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    Are all the hens in the house?

    So I'm thinking about putting together a project for my friend who has chickens and can't keep the racoons from killing them. He'll have a little less of a problem as he just texted me that he shot and killed one tonight but three got away...

    I want a way to determine if all his hens are in the hen house. After they are all in the house and it's with 30 minutes of sunset or later I'll close the door. If they aren't all in by sunset it should alarm him. He's not a HomeSeer user and I won't convince him to become one so I figure I'll have to use an Arduino. The problem is every idea I've come up with to determine if the hens are in has problems so I figure I'll solve that first. Here's what I've come up with so far:
    RFID - I figure if the hens are in the fenced in area close to the house I'll have no way to know if they are in or just nearby.
    Infrared beam sensors - Count the breaks and figure if there are 6 breaks then 6 hens are in. Only works until one hen walks in and out then I think all 6 are in and there are two out. No good.
    Weight sensors in the house - there are too many places in the house they can sit, rest, roost, etc to always get a total weight count. The amount of bedding and poop changes in the house and would eventually though off my calibration.

    So does anybody have an idea for keeping track of the hens?

    #2
    Are all the hens in the house?

    -Turn the hen house into a Faraday cage and use RFID.

    -Train a dog to round them up.

    -Electric fencing at the perimeter of the coop to shock the raccoons.

    -Focus on sensing the raccoons.

    -Automated sentry gun.

    -Raccoon trap

    -Fence in the coop area along with a fence roof.

    Comment


      #3
      This is a cool project, and while it may end up being cheaper to buy new hens than implement the tech to secure them, I'm all in favour of reducing the hen mortality rate.

      I think you were on the right track with beams but double up so you can sense direction of travel. Of course, you'll need a narrow enough channel so that only one hen at a time can cross your beams.

      The other option if the coop design lends itself to it, is a pair of one way "in" and "out" doors and sensors (magnetic) to detect openings so you can keep a tally.


      Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
      Author of Highpeak Plugins | SMS-Gateway Plugin | Blue Iris Plugin | Paradox (Beta) Plugin | Modbus Plugin | Yamaha Plugin

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        #4
        I had this problem to but there isn't really a problem in it.
        At sunset the hens will go inside by them self and 30 minutes after sunset they are allways all in side. So i just close the door at 30 min. past sunset. Not once a hen was left outside.
        - Bram

        Send from my Commodore VIC-20

        Ashai_Rey____________________________________________________________ ________________
        HS3 Pro 3.0.0.534
        PIugins: ZMC audio | ZMC VR | ZMC IR | ZMC NDS | RFXcom | AZ scripts | Jon00 Scripts | BLBackup | FritzBox | Z-Wave | mcsMQTT | AK Ikea

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          #5
          A biological solution? No way!
          Author of Highpeak Plugins | SMS-Gateway Plugin | Blue Iris Plugin | Paradox (Beta) Plugin | Modbus Plugin | Yamaha Plugin

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            #6
            Originally posted by AshaiRey View Post
            At sunset the hens will go inside by them self and 30 minutes after sunset they are allways all in side. So i just close the door at 30 min. past sunset. Not once a hen was left outside.
            I've heard that too, but my neighbor frequently has some hens that stay out. Even so, that option should work even if some hens don't get back in. The racoons will quickly remove the members of the flock who don't return to the coop. The trade off is a few lost chickens instead of none, but "good enough" may be all you need. At the least, it's an easy experiment to try.
            Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
            HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

            HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

            Comment


              #7
              RFID is the best option. Depending on the size of the coop a cheap RFID reader should have a limited distance and if placed in the middle should pickup that they are inside.

              However increasing the physical chicken security is likely a more effective cheap option.

              Otherwise I say put a camera in the coop, and just remote open and close from an arduino and just do the verification manually.

              Or the dog Idea I like too.

