Putting a Camera inside the coop?

[sebloc]

Hello all

Even after completely safe proofing the coop, we are worried pests and other issues may occur during the night/while we are not around. We have an idea of putting a camera inside the coop, just to keep an eye on the flock when we are not there to watch. There is no power source connected to the coop, and though there are wifi cameras, we may want to keep an eye on them while we are on vacation/ other adventures. A camera connected to wifi will NOT enable us to view the chickens when we are away. We need the following camera:

-A camera that enables us to see the chickens from our phones

-We can watch the chickens from miles and miles away

-No wires (We can use wires, but no wires is preferred).

If you have a camera in your coop that can do the following, please send the specs below. We live in an area with lots of fox, hawks, possibly wolves, outdoor cats (both our neighbors have them ), dogs that get loose, raccoons, skunks, and pretty much everything.
If we have a camera in the coop, it'll at least give us a little peace of mind.

Also, does anyone else have cameras in their coop?

Thanks for any info you can provide, and sorry if the idea doesn't really fit in this section, kind of thought it did.

 

[Cacique500]

I've got a full system on my coop made by LTS. 7 hd cameras total around the house, 5 of which point at or are in the coop (priorities right? Also running the LTS Platinum NVR with 8 TB of recording, which allows me to go back and check on anything that I missed.

I ran a cat 5 cable (buried in pvc) out to the coop (about 100 ft. of cable) and the cameras all run on POE, so no electric required. If you go this route, I'd bury a second "spare" cat 5 cable along with it, just in case something happens to the original. The system was professionally installed (other than the cat 5 which I ran to the coop) and I think total cost for everything was around $2000-$2500. LTS has a phone app so I can view over my home wifi or over the internet when I'm away on business. The system has been in for about 7 months now and it's been working like a charm. The cameras also have night vision built in, so when it gets dark they switch over automatically...really nice to have that feature. In the last picture you can see the "Run Camera" in the upper right corner, with the IR light on.

 

[PingoBags]

I basically did the same as Cacique500 but not as fancy and on the cheap. It's a poor mans setup. I only have one camera facing the coop.
Purchased a cheap hikvision DS-2CD2232-I5 on ebay.
Total it cost me less than $150 for everything, including the power source and cat5 cable, connectors and tool/tester.

I never buried my cable. I had a 200 foot clothes line I strung from my deck to a tree 100 feet away.
I just taped the cat5 cable to the clothes line cable. It's been up for 2 years without a single issue.

I thought about putting the camera in the coop but decided to to keep it outside facing it.
It's also an IP camera so I can view it from a pc or phone anywhere in the world.
I allow a few of my friends and family living in the UK to view it as well, I'm located in Canada.

 

[Cacique500]

I justified my camera expense to my friends and neighbors as "home security"...but we all know it's really for the chickens...

 

[sebloc]

Thanks all, guess I have some decisions to make.

 

[MeepBeep]

and though there are wifi cameras, we may want to keep an eye on them while we are on vacation/ other adventures. A camera connected to wifi will NOT enable us to view the chickens when we are away.

Almost all current wifi cameras (even the cheap Chinese ones) have remote 'P2P' tech so they can be viewed remotely on apps for Android and IOS apps as well as being able to be accessed by computers for remote viewing over the internet...

I had a so called 'scrapper' nosing around my property last week so I have been looking at installing some wifi cameras myself, in addition to the two driveway alarms I have already installed, just in case my warning to him that he would be facing the barrel of a firearm if he ever returned doesn't register with him...

So take my recommendation as only a preliminary one, I have not actually used any of these yet...

Anyway, before I jump the gun and spend a lot, I like to try out cheap systems... As you may or may not be aware a lot of the cameras coming out of China (including US branded ones) are actually all the same 'guts' just different cosmetic housings or different names stamped on them... Many of them will work with just about any generic 'IP' or camera 'P2P' software you can find for your phone if you configure it properly or you can use the software they provide...

That said I have been looking at these cheap models to see how they work... Don't take this as a brand or seller recommendation it's just what I have been looking at, also if you browse Ebay you will find these same cameras rebraned with different names from multiple sellers as I said, all the same guts...

Not the best resolution http://www.ebay.com/itm/301212231040
Pretty much same as above with better resoluton http://www.ebay.com/itm/201608839805
Another option http://www.ebay.com/itm/131808353049

There are also pan and tilt versions like this but the resolution is usually way lower unless you spend a lot, and I have heard that the pan and tilt can be problematic on low end units...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121982658380