Need coop camera recommendations!

[rosemarythyme]

Just adds a lot of stress and another thing to check for no benefit.

My main reason for having one (and unsurprisingly I bought it in winter) was to save my hubby from having to go out at 11 pm on snowy days to do a head count. I consider that beneficial enough!

 

[amk122284]

My main reason for having one (and unsurprisingly I bought it in winter) was to save my hubby from having to go out at 11 pm on snowy days to do a head count. I consider that beneficial enough!

That's why we have ours, hubby is rigging me up a coop door I can close with my phone....camera - headcount and to verify door shut when its 30 degrees outside also verify door opens!

 

[smott]

my recommendation is not to use one for the same reason I don’t recommend parents use baby cams. Just adds a lot of stress and another thing to check for no benefit.

Anyway, I am happy with ring cameras.

I’m wanting to keep a close eye on a chick that is having problems walking due to congenital leg problems. I have taken her to vet and wasn’t given much hope at improving her condition. I want to keep her in with the other chickens as long as possible but I also want to watch and make sure she isn’t in any distress.

 

[smott]

@neo71665
I wouldn't say I'm really tech savvy. Our router is the one supplied to us by the satellite internet provider (it's a combo modem/router) so it probably isn't the best, but I don't think I can replace it. It's located on the back wall of our house, and the coop is about 20 feet away. It works fairly well in the coop, but not if I try to use it in the run a little further down. The wifi signal does reach to the back of my house which is probably twice as far, just not sure how the signal intensity factors into that (I can watch Netflix in my bedroom which is the farthest point in the house from the router I try to use it.) I was thinking a camera that is marketed for wifi should have a better range than 20 feet, but maybe they are all that wimpy?? That's why I was asking if anyone else had success using a different wifi camera at that distance.
I am not offended by your suggestion that it is overkill... I actually LOL'd at that. I am trying to keep a really close eye on a "handicapped" chick that I have become overly attached to.

 

[smott]

First off, I'm gonna say wow ya over doing things. No judgement tho.

As an electrician and tech idiot/geek, have you looked at focused antennas for your router or even upgrading it? My shop is 100 feet from my house and I simply put a focused antenna on my router and changed my wifi from 0 to 45%. You cheap like me you can build one for next to nothing with plans from the net.

I get off my lazy butt and dig a trench I can run cat5 (which I have 1000 foot roll) and wire my shop to the router. Might be something else to think about, have a hardwired ethernet port in the coop. LMAO, but again not judging, but it might be cheaper and more reliable than spending on more wireless stuff.

tell me more about the "focused antenna" part please

 

[j1lly99]

We have Arlo cams around our place, inside and out. Love them.

 

[Lumikko]

I use Wyze cameras that I purchased from Amazon. They are pretty cheap ($25) but are not designed for outdoor use. I also picked up outdoor mounts for them and they've (so far) had no issues. I have one in the run and one in the coop, they've been in there for 4 weeks so far. I figure they're cheap enough that if I have to replace them eventually, it isn't a huge deal. The Wyze app is pretty good too. You can set rules and turn on/off notifications.

I initially had them connected to my router and they did okay. Signal wasn't great but you can change the video quality and it managed okay with 360p or SD. I have electricity and an Ethernet cable running to our outdoor patio area so we branched off of that last week to run electricity to the coop and I added a UniFi access point that the cameras are using. The signal is great now with both cameras running well at HD.

It is all completely over the top but my chickens are a fun project and allowing me the chance to play around with some cool things. Next up is the temperature dependent fan!

 

[neo71665]

tell me more about the "focused antenna" part please

https://www.simplewifi.com/pages/how-it-works

Easier to just give ya a link over trying to type it all out.

Plenty of homemade directional wifi antennas on the interwebz

 

[uktech]

I have Wyze cams around the house in and out, so no doubt, it'll be a wyze cam in and outside the coop too. For a $20 HD camera, you can't go wrong.

 

[EMAE]

Wyze cameras are great! You just need USB power and they feed into your wifi. If you add a microSD card you can also record events.