- Nov 10, 2014
- 7
- 1
- 9
Just wanted to share my chicken coop project that I have been working on. Initially, I just wanted to have an automatic chicken door. I was unable to find any reasonably priced product off the shelf, so I designed my own, taking ideas from various other DIY builds. The door is lifted by a 12" linear actuator. The linear actuator has built in limit switches, so it automatically stops when it reaches the limit of it's travel. I also placed a safety sensor right outside the coop door so that the doors will not close if there is a chicken standing underneath it. If there is a chicken that is trapped outside after the door has closed, the door will reopen as soon as the chicken triggers the safety sensor.
The brain of the operation is a WiFi relay box. It is linked to home WIFI and allows me to control the coop from anywhere with internet. It has 8 different channels, allowing me to control 8 different units. It also has a built in timer function, so that each channel can be automated by setting a timer. Also in this picture you can a LED light that turns on at 4:30pm and turns off at 8PM. It is attached to a LED dimmer so that it dims over the course of 15 minutes to avoid a sudden lights out that causes the chickens to freak out.
There's even an iphone app to control the Wifi Box.
The coop is powered by two 35AH batteries, which is charged by a 100watt solar panel. Solar panel is attached to the top of the run.
The water for the chickens is delivered through a nipple system. There is a 5 gallon bucket right behind the solar panel that is automatically filled every night using a sprinkler timer.
I also attached a fan to the coop to improve ventilation. It is running for most of the time, except for a few hours in the middle of the night, when it is the coldest.
As you probably guessed from the pictures, there is also a surveillance camera mounted in the coop. It's a Foscam tilt camera with night vision, allowing me to monitor the coop day and night.
My next plan is to add automated window openers so that they open in the morning and close at night.
Would love to hear your feedback and ideas for other accessories for the coop. If anyone wants to do something similar, feel free to ask any questions.
The brain of the operation is a WiFi relay box. It is linked to home WIFI and allows me to control the coop from anywhere with internet. It has 8 different channels, allowing me to control 8 different units. It also has a built in timer function, so that each channel can be automated by setting a timer. Also in this picture you can a LED light that turns on at 4:30pm and turns off at 8PM. It is attached to a LED dimmer so that it dims over the course of 15 minutes to avoid a sudden lights out that causes the chickens to freak out.
There's even an iphone app to control the Wifi Box.
The coop is powered by two 35AH batteries, which is charged by a 100watt solar panel. Solar panel is attached to the top of the run.
The water for the chickens is delivered through a nipple system. There is a 5 gallon bucket right behind the solar panel that is automatically filled every night using a sprinkler timer.
I also attached a fan to the coop to improve ventilation. It is running for most of the time, except for a few hours in the middle of the night, when it is the coldest.
As you probably guessed from the pictures, there is also a surveillance camera mounted in the coop. It's a Foscam tilt camera with night vision, allowing me to monitor the coop day and night.
My next plan is to add automated window openers so that they open in the morning and close at night.
Would love to hear your feedback and ideas for other accessories for the coop. If anyone wants to do something similar, feel free to ask any questions.
