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barn cam & calving

C

cutterone

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2006
Messages
484
Location
Frankfort, Indiana
I spred the wealth around a little this winter and bought a barn camera system. Have 6 cameras, a switcher, cable to the house, and used an older tv as a monitor. It has proved to be very good and useful. Got to have it a bit easier last night checking the calving stalls from the comfort of my recliner and watched a set of twins delivered at 5 am this morning. Constant monitoring without the hasstle of putting on wraps every hour and walking to the barn.
 
Thats pretty cool. I know some people that use those with their horse program.

Some of the deer hunters around use those camera's around their deer feeders. I told one guy, now if you could just use the camera to shoot the deer with you would have to leave the warm air of home.
 
Sounds great. Next year you could mount a couple of cameras on a remote controlled helicopter and do the outside check from the house as well. :-) How is the weather treating you?
 
Yea - getting a little lazy in my old age!
The system included 6 color cameras with 100 ft of cable each (which will see about 40 ft in total darkness), the switcher ( which you can watch all cameras or just the one(s) you want and 500 ft of cable which you can bury or just roll back up after calving for around $900. Sounds pricey but if you catch one cow in heat and get her bred, or save one calf because you are tired and didn't want to go to the barn this hour it will pay for itself IMO. I find I'm taking better notes about each cow as well.
The weather is better if you like mud rather than below zero temps and snow. It's been a hard winter but we warmed up last week and got a lot of rain but the frost is out of the ground now and I'm seeing a little green here & there. It's suppost to get cold again which would be good as I would like to do a little seeding.
Here is a link to where I found it and I have his private web and e-mail if your interested http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220354205799
 
That sounds like a good idea, cutterone. I've always thought it would be nice to have a camera on all of the far away windmills, pointing straight down at the tank. This would enable you to see if there was water coming out of the leadpipe, and to see if the tank was full or not. It would also give an opportunity to check on the condition of the cattle as they came in to drink, as well as giving a way to get a count.

I got a Polaris Ranger instead, which make the job fun. Besides, it will haul a thousand pounds of salt and mineral at the same time. :wink:
 
A gentleman we knew had built a calving barn so that there was a enclosed lot on each side of a small building with large picture windows on each side looking into a lot. The lot could be lit up with lights and the feller could sit inside there and watch all the action in the lots while also enjoying the warmth and television installed also.
 
Have you considered wireless cameras, Im running 4 in my barn, its about 450 feet from the house. They work real well, do a search, they make them go farther than mine. Mine are just cheap Radio Shack but was impressed. Been useing them for 3 years now.
 

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