Introducing: BackYard Robots - April Fools 2017

[Nifty-Chicken]

Happy April Fools 2017!!​

Thanks again to our great community.
You are harder to fool each year, so we keep trying!

Here are previous year's April Fools Day Fun on BYC:

• 2007 - BYC Expanding - BackYardCows.com
• 2008 - BYC Hacked!
• 2009 - Server Upgrade Good News / Bad News: Post Counts Lost
• 2010 - New BYC Store Product - The EggCell!
• 2011 - NEW BYC Program & Partnership - Sell Your Extra Eggs!
• 2012 - New Forum Section - Exotic Backyard Animals
• 2013 - Big Announcement: BYC & Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook Partnership - BeakBook
• 2014 - BYC Sponsored Study: Increase Chicken Broodiness By Up To 48% With Aluminum Foil
• 2015 - Announcement - BYC Staff / Moderator Term Limits & Retirement
• 2016 - Chicken Feed That Changes Egg Shell Color

Short Version:

We’re very excited to announce the upcoming site / project BackYardRobots.com




Details:

Over the past 10 years there have been many amazing advances in robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are surrounded by technology that has and is and will be transforming daily life. Everything from robotic vacuums and fully autonomous cars to amazing humanoid and animal robots!

I personally have always had a passion for technology. I’m a huge fan of Ray Kurzweil and his thought on the upcoming “technological singularity”. His opinions and predictions are well respected, and he foresees incredible and exponential advances in technology in the next few years.


There has never been a time or an opportunity to combine my interest in technology… especially Artificial Intelligence with my love of BackYardChickens. With that being the case, I’ve put together a select team of passionate experts in both computer science and chicken husbandry to work towards making our lives easier and more efficient while also improving the lives of our flocks!

Our team has put together a plan to develop a BackYard Robot to assist (initially) with all your chicken-keeping projects and needs. The plan is to roll out incremental development stages in our BackYard Robots. Our super-secret beta version is only in its infancy, but is already capable of automatically retrieving eggs and opening / closing coop doors.

After our BackYard Robots have mastered the basic areas of raising chickens (like cleaning the coop, maintaining water / feed levels, etc.), we’d eventually like to expand the robots into other non-chicken related animals; e.g., feeding, cleaning, herding, protecting, etc. of everything from other fowl to horses, goats, bees, and more!

So, where do you as members of BYC, fit into all of this? As mentioned earlier, we have been testing our beta robot in our labs, but we need to get a few of them into the hands of people “out in the field” to test in “real world” applications.

We’re now accepting applications from BYC members to become “beta testers” of our BackYard Robots. If you are interested in potentially becoming a tester and joining our program, please reply to this thread with the following information:

1. The # of years you’ve owned chickens
2. What other BackYard animals do you own that you’d like help with
3. Examples of three tasks you’d like your BackYard Robot to take over / do for you

This is a first-come first-served process, so we’ll only be taking application for the next 24 hours!

If you have any other comments, suggestions, or questions, please also post them here.

 

[Blooie]

Banty and Ralphie,
Sittin' in a tree
S.N.I.P.I.N.G.

One loves ducks,
The other don't
We'll let the robots finish this
'Cause I sure won't....

 

[Blooie]

Oh, WOW! This is brilliant! When I think of how many ways I could use something like this....

1. The number of years you've owned chickens: Four. Four puny years, although sometimes it feels like 40 years and other times it feels like 4 days. If you're counting, that's 4 years of lugging bags of feed bigger than I am (Yes, Nifty, some things ARE bigger than I am) 4 years of sloshing water in my shoes when I fill the bucket, 4 years of finding coop poop on the bedroom carpet despite having changed into coop shoes out there, 4 years of peeping, squawking, crowing, egg songs and panic cries, 4 years of finding smooshed eggs in my jacket pocket, 4 years of ........ sheesh, why in the heck am even raising chickens????

2. What other BackYard animals do you own that you'd like help with: None. I ain't the brightest crayon in the box but I ain't stupid enough to take on anything else after reading paragraph one!

3.Examples of three tasks you'd like your BackYard robot to take over/ do for you:
Rake, bag and store all the leaves I use in the coop and run. Periodically dump said leaves in the coop and run.

Build a divider between the backyard and the rest of the yard where the chickens seem to congregate despite all efforts to keep them out.

Guard the veggie and flower garden.

Dust them for mites....the chickens, not the robots. I mean, have the robots dust the chickens, not themselves. If the robots get mites I know I have a bigger problem than a few of the little pests every once in awhile and I ain't going outside ever ever again.

Turn the ever-increasing doggone compost heap.

Did I pass the application program and do I get the robots, did I huh huh?? If I didn't, and Sour or Banty get them, will you please program the robots to bite people in the hiney? Thanks.

 

[BantyChooks]

1)  70 years, give or take a few.

2)  10 beagles and Scaredy cat.

3)   Cooking, house keeping and balancing the checking account would be appreciated.

Pstt, sour- that's what a wife is for.

 

[Pork Pie]

1. 3 years
2. None
3. coop cleaning, re-filling feeders etc

 

[DwayneNLiz]

1. 6 years
2. Ducks, Quail, horse
3. Manure: muck it, pile it, turn it, spread it

Oh wait, I think my husband already does all that

 

[sourland]

1) 70 years, give or take a few.

2) 10 beagles and Scaredy cat.

3) Cooking, house keeping and balancing the checking account would be appreciated.

 

[eggbert420]

My turtle puts my chickens in the coop.

My cat puts my ducks in

Then my sheep put the cats in the cat house

 

[Teila]

If you are testing in the “real world” then you have to send one to Australia!! ..... Pretty Please with sugar on top! I can beg, worship, grovel, bribe ... I have no scruples!

LOL

The # of years you’ve owned chickens
4 Years

What other BackYard animals do you own that you’d like help with
None

Examples of three tasks you’d like your BackYard Robot to take over / do for you
I too enjoy all my chicken chores but I would like my BackYard Robot to:

1. During the day, kinda like facial recognition, only let in the hens who are going to lay eggs; no broody hen access.

2. When the run door is open because the chickens are wandering the garden, prevent access to wild birds going in to steal food while still allowing the chickens access.

3. Give marauding Crows a boot up the behind ... I would pay to see that! Or the previously mentioned beg, worship etc

 

[Blooie]

Can I alter my chore list after it's been submitted? All this talk of RIFD chips and such gave me such an idea!! Can you see a robot made just for Kendra that she could use to open the doors out there just for her, clear the poop from a ramp for her little wheelchair, and gather the eggs and put them in her basket - with an escort back to the house? Or better yet, carry her out to the coop so she could see the chickens? It kills our backs to do that, but a robot wouldn't have any problem!!