First night outside report - baby monitor is definitely the way to go

[patricium]

My eight 7-week old babies spent their first night outside in the big coop last night. It was pretty rough getting them to settle down. After I closed up the door and they realized they weren't going for their ride back into the house, there was a lot of distressed peeping and horrified looks. Three of them settled down on the roosts fairly quickly, but the other five were acting like I was killing them. :-( I finally sat down in the coop with them so they could snuggle on my lap - it took about an hour for them all to settle down. Then I gently piled them in the corner with their fleece snuggy.

We bought one of those sound & video baby monitors with nightime IR vision, and put it up on the coop wall. It was very reassuring for us chick-parents to be able to see them all night. And when one of them jumped off the roost and was wandering around in the dark at 2am, I could see it and go out to put her back. We predator-proofed the coop within an inch of its life, so they should be safe, but it's sure nice to know I'll be able to hear anything out of the ordinary and go investigate.

 

[RestlessCrow]

WOW. Now THAT is what I call Spoiled birds!!

 

[patricium]

My motto is to spoil them as much as possible when they're young so maybe they'll remember it when they're fully grown and you're trying to get them to do something they don't want to.

I will, however, absolutely deny singing them lullabies.

 

[Kieyamama]

awwww.....you are such a good chicken-mommy! I'm not even that patient with my 3 year old at bed time!

 

[catwalk]

WOW. Very impressive.

 

[Super Admin]

WOW! I have been looking for something to watch my chickens at night and have had no success. Where did you get it?? I think I would be a future buyer.

 

[Kieyamama]

You can get them at Target or toys R Us. Probably even Walmart.

 

[patricium]

I got the "Summer Infant Day&Night Handheld Color Video Monitor ", from Babies R Us. It has pretty good reviews. They say the range is up to 300 feet, but the best reception is 15-60 feet in a house. Our coop is very close to our bedroom window - about 80 feet, so it worked well, but I don't think you want to try to push it to 300'. The transmitter camera needs AC power, so I ran an outdoor extension cord out to the coop. It hangs from a screw on the wall about 3 feet above the roosts to keep it out of pecking range. The video is in color during daylight, and switches over to black and white at night when the IR LED's take over. The picture was good enough that I could tell when their eyes were open. The sound pickup is very sensitive, so you can hear everything that goes on. The receiver can run from AC or a rechargeable battery.

Someone else in another thread suggested a wired security camera that can be hooked up to a TV. This might be a good option to avoid bed reception issues.

 

[Super Admin]

Thanks All

 

[dianer29]

Eggcellent idea
Where can I purhase one of these ? Any suggestions? Battery run correct? I live on The Big Island Hawaii and we do have a Walmart . Any input on perhaps purchasig online and hoping the shipping does not put me into poor house...........lol dianer29