Automation help

[Johnwa]

The ESP32 will give you a cam and wifi. It can be programmed through the Arduino ide. Most of the arduino libraries work or have been adapted to work with it.
This is a pretty helpful website. https://randomnerdtutorials.com/

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I've heard of this but never tried it. 50/50 mix?

3 to 1 ratio.

I typically use 1 tablespoons of powered sugar and 1 tablespoon of borax. I then put it in little cups on the trail I see ants taking.

I check later if ants have taken the bait home by looking to see if they liquified any by licking at it.

You can also make liquid by adding enough water to make a syrup. I dont use that method because I cant tell if the bait is working

 

[Dan Dubeau]

The ESP32 will give you a cam and wifi. It can be programmed through the Arduino ide. Most of the arduino libraries work or have been adapted to work with it.
This is a pretty helpful website. https://randomnerdtutorials.com/

That looks like a very interesting option too. Thanks for bringing it up, I'll look into those more.

 

[140mower]

I wish

I wanted chickens but cant in the city. I designed a coop where I heavily copied "carolina coops" design, and I was going to build it, but the landowner failed to pay their share of the greenhouse we agreed to split so there was no way I was going to build a coop and pay for chickens knowing I'd not get paid on that either.

I have a couple friends with chickens though, and one had the run-chicken door. It worked great and you dont have to get up with the chickens to let them out.

as soon as I get rural property Im building this for 6 chickens

View attachment 34690

I shamelessly copied Carolina Coops design when I built ours. The only thing automated about ours is me, and unfortunately the memory stick seems stuck at times.... I don't open and close the door to the hen house, because the run is completely enclosed it isn't really needed

 

[TorontoBuilder]

View attachment 34726
I shamelessly copied Carolina Coops design when I built ours. The only thing automated about ours is me, and unfortunately the memory stick seems stuck at times.... I don't open and close the door to the hen house, because the run is completely enclosed it isn't really needed

Yeah if your climate is good you can omit a door to the coop itself if you have 19 gauge wire covered panels... but when it is cold it helps the chickens keep warmer and draft free.

 

[Dan Dubeau]

View attachment 34726
I shamelessly copied Carolina Coops design when I built ours. The only thing automated about ours is me, and unfortunately the memory stick seems stuck at times.... I don't open and close the door to the hen house, because the run is completely enclosed it isn't really needed

My current "coop automation" failed to close the door last night too..... Was pretty surprised when I went out this morning to let them out, and they were already out lol.

Our run is totally enclosed, and we haven't free ranged them yet, but I still feel better about closing them in at night.

 

[140mower]

Yeah if your climate is good you can omit a door to the coop itself if you have 19 gauge wire covered panels... but when it is cold it helps the chickens keep warmer and draft free.

We were down to minus 30 or so for quite a while last winter and they faired well. But I wrapped it in clear poly, leaving just the eves open. One of the supposed benefits of using the deep litter method that Carolina Coops advocates is that the composting manure is generating heat in the coop...... Cracked corn is good for boosting their body heat as well.......

 

[TorontoBuilder]

We were down to minus 30 or so for quite a while last winter and they faired well. But I wrapped it in clear poly, leaving just the eves open. One of the supposed benefits of using the deep litter method that Carolina Coops advocates is that the composting manure is generating heat in the coop...... Cracked corn is good for boosting their body heat as well.......

it doesnt generate that much heat.

The elevated coops and small volume takes little to maintain it above 35F though

 

[TorontoBuilder]

My current "coop automation" failed to close the door last night too..... Was pretty surprised when I went out this morning to let them out, and they were already out lol.

Our run is totally enclosed, and we haven't free ranged them yet, but I still feel better about closing them in at night.

Predators can dig under the perimeter fence in 10 to 15 minutes in the middle of the night, unless you have your perimeter sitting on patio stones so you're right to be leery about not shutting them in the coop at night

 

[140mower]

it doesnt generate that much heat.

The elevated coops and small volume takes little to maintain it above 35F though

No, it didn't generate that much heat in the coop, but with a little bit of tweaking, I think the resulting manure is going to provide some nice early season heat to the greenhouse. .....

 

[140mower]

Predators can dig under the perimeter fence in 10 to 15 minutes in the middle of the night, unless you have your perimeter sitting on patio stones so you're right to be leery about not shutting them in the coop at night

Yes, a predator apron is a necessity, as are safety latches on the doors and windows, as raccoons are quick learners and resourceful critters.....

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Yes, a predator apron is a necessity, as are safety latches on the doors and windows, as raccoons are quick learners and resourceful critters.....

chicken manure is awesome fertilizer.

my friend lost all her hens to a single racoon. Kept coming back for more, and my friend wasn't too bright and didnt change how she housed her hens.

 

[140mower]

chicken manure is awesome fertilizer.

Yes, I am looking forward to using it next year. We haven't quite had our chickens for a year yet, so the composting has just begun, and you don't want to use it too soon for fear of Salmonella or burning the plants.