              Comment


                #8
                While I love the idea of solving a new problem with tech, I think the electric fencing suggested earlier would be very effective. Just run one or two hot wires above the existing fence.
                HS Pro 3.0 | Linux Ubuntu 16.04 x64 virtualized under Proxmox (KVM)
                Hardware: Z-NET - W800 Serial - Digi PortServer TS/8 and TS/16 serial to Ethernet - Insteon PLM - RFXCOM - X10 Wireless
                Plugins: HSTouch iOS and Android, RFXCOM, BlueIris, BLLock, BLDSC, BLRF, Insteon PLM (MNSandler), Device History, Ecobee, BLRing, Kodi, UltraWeatherWU3
                Second home: Zee S2 with Z-Wave, CT101 Z-Wave Thermostat, Aeotec Z-Wave microswitches, HSM200 occupancy sensor, Ecolink Z-Wave door sensors, STI Driveway Monitor interfaced to Zee S2 GPIO pins.

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                  #9
                  I seen an Electric fence the other day. Posted on It was a sign that read "7,000 volts". Not sure if that's true but thinking if you can trap or kill the coons, their furs bring $$$$.
                  HSPro: 3.0.0.194
                  PL: Insteon PLM 3.0.5.20,Insteon Thermostat 3.0.1.1 , UltraM1G, RainRelay8, UltraECM3, UltraPioneerAVR3, BLBackup, weatherXML, Jon00 Network & PC Monitor
                  HW : Win 7 64bit, Intel i7-2600, 16 GB DDR3 Ram, 60 Plus Insteon Dual Band Devices, Rain8 Pro2, Elk M1 Gold, Brueltech GreenEye.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Thanks for all the ideas, I thin two IR beams could be fooled by 2 hens going in at about the same time or one going out and one going in.

                    The hen proprietor has confirmed the hens are not always in at sunset. The electric fence idea has been suggested but isn't compatible with the setup and the proprietors setup.

                    I think RFID would be the way to go but would need to test range and the HARS (hen attachment RFID system)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Instead of accountability of the Hens, how about deterrent of the coons with motion sensors as triggers and irrigation spray heads as actions around the perimeter of the coop?
                      HSPro: 3.0.0.194
                      PL: Insteon PLM 3.0.5.20,Insteon Thermostat 3.0.1.1 , UltraM1G, RainRelay8, UltraECM3, UltraPioneerAVR3, BLBackup, weatherXML, Jon00 Network & PC Monitor
                      HW : Win 7 64bit, Intel i7-2600, 16 GB DDR3 Ram, 60 Plus Insteon Dual Band Devices, Rain8 Pro2, Elk M1 Gold, Brueltech GreenEye.

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                        #12
                        Originally posted by jabrans View Post
                        I think RFID would be the way to go but would need to test range and the HARS (hen attachment RFID system)
                        If you are planning to use leg band tags, I think the range is rather short. You may have to have a "tunnel" access to the coop with a reader at each end and a counting algorithm so you can keep track of direction.
                        Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                        HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                        HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Another alternative solution
                          Restrict the coop size to hold just one chicken and make one for each chicken. If all coops are fiull then close the door(s)
                          - Bram

                          Send from my Commodore VIC-20

                          Ashai_Rey____________________________________________________________ ________________
                          HS3 Pro 3.0.0.534
                          PIugins: ZMC audio | ZMC VR | ZMC IR | ZMC NDS | RFXcom | AZ scripts | Jon00 Scripts | BLBackup | FritzBox | Z-Wave | mcsMQTT | AK Ikea

                          Comment


                            #14
                            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBa5bQfTGc

                            Real-Life Sentry Gun / Aim Bot / Gun Turret / Turret Sentry


                            ~Bill

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                              #15
                              Originally posted by Bill Brower View Post
                              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBa5bQfTGc

                              Real-Life Sentry Gun / Aim Bot / Gun Turret / Turret Sentry
                              That's cool! "Hey you kids, get off my lawn!" hahahahaha

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