Is an alarm system needed on our pheasant farm? The answer is yes, if we want to sleep at night! Having consistent temperatures is crucial to the success of raising our chicks. The most important use of an alarm system is to detect temperatures that get outside of our desired range. We began using a new system in July called Smart Barn, because our former alarm system was going out of business.
The system is up and running and working well. We have a sensor placed in each room that monitors the temperature. When the temperature moves outside the set range the brooder staff has determined, a text and email are sent to designated staff. The system we use also has a power voltage sensor. If we experience an outage, the system will alert us. The system also has an app that we can pull up on our phones and view the current temperature of each room, at the click of a button!
There was an initial startup fee for our new system. We placed the system in 5 of our buildings, at a cost of $1200 per building. After the initial cost, we now receive a monthly phone bill of about $75 per month. When you compare that cost to what we would lose in a short period of time if the heat went out, or the temperature dropped, it is well worth the investment.
Brian Klein would be glad to discuss the values of an alarm system and can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to learn more about pheasants, enjoy browsing our pheasant facts. Pheasants are such an interesting bird. Raising them in this day and age is a combination of love and logic!
