11 Reasons Why You Need a Barn Cam
I got a barn cam for Christmas this year and I am obsessed! It was the best $140 our family has ever spent. I'm not a big tech sort of person, but this has seriously relieved so much anxiety, especially about the coming spring when our goats will be kidding and our Jersey cow will be having her calf. If you have pregnant animals, or any outdoor animals, here are 11 reasons why you need a barn cam.
This post contains affiliate links which means I make a small commission if you purchase through my link, which is of no cost to you.
Life without a barn cam
In the past, when our goats were pregnant, we would practically live in the barn for the last month of possible labor. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when a goat will be giving birth, even if you know the date of conception. My husband and I would take shifts going out to the barn every 2 hours to see if anyone showed signs of kidding. We wouldn't leave the house together because someone had to be home watching the goats.
After our daughter was a little older, we used her baby monitor for a while. But the distance to the barn was really pushing the range limit and the reception would come and go. So most of the time we'd have to suit up and go out there anyway to do a physical check.
We've also had our share of emergencies on the farm that could have been prevented with the use of a barn cam.
I think of when our Angora goat Knit got her horn caught in the manger. Or when Josiah, our wether escaped the barn, climbed our haystack, and fell through several layers of bales. He was stuck for over an hour. He was fine, but his legs were pretty stiff and numb by the time we found him.
11 Reasons to have a barn cam
1. Preventing emergencies
The number 1 reason to have a barn cam is to prevent emergencies or to be able to help your animals sooner if an emergency does occur. It's not a replacement for spending time with your animals, I feel that one-on-one contact helps you to learn how your animals behave so you can spot if something is wrong or different in their behavior or personality, but it does allow you to check on them more frequently when you wouldn't be out there otherwise.
2. Kidding season
As I mentioned above, this camera will be amazing when it comes time for our goats to kid. Our girls Winifred and Penelope have a history of being terrible mothers. They were bottle-fed babies and seem to be lacking the mothering instinct. 2 years ago Winifred gave birth and didn't clean and dry the kids as quickly as she should have. The kids became hypothermic and were listless when we found them. In the end, we were able to save the babies (future post on how to revive goat kids with hypothermia) but it was a close call.
Our cow Maple will also be calving for the first time this year. This will be our first cow birth on our farm. I'm so relieved that I can check on Maple night or day when her time draws near.
3. Wonderful in the winter
In the spring, summer and fall, we're outside near the animals most of the time, but in the winter we do faster check-ins, twice or 3 times a day. Simply because we live in Michigan and it's cold. We winterize the barn, set up heaters for waterers, and supply plenty of bedding for warmth. We bring water out twice a day and the animals get fed twice a day and that's about it. Unless there is an obvious concern, we don't tramp out to the barn throughout the day in the winter. The camera gives me a great view of how the animals are doing.
4. I can check on them at night
It's 3 am and I'm wondering how our girls are doing, I can stay in bed and check on them. First thing in the morning, I can see how everyone faired through the night before I even get dressed.
5. I can check on them when we're not home
I love this aspect! Anywhere we go I can check the barns. If there is an emergency I can ask one of our neighbors to be with our animals until we get home.
6. See if anyone escaped
Goats are notorious escape artists. It's been a while since we've had a breakout but they always surprise us with their problem-solving skills. Just when I think they can't get out of this fenced situation, they prove us wrong.
7. Check on mating progress
I can look in on our buck and his girls to see if the does are standing and allowing him to mate. The animals act differently when we're in the barn with them. The girls will beg for treats and pay no attention to our buck. When we're in the house they are different.
8. Check their supplies
I can make sure everyone has hay, and that no one has tipped anything over, spilled the water bucket, check for hose leaks, etc.
9. Housesitting
We rarely leave the farm to go on vacation, but if we do I can check on the animals between visits from the house sitter.
10. I can talk to the animals
Ok, so I'm not Dr. Doolittle, but I may or may not spend a good amount of time talking to our goats and cow over the speaker system that comes with the camera. I love to see their little faces look for my voice when I use the speaker. Zach and I can also talk to each other when one of us is in the barn.
11. You can brag about your animals in real time
I'm sure everyone who knows me is already tired of hearing me talk about our farm, but lucky them... now I can show people our goats in real time! Dinner parties...weddings...funerals...there's never not a good time to show your friends and family what your goats are doing at that precise moment!
What brand do we have
This post is not sponsored. I'm just sharing the camera we got and how it is working for us.
We got the SV3C Cloud Camera. Each camera was $70, but I noticed that Amazon has been running a sale.
SV3C 5MP PTZ WiFi Camera Outdoor, Pan Tilt Digital Zoom Security Cameras with Spotlight, Auto Tracking, Two-Way Audio, Alexa, Color Night Vision, Sound Motion Detection, ONVIF, Cloud & SD Card Storage
They will hold video and pictures on an SD card (not included but can use up to a 128GB card). Video and pics can be transferred to your phone/tablet right from the camera.
Installation
Screwed it into the wall using the supplied screws and plugged the power cord into a standard 110AC outlet.
Once plugged in just download the CloudEdge software from their Play store or from the link provided in the instructions onto your phone or tablet and follow the instructions to connect it to your WiFi network. Once it is set up you will be able to pull up any camera you have from anywhere and check on your farm. The pan and tilt is also huge game changer so you can set up the camera to have a much larger viewable area. So far they have not given us any issues with randomly getting kicked off the network like some cheaper electronics tend to do. Of course the better your WiFi network the longer away you can place your cameras.
If your WiFi is inadequate in the area where you want to install your camera then you'll need to either upgrade your WiFi router or install a WiFi extender. Talk to your internet provider or an electronics store for help with boosting your WiFi signal.
Other uses
If you have multiple barns you can check everyone at once. I'm thinking about getting one for the chicken coop as well. It would be great to monitor the coop and run for predators.
We're also setting up our U-Pick Lavender farm. It would be great to have in the field to let me know if we have customers.
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