (full deletion within thirty days). During any applicable export window, you may request a data export under Section 8.4 of the Privacy Policy. Hardware defects discovered after the 30-day return window but within the warranty period remain covered under the Limited Hardware Warranty.

11.4 Service Discontinuation

If Smith Varmint Works LLC decides to discontinue Mother Hen, in whole or in part, we will provide affected customers with at least one hundred eighty (180) days' written notice prior to the discontinuation date, and will not discontinue the Service for a customer before the end of the service commitment in Section 3.4. Notice will be delivered by email to each affected customer, and posted on themotherhen.net.

Upon discontinuation, we will, where commercially reasonable, offer affected customers one or more of the following:

• A refund of any service fees paid for the period after the discontinuation date;
• Continued operation of the Service for the remainder of any active hardware warranty period for the affected devices;
• Release of firmware or supporting documentation that allows the hardware to operate independently of our cloud services or to be repurposed for compatible third-party services;
• Other reasonable accommodations at our discretion.

The specific remedies offered will be determined at the time of discontinuation based on the circumstances and our commercial capability. Nothing in this Section 11.4 obligates Smith Varmint Works to maintain the Service indefinitely or to provide remedies beyond those described.

12. Dispute Resolution

12.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

12.2 Informal Resolution

Before filing any formal claim, you agree to contact us and attempt to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days.

12.3 Binding Arbitration

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that is not resolved through the informal resolution process in Section 12.2 shall be resolved exclusively through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect. The arbitration shall be held in Williamson County, Tennessee, or at another location mutually agreed by the parties or designated by the arbitrator. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Class action waiver. You and Smith Varmint Works LLC each agree that any arbitration or other proceeding shall be conducted only on an individual basis. Neither party will participate in a class action, class arbitration, or representative action against the other.

Jury trial waiver. You and Smith Varmint Works LLC each waive any right to a jury trial in connection with any dispute arising under these Terms.

12.4 Excluded Matters and Court Venue

Notwithstanding Section 12.3, either party may bring an action in small claims court (or its equivalent) for claims within that court's jurisdictional limits, and either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect its intellectual property rights or confidential information. Any such court action shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Williamson County, Tennessee, and you consent to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts for these limited purposes.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Smith Varmint Works LLC, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorney fees and court costs) arising out of or related to:

(a) your use of the Service in violation of these Terms or any applicable law;

(b) your negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct;

(c) your breach of any representation, warranty, or obligation under these Terms;

(d) your violation of any law, regulation, or any right of any third party, including but not limited to intellectual property rights, privacy rights, and rights regarding animal welfare;

(e) any claim brought against Smith Varmint Works LLC by a third party (including any member of your household, employee, contractor, guest, or invitee) that arises from your use of the Service or from your acts, omissions, or instructions.

Smith Varmint Works LLC reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which case you will cooperate with Smith Varmint Works LLC in asserting any available defenses.

14. Third-Party Services and Content

The Service relies on, integrates with, and is dependent upon third-party services and content, including but not limited to the subprocessors listed in our Privacy Policy. Smith Varmint Works LLC does not control these third parties and is not responsible for:

• the acts, omissions, content, products, or services of any third party;
• the availability, accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any third-party service;
• any harm, loss, damage, or liability arising from any third-party act, omission, content, service, or product, whether or not foreseeable;
• any third-party content accessible through the Mother Hen app, including content delivered by Mother Hen at the request of a third party.

We make no representations or warranties of any kind regarding any third-party service, product, or content. Your use of any third-party service or content is at your own risk and subject to the third party's terms.

15. Electronic Communications Consent

You consent to receive all notices, disclosures, agreements, billing statements, receipts, alerts, and other communications from Smith Varmint Works in electronic form — delivered by email to the address on file with your account or through the Mother Hen app. Electronic delivery is deemed effective upon transmission. This consent satisfies any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.

You may withdraw this consent only by terminating your use of the Service, because the Service cannot be operated without electronic communications.

To request a paper copy of any specific notice or disclosure, contact us at support@svwllc.com; we will provide one within thirty (30) days at no charge. Ongoing electronic delivery will continue for all other communications.

16. Modifications to Terms

We may update these Terms with thirty (30) days' written notice (email to your registered address). Continued use of the Service after the effective date of updated Terms constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree with updated Terms, you may terminate per Section 11.

17. Force Majeure

Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performance under these Terms due to causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, earthquakes), pandemics or epidemics, war, terrorism, civil unrest, governmental orders or regulatory actions, cellular network outages, third-party service failures (including failures of BlueCherry, Hologram, or other subprocessors), internet disruptions, electrical grid failures, labor disputes, or shortages of materials or components.

The party affected by a force majeure event shall make reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact and resume performance as soon as practicable.

18. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force and effect.

19. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, Return & Refund Policy, and Limited Hardware Warranty, constitute the entire agreement between you and Smith Varmint Works LLC regarding the Service.

20. Contact