 

[Johnwa]

Amazing ad showed up in my Facebook feed! They’re watching us!,

Vevor Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Kit Light Sensor 12.6"x11.8" Hen House | VEVOR CA

Shop Vevor Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Kit Light Sensor 12.6"x11.8" Hen House at lowest price, 2-day delivery, 30-day returns. Shop now at VEVOR.

www.vevor.ca

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Amazing ad showed up in my Facebook feed! They’re watching us!,

Vevor Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Kit Light Sensor 12.6"x11.8" Hen House | VEVOR CA

Shop Vevor Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Kit Light Sensor 12.6"x11.8" Hen House at lowest price, 2-day delivery, 30-day returns. Shop now at VEVOR.

www.vevor.ca

Oh yeah, any tom, dick or harry, or corporation with a few bob can spy on us now and do

don't ever get involved in any conspiracies without doing it all offline and out of earshot of any electronic device, because privacy is dead.

 

[Susquatch]

Amazing ad showed up in my Facebook feed! They’re watching us!,

The day I signed up to Facebook in order to be able to access Facebook Marketplace was one of the saddest days of my life.

I actually read every word in the legal contract. First off, I had to agree to let them listen to my voice calls, read my text messages, examine my files, look at my pictures, and......

Then THEY had the nerve to put ME ON PROBATION. I had to wait almost a month before I was approved to access marketplace! WTF!

I'd walk from Facebook in a heart beat, but..... It's pretty much the only way to buy used farm equipment privately around here. Kijiji and ebay really don't have the market presence compared to Facebook.

I thought Google was bad. Facebook is clearly worse.

I disable Facebook between uses. I'm not sure how much that protects me. I should probably get a dedicated device with nothing on it just for times like that.

I don't know how to escape google. I've more or less assumed they own me. (Insert graphic of scared little boy hiding here.)

 

[TorontoBuilder]

The day I signed up to Facebook in order to be able to access Facebook Marketplace was one of the saddest days of my life.

I actually read every word in the legal contract. First off, I had to agree to let them listen to my voice calls, read my text messages, examine my files, look at my pictures, and......

Then THEY had the nerve to put ME ON PROBATION. I had to wait almost a month before I was approved to access marketplace! WTF!

I'd walk from Facebook in a heart beat, but..... It's pretty much the only way to buy used farm equipment privately around here. Kijiji and ebay really don't have the market presence compared to Facebook.

I thought Google was bad. Facebook is clearly worse.

I disable Facebook between uses. I'm not sure how much that protects me. I should probably get a dedicated device with nothing on it just for times like that.

I don't know how to escape google. I've more or less assumed they own me. (Insert graphic of scared little boy hiding here.)

pure evil

Samsung did not inform me before buying my smart TV that I had to agree to be listened to all the time, and sold me a device with no way to deactivate the microphone to turn it off.

So now just for poops and giggles I turn on the TV and leave it in the source select mode so it is exta attentive, and then I spout all sorts of conspiracy theiry nonsense and plans... and then I'll go on about all the items I need to buy. Just to ensure that their database on me is full of crazy shit to pollute the data and to have their corporate customers waste money buying my useless data.

The strategy works mostly, but we still get served the odd ad pushed to our IP address based on data that could only have been from the TV listening to wife and my conversation while watching TV.

Next TV will be dumb as dirt, or I'll have my friend find the microphone and disable it manually.

Now, pardon me I'm off to have a conversation with my TV again.

 

[combustable herbage]

I have used this add on since I got facebook and its served me well and I only use firefox for fb but use other browsers for everyday normal use.

Facebook Container - Prevent Facebook from tracking you on other websites | Firefox Help

Facebook Container is an add-on that you can install on Firefox to prevent Facebook from tracking your activity on other websites.

support.mozilla.org

 

[TorontoBuilder]

I have used this add on since I got facebook and its served me well and I only use firefox for fb but use other browsers for everyday normal use.

Facebook Container - Prevent Facebook from tracking you on other websites | Firefox Help

Facebook Container is an add-on that you can install on Firefox to prevent Facebook from tracking your activity on other websites.

support.mozilla.org

On Chrome, click the Chrome menu button and the following prompts in the drop-down menu and tab options: "Preferences | Settings | Advanced Settings | Privacy | Content Settings." Select the "Block Third Party Cookies and Site Data" box.

 

[Susquatch]

I have used this add on since I got facebook and its served me well and I only use firefox for fb but use other browsers for everyday normal use.

Firefox works on my phone, but container doesn't seem to work at all. Even the add-on itself is missing.

I don't think I'd want to use Facebook through a browser anyway. I use the Facebook app directly.

With android, I kill the Facebook app, then delete its cookies. Seems to work till the next time I load Facebook. But at least this way, Facebook isn't listening in while I do other things.

On Chrome, click the Chrome menu button and the following prompts in the drop-down menu and tab options: "Preferences | Settings | Advanced Settings | Privacy | Content Settings." Select the "Block Third Party Cookies and Site Data" box.

That's what I do too. But it doesn't stop Facebook or Chrome itself from following me around. I can't seem to do anything about Chrome but at least I can kill FaceBook when I'm not using it.