CoopControl
The Computerized Chicken Coop
I retired from over 50 years of computers, video and telecommunications.
The family moved to the side of Tiger Mountain
There was now time to play a bit and enjoy a homesteading life.
However after all these years one can’t just toss aside the knowledge of technology.
In the spirit of our family motto one must
Keep on Learning and Keep on Evolving.
The pages I will add, will describe the design of our computerized coop.
I will include a link to drawings of the coop. If asked, I can write a
tutorial on fabricating the physical coop.
I will describe the different components that control
and monitor our chickens and their living environment.
Code snippets will be included and eventually the data tables and
their use will be described.
The manual control of the computerized coop is done via a web interface.
There are a number of programs that are run automatically by the coop’s
computer and the master computer.
If wished CoopControl pages can be added to show more instructions and ideas.
The various sensor options will be explored.
A discussion of LED lighting will be written.
We can discuss the least expensive options for predator control.
These pages are meant to be a communications point to talk about what one
can gain by implementing
The computerized CoopControl
written by Doug Wyman
Hey! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers?
My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing many months of
hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any solutions to protect against hackers?
Softaculous is a great company that loads the WP software and does automatic back-up of the data files. That plus a good web server supplier like NameCheap makes having your own domain and server easy and while no site is hacker proof, it provides the tools to restore a site if it is hacked. I also worry very little about hackers as most are interested in some sort of challenge and my things are so open they provide no incentive to anyone with skills.
I just discovered hacker.io and migrated throuh it to your pages here. I am also retired after 35 plus years in the Television Industry in Los Angeles and moved to the country with the aspiration of raising chickens again. I am now going through your blog for any inspiration I can gain from you.
I moved to the Middle of the Ozark Forrest near Lebanon, Missouri with 40 acres of hill and dale forrest. I haven’t acquired a single chicken yet because of my concern for not only the wild birds and animals that would prey on them but also a concern for domestic dogs and cats that are also natural predators.
You posted that you allow your birds to free-range around the homestead. I am looking to you for experience and insight for protecting the birds from these predators.
My ultimate vision is to build a chicken coop for around 500 birds or so and let them free-range. I also want to build a self contained and automated hatchery for new hatch production.
Any help and advise would be greatly appreciated. My profile can be found on LinkedIn as Thomas J Strike Jr of Lebanon, MO.
Thanks,
AncientTom
Ancient Tom,
The only chickens we allowed to free roam outside the enclosure were the bantams. Unfortunately a Cooper’s hawk had them for dinner.
We have an enclosure for our Dominique chickens. We found it necessary to not only enclose the sides but also the top as Hawks and
Owls wanted in. We used bird netting (plastic mesh) but then a Lynx climbed onto the mesh and slit it open and ate one of the
chickens. So we are slowly filling in the top with chicken wire mesh.
We also allow them to forage in the daytime by means of a portable enclosure with a mesh tunnel between it and the enclosure as they
deplete all the foliage in the enclosure.
Oh my 40 acres… I wish we had that much. We have 2 1/2 on the north side of the mountain.
Please bear in mind that our property is heavily wooded which makes it easy for predators.
I wish you the best on your project.
Doug Wyman
Hi,
I like the Raspberry Pi controlled chicken coop. I’ve built one also. It has two doors, a temperature censor and web cam.
Url is below
Rob