A New BarnCam

This is a special guest blog by my part-time IT Guy and full-time husband Steve. I’ll be back tomorrow. -Terry

Hi everyone!

Here at The HenCam I’ve been hard at work updating our cameras. The new OutsideCam is running well. But BarnCam… BarnCam was originally installed back in April 2011 before the Gems arrived:

brooder

 

It was fun to watch when the Gems were first hatched:

chickcam

 

BarnCam worked well for several years, but it hasn’t survived all the abuse that chickens can dish out:

worn-out camera

 

The old original BarnCam has been retired. Terry caught me hard at work building the new improved BarnCam:

IT_Guy_working

 

And it’s finally finished! Here’s what the new installation looks like:

BarnCam_install

 

This is not just any camera though. This one has a special additional feature—a microphone! Yes, now you can not only see the hens, but hear them too!

To turn on the sound, move your mouse over the BarnCam display to bring up the control bar:

controlbar-muted

 

Now move your mouse over to the speaker icon, then click on the slider and raise the volume control up:

controlbar-slider

 

That’s it! You should hear the hens chortling away.

Occasionally we may turn off the audio, using this handy MUTE switch installed in the barn:

mute_switch

Terry says I might use this when I need to swear at the goats.

Here in the United States you are quite within your rights to broadcast video of whoever may walk across your yard. But it so happens that broadcasting audio is illegal (see 18 USC Chapter 119). However there cannot be an expectation of privacy if there are public signs posted indicating the communication is being monitored. So I’ve put up signs around the yard:

sign_inside  sign_garagesign_door sign_barn

 

And just to be sure, I put a sign on the microphone itself, for the hens to read:

hen

I don’t think they will mind, do you?

Note from Terry: Today is Steve’s birthday. I’m making him chocolate pudding. (The recipe requires 6 egg yolks, thanks, Girls!) If you’d like, leave birthday greetings in the comments. The more, the merrier!

Comments:

  1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE! – Hope you have a glorious day. And thank you for all your IT expertise.

  2. MANY HAPPY RETURNS. Enjoy your yummy chocolate cake. Thankyou for the new cam and all your hard work over the years keeping things going, and the wonderful time-lapse winter videos….:)

  4. Happy Birthday Steve have a great day! Your hard work is appreciated by all of us chicken (goat) nuts

  6. Happy Birthday Steve!! P.S. I sent you some chocolate for your birthday …. thank you for all you do!! Next: A cup of coffee for Terry! I thoroughly enjoy HenCam and want to help support in any way I can. This is my “Go To” website for knowledge on animal care and just watching the animals on the HenCam calms me and at the same time amuses me. LOL. If that makes any sense.

  7. Happy birthday, Steve! I’m sure the hens will know to hit the mute button when they convene for their secret meetings. Wishing you many happy returns!

  10. Happy Birthday Steve! Thanks for all your hard work, and thanks for being such a support to Terry and all the critters!

  11. Hope your day is filled with wonderful memories….I so love the hencams…I watch with my grandchildren…so fun and interesting, thank-you

  12. HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE! It has been wonderful being able to come here and enjoy the chickens! And being married to an IT guy myself it boggles the mind the amount of work you do with those cameras! My IT guy has only had to deal with small children rewriting code for work – while he was logged in – and cats walking across the keyboard! No ‘dinosaurs’ destroying highly expensive hardware! :D

  15. Happy Birthday, Steve! We chicken lovers appreciate all your efforts–even if we don’t get any of the eggs.

    Chocolate pudding sounds good for a birthday sweet. My father always wanted raisin pie for his birthday.

    I love the picture of the hen looking at the sign. They don’t miss anything.

  16. Happy Birthday Steve! I hope you are enjoying this your special day! Chocolate pudding……sounds delicious!

    Celia

  17. Happy birthday, Steve! Thank you for all of your hard work. Enjoy your pudding!

  18. The chicken perfectly photographed to be reading the sign made me laugh out loud. Brilliant.

  19. Happy Birthday Steve! Thanks for all you do to keep Terry happy and make her and the girls (and the goaties) look good!

  20. Happiest Birthday Wishes to you Steve! Your hard work and dedication to the cams is much appreciated! Your talents help spread the joy of the animals into many homes, offices, classrooms, etc. Bravo IT Guy! Bravo!

  21. Happy birthday Steve. Thanks for all the hard work you do keeping the tech side of Hen Cam running smoothly. Three cheers for IT Guy!

  22. Happy birthday, Steve … Hope you have a wonderful day!
    Thanks for making it possible for all of us out here in the Ether to share all the Little Pond animals.

  25. Brilliant work, Steve – thank you from an avid viewer (and now listener) – and Happy Birthday, too.

  26. A very Happy Birthday Steve and thanks for all your wonderful work behind the cam. It makes my day!!!

  27. One of my pupils gave me a drawing for my birthday. She made my day by writing ‘Happy Burstday’ on it. I hope you have a nice burstday too, Steve! :)

  30. IT GUY Steve. Happy Birthday! You are the guy that keeps us all connected to the Golson Global World Network. A world of fun, furry, cute, hilarious, critters and getting educated along the way. . It has been a wonderful experience to learn about the farm. Thanks to your expertise we get to see……and now here the girls. You and Miss Terry and the Golson Boys are a formidable TEAM!

  31. Happy Birthday, Steve, from Cornwall England!
    You and Terry make a great team! Thanks!
    Lizzie

  32. Very cool Steve! You are a talented guy! I especially love the last photo of the hen “reading” the sign. I hope that you are enjoying a lovely birthday!

  34. Happy Birthday Steve. Thanks to you for all you do to keep this site going. I appreciate all you and Terry do.

  35. Thank you, Steve, for all you do to keep Hencam running. Happy birthday! I hope you enjoy good fellowship and great pudding :-)

  37. Thank you, Steve! It’s your partnership with Terry that has helped us keep happy chickens for the past five years. We appreciate your drive to improve our knowledge and experience.

  39. Happy birthday Steve! Thanks for all your IT expertise so we can enjoy Hencam :-)

  41. Happy Birthday, Steve! All your hard work gives joy to a lot of people! Great job!! I hope you’ve had a wonderful birthday. You share it with my son, Adam :-)

  44. (Waving madly from other side of the continent) Hi Steve, happy (now belated) birthday! Thanks for all your hard work — it is a treat to get to see YOU in a photo. Looking forward now to hearing the girls. Very thoughtful of you to warn them they be overheard plotting galline revolution………

  45. Belated Happy Birthday, as I have just checked in. Hope you enjoyed the chocolate dessert (I am sure you did) and as every one else says, huge thanks for all you do. I have my own I.T. guy also a Steve but he is my eldest son so I appreciate all the help an I.T. guy can give. Love everything you guys do and share with us.

  46. Happy Birthday, Steve and thanks for making it all possible. Went straight to the cams but it’s 10 in the evening over there (morning here in Australia) so I’ll have to wait till the Girls get up tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing what they have to say.

  47. Happy Birthday Steve, great work with the cameras and I look forward to hearing them. Now if you could add a speaker so they can hear you talking from the house!