We bought something similar to that as a kit you have to assemble yourself. I additionally hooked up a Unifi camera pointed at it so my parents can check if everything is alright.
DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
11–20 of 62 posts
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#12A design with limit switches instead of counting turns seems like it would be much more reliable. e.g. https://www.floweringelbow.org/automated-door-from-an-old-wi...
That way the software can be nearly stateless:
1. Check time and determine desired state (open or closed) 2. Compare desired state against limit switches and run motor until the limit switch is hit (or it times out which is an error)
On the other hand, a turn-counting strategy can lose power in the middle of opening or closing and "forget" where it is in the process.
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I could keep chickens as long as I keep five or less Is that a specific chicken clause in a contract somewhere or a general head of livestock / pets clause. 5 chickens != 5 dogs != 5 horses
I looked up the ordinance, and I was wrong about a few things. Livestock or poultry may be kept provided that there are no more than 4. So I was wrong about the limit -- it's less than five and not five or less. Also: * I need to have a 1 acre parcel, and I have only a bit over 0.25 * It needs to be 25 feet from all property boundaries and fenced in, which limits placement options So my options, for this plot, are ni…
I have 12 on a 1/2 acre plot, about 2/3rds of which is backyard they can access (so call it 1/3 acre of roaming). That amount seems more than ample, though these are pretty bougie chickens. Four in even 1/8 acre should be fine.
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#14Earlier quoted context omitted.
and land Technically I could keep chickens as long as I keep five or less. Realistically my neighbors would hate me. Also, there's a lot of foxes in my area and I don't think that my five chickens would be around all that long.
My neighbors across the street (3 miles from downtown of a medium size american city) have chickens and most days I forget they are there. I grew up with chickens as well, and they really aren’t a nuisance. We also have foxes and uh, the time I did’t forget they were there was when I heard a strange yowling at dawn, clearly a chicken and yet so different from their normal noises. I assume that was due to a fox.
Yeah, hens aren't loud or smelly, so as long as you take measures to curb issues with pests they attract, they're fine. Just don't get a rooster.
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
I looked up the ordinance, and I was wrong about a few things. Livestock or poultry may be kept provided that there are no more than 4. So I was wrong about the limit -- it's less than five and not five or less. Also: * I need to have a 1 acre parcel, and I have only a bit over 0.25 * It needs to be 25 feet from all property boundaries and fenced in, which limits placement options So my options, for this plot, are ni…
I have 12 on a 1/2 acre plot, about 2/3rds of which is backyard they can access (so call it 1/3 acre of roaming). That amount seems more than ample, though these are pretty bougie chickens. Four in even 1/8 acre should be fine.
I shall forward your message to my township officials. :-)
Seriously, though, I have to abide by the local ordinances.
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#16"Certainly, here's your code snippet presented in a more readable manner:" Using ChatGPT to do your README is a good idea, just need to proof read it ;)
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
and chickens ...
and land Technically I could keep chickens as long as I keep five or less. Realistically my neighbors would hate me. Also, there's a lot of foxes in my area and I don't think that my five chickens would be around all that long.
I actually live downtown in a small city. We have a small backyard but enough room for hens. They make minimal noise, much less then dogs. And they not make cause any unpleasant odors.
In the 9 years we have had the hens, no one has complained. However many people bring their kids by to watch them through the fence.
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#18A project I've always toyed with in my head is a fancier version that would count / verify the checks have all entered the coop at closing time and warn you if not.
With my parents coop occasionally a chicken will decide to brave the night outside, often to disastrous consequences.
Figuring out how to build a low-energy version is challenging, but necessary since the whole system runs off small solar panels and a 12v battery.
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#19A design with limit switches instead of counting turns seems like it would be much more reliable. e.g. https://www.floweringelbow.org/automated-door-from-an-old-wi... That way the software can be nearly stateless: 1. Check time and determine desired state (open or closed) 2. Compare desired state against limit switches and run motor until the limit switch is hit (or it times out which is an error) On the other hand,…
Chickens are incredibly dirty animals. The limit switches would probably be fouled (fowled?) pretty quickly.
Commercial versions of this can measure motor load (via current), but still require manual calibration. I wonder if they thought they could get away with manual calibration, but couldn’t make it reliable.
I think these people are the market leaders:
Note that the commercial version latches the door shut, so raccoons can’t open it from the bottom (they would have to learn to pull the string, and then also stick a hind leg or something in the bottom to wedge it open after the string was released).
The new 2023 model replaces the string with what appears to be a high tolerance gear system. That auto-calibrates once, then remembers the set points.
Re: DIY ESP32 based chicken coop door. Control based on time, light or via app
#20A design with limit switches instead of counting turns seems like it would be much more reliable. e.g. https://www.floweringelbow.org/automated-door-from-an-old-wi... That way the software can be nearly stateless: 1. Check time and determine desired state (open or closed) 2. Compare desired state against limit switches and run motor until the limit switch is hit (or it times out which is an error) On the other hand,…
Chickens are incredibly dirty animals. The limit switches would probably be fouled (fowled?) pretty quickly. Commercial versions of this can measure motor load (via current), but still require manual calibration. I wonder if they thought they could get away with manual calibration, but couldn’t make it reliable. I think these people are the market leaders: https://www.chickenguard.com/ Note that the commercial versio…
Limit switches for all sorts of terrible environments exist. These would probably work https://www.mcmaster.com/products/switches/environmental-rat...