24/7 Livestream
Chat
How to Feed:
(1) Create a free Twitch account by clicking “Sign Up” on twitch.tv.
(2) Follow our Twitch account.
(3) Send the message in the Stream Chat: !feed
(4) The robofeeder will open, sending corn and wheat to the chickens.
Livestream FAQs
Is Twitch safe to use?
Twitch is the premier livestream platform with millions tuning in each day. It is safe and easy to use; privacy settings can be edited to your preference. If you are worried about notifications and emails, you can easily turn them off. Click here for Twitch notification preferences. As well, since Twitch is owned by Amazon, there are perks for Prime membership.
Why isn’t the feeder working?
(1) The feeder is on a 3 minute timer between feedings. Try again in a few minutes.
(2) Check the spelling. It must be “!feed” – no quotations, spaces, or misspellings.
(3) It is nighttime and the chickens are inside.
(4) The feeder is empty and/or clogged. (We usually fix this right away.)
If the feeder is having any technical issues, we will place a banner on the stream that indicates the feeder is down for repairs.
Why do you livestream your chickens? Why Twitch?
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a livestream is worth a few million. We wanted to capture our poultry farm perfectly for our customers. Thus, we created this interactive experience for all to witness our hens truly free ranging. It’s rare to see these moments, so our solution was to place a single camera where chickens roamed. It quickly grew to multiple cameras and a feeder. Twitch is an excellent livestream platform that allows users to interact with content creators. On any given day, 50 people from around the world tune into our chickens to meet and feed them.
Why are the chickens inside?
The chickens go inside at night to be protected against predators. They free range on our pasture during the daytime.
Who is the dog?
Delilah is our livestock guardian. She is an Anatolian and Great Pyrenees mix bred to protect our birds from predators and intruders.
How does the robofeeder work?
We coded a microchip to read the Twitch chat. We then attached a servo to a PVC enclosure which holds the corn and wheat. The chip reads the words “Thank you” from BirdlandBot (our IRC chat bot) which triggers the robot to open the feeder and voila! Watch the video below for a more detailed explanation. See the source code here.