Internet of Poultry - Fully automated chicken shed
-
The goal of this project is to automate our chicken shed to such a level that the chickens can survive our summer vacation without outside help.
The project is based on Domoticz(rPi) and MySensors (Sparkfun Redboard)
Sensors in the shed :- Temperature + humidity
- Ambient light sensor
- Current/voltage on the solar panels and on the motor
- PIR sensor
- End-of-run switches
- Two buttons for local activation of the door
Actuators :
- DC motor for opening/closing the door
- Relais for switching the inside light
- Relais for switching the webcam
The board arduino shield for connecting all the wiring
The complete installation
From left to right : (temporary) router for remote USB connection for uploading sketches, Arduino with shields, DC motor, Solar charging controller.
,
The shed in the making
The door mechanism & one of the end-of-run sensors
Overview photo with solar panels
-
Awesome :star: Thumbs up from me :+1:
-
Cococoricooo
hmm sorry, it was too hard to resist...I'm french :sweat_smile: -
@tbowmo Both food and water are "gravitationally supplied". There is a 15liter food and 1l water supply indoor and 12l water supply outdoor. These last for weeks.
Wifi webcam is connected to Synology NAS camera app for recording. The aim is to enable the camera 5min before and after the closing of the door. Outdoor camera is on the wish list. Camera's can be enabled both automatically and remotely (like the door). Good news is that the chickens are smart enough to move out of harms way when the door closes. I noticed that the chickens go indoor very punctually on the internet provided sun-down, so the lux sensors may not be needed after all.
Remaining isuues are collecting of eggs and droppings. Both are less urgent and much more difficult to accomplish.
-
Is it important to know that all the chickens are in the coup before you close the door or are we just assuming they are all inside at a certain time?
-
Is it important to know that all the chickens are in the coup before you close the door or are we just assuming they are all inside at a certain time?
@TommySharp said:
Is it important to know that all the chickens are in the coup before you close the door or are we just assuming they are all inside at a certain time?
I use a light sensor and close the door at <5 lux. They are allways in by then.
-
Is it important to know that all the chickens are in the coup before you close the door or are we just assuming they are all inside at a certain time?
@TommySharp
Maybe all the chickens needs to be wearing a RFID tag, and then clsoe door when all counted RFID tags are inside (RFID reader could maybe be close to water/food supply) -
Is it important to know that all the chickens are in the coup before you close the door or are we just assuming they are all inside at a certain time?
@TommySharp, after some observation I set the light limit to 18 [something], I don't trust the light sensor to output Lux accurately. Till now they've always been inside when the door closes. They're social animal by the way, if one goes indoor at dawn, the other one follows within minutes.
-
@TommySharp, after some observation I set the light limit to 18 [something], I don't trust the light sensor to output Lux accurately. Till now they've always been inside when the door closes. They're social animal by the way, if one goes indoor at dawn, the other one follows within minutes.
-
@Fabien looks to be 1.5m fence around it, which could also keep the foxes out. But again, what do I know :laughing:
-
Yes, we have foxes (and rats) in the neighbourhood. Chicks get eaten if not locked up at night. The fence is only 1m high, but won't keep a fox away from the chickens.
I thought about RfId, but question is if one reader will detect tags anywhere in the shed.
Voice recognition is another option to account for all chickens. Maybe when I find the time. Pool automation must be taken care of first :-)
Anyway, it works as it is. Just need to set the light level in between chicken bed time and fox lunch time. -
Yes, we have foxes (and rats) in the neighbourhood. Chicks get eaten if not locked up at night. The fence is only 1m high, but won't keep a fox away from the chickens.
I thought about RfId, but question is if one reader will detect tags anywhere in the shed.
Voice recognition is another option to account for all chickens. Maybe when I find the time. Pool automation must be taken care of first :-)
Anyway, it works as it is. Just need to set the light level in between chicken bed time and fox lunch time.First off, excellent design. Great job!
I have had one of these running for a while. I did not want mine to react to light levels because I did not want it to close during a thunderstorm, etc. and lock the chickens out. That being said, I have mine close 20 minutes after sunset and open 20 minutes after sunrise. The first couple of nights some of the chickens were locked out because they came home to late. I had to manually let them in. After a couple of days they learned quickly (despite not being very smart creatures) and they head to the house early before the door closes. After that, my camera alerts me to any movement in the house. I have only had one false alarm in a couple of months.
I have a pretty strong outdoor pen and I have still had multiple black snakes, one raccoon, and one possum get in. The raccoon ate a chicken and one snake bit one. After installing the door I have not had one injured chicken.
Mine is pretty low tech. I used a single push button and mysensored a relay board that turns a dc motor with a 3d printed gear that raises/lowers the door. I have had zero problems with it since installed. Thanks Hek!
The one big thing I learned, Transient Voltage Suppressor. I used a larger dc motor due to the weight of my door and every time the door opened it scrambled the Arduino with electric interference. Took me forever to figure out what the problem was and how to fix it.
Now if I can just figure out how to mysensor it to let me know when a chicken lays an egg.....
-
First off, excellent design. Great job!
I have had one of these running for a while. I did not want mine to react to light levels because I did not want it to close during a thunderstorm, etc. and lock the chickens out. That being said, I have mine close 20 minutes after sunset and open 20 minutes after sunrise. The first couple of nights some of the chickens were locked out because they came home to late. I had to manually let them in. After a couple of days they learned quickly (despite not being very smart creatures) and they head to the house early before the door closes. After that, my camera alerts me to any movement in the house. I have only had one false alarm in a couple of months.
I have a pretty strong outdoor pen and I have still had multiple black snakes, one raccoon, and one possum get in. The raccoon ate a chicken and one snake bit one. After installing the door I have not had one injured chicken.
Mine is pretty low tech. I used a single push button and mysensored a relay board that turns a dc motor with a 3d printed gear that raises/lowers the door. I have had zero problems with it since installed. Thanks Hek!
The one big thing I learned, Transient Voltage Suppressor. I used a larger dc motor due to the weight of my door and every time the door opened it scrambled the Arduino with electric interference. Took me forever to figure out what the problem was and how to fix it.
Now if I can just figure out how to mysensor it to let me know when a chicken lays an egg.....
@stefaanv I had to view the pictures again :smiley: it still is a very nice project. And the router was a nice idea for my experiment to remotely upload sketches in the garden instead of picking the whole device up back into the house.. I'll have to look into that a little bit further to figure out how I can use it..
-
@stefaanv I had to view the pictures again :smiley: it still is a very nice project. And the router was a nice idea for my experiment to remotely upload sketches in the garden instead of picking the whole device up back into the house.. I'll have to look into that a little bit further to figure out how I can use it..
-
@sincze beware, the router solution isn't perfect. Sometimes the connection drop out for no apparent reason. The advantage is that you get full debug info over the serial port. I'm going to have a look at OTA updates for future projects.
