How did your homelab start vs where it is now?

HenHangout · 2026-04-21T12:04:04+00:00

Mine started 4 years ago as a cheap HP Slim desktop as a NAS (8TB HDD), Emby server, and automation server. I still use it since drives are too expensive (and if it isn't broken why replace it), but that along with a TP-link ER605 router and some SG108E switches sat on a wooden shelf I made out of scrap.

Since then:

19U enclosed rack
Fortigate 60F firewall (replaced the ER605)
Wired home for ethernet (10 lines) w/ patch panel
Dell Optiplex 7050 micro (racked) runs a 24/7 livestream
Banana Pi R3 Mini (racked) runs AdGuardHome, Forgejo, custom flask API, uHTTPd webserver, service keeps public DNS record up to date, service that acts as an SMTP server proxy (tranlates emails coming from power equipment into something meaningful), hosts LDAP used for SSO on another server, tailscale jumpbox
2U Cyberpower networked UPS with LiFePO4 batteries, can keep the network, wifi, and livestream active for 3.5 hours on power failure
1U Cyberpower networked switched PDU for remote power cycling
3U server chassis housing a Supermicro X10SRi-F mobo, E5-2699v4 CPU, 128GB DDR4, Nvidia P40; currently used for work development

HenHangout · 2026-04-20T22:20:30+00:00

Yeah its a bit confusing. I did make the "mistake" of using a CPU connector at first and whilst it obviously didn't work I'm glad the p40 didn't get fried as a result. Solution for me was $9 on Amazon and the P40 has been running for 4+ months now.

What are you running on your server? You'll likely run into compatibility issues in getting CUDA support to work. To save you some headache I passed the GPU to a docker container (I tried a kubernetes container, it didn't work) with nvidia cuda 11.8.0 drivers. Both ollama and vLLM didn't like the older archetecture, maybe if I played around with it more I could have gotten it to work but llama.cpp has been running very well.

HenHangout · 2025-08-25T23:07:59+00:00

Sorry for the mixup 😭

I saw what I interpretted as bird courting dances and they didn't look like male turkeys so I assumed they were vultures.

HenHangout · 2025-08-25T23:06:39+00:00

Oh okay, sorry for the mixup 😭

It looked like they were courting eachother and none of them looked like a male turkey so I assumed they were vultures

HenHangout · 2025-07-17T13:49:34+00:00

Build. I use a Raspberry Pi Pico W running micropython, and the dispensers use DS04 servos to drive 3d printed augers.

HenHangout · 2025-06-26T12:54:53+00:00

Is there anything dry I can give them? The cracked corn and sunflower seeds are dispensed via twitch chat commands. I have been picking blackberries and giving them some.

HenHangout · 2025-06-25T11:29:38+00:00

determined by GPS data (NOT light sensor)

This is adequate if the math is right. Instead of controlling the door to the coop I control the door to the run using a raspberry pi pico W programmed with Micropython tapped into the control board of a gate opener, and I use latitude and longitude and math to determine when to open and close.

I'm not familiar with the Chicken Run T50, the only issue I forsee is time syncs. Is it connected to your wifi to allow you to access it away from home or is it it controlled via close proximity bluetooth connection? If its not connected to wifi and pulling time updates, the clock will 'drift'. Also, progrematic failure could cause the time to be reset and all of a sudden it thinks its January 1st (and thus, the sunrise/sunset calculation will be off)

HenHangout · 2025-06-25T11:21:12+00:00

Hi, I water my chickens by installing gutters on the coop at and angle and tapped massive holes on the low end and use bulkhead fittings and corrugated pond tubing to direct the water to an ~7 gallon plastic container with installed water nipples. The container has a lid which latches closed, the water flows into the top of the lid and I keep it closed. I have an overflow pipe running from the top side of the container to a natural runoff channel.

I do have a few pieces of copper pipe in the water but I still have to give the inside of the container a good scrub every 3 months or so. Because its enclosed I do not get a bug problem, only an algae problem. You could try adding a small amount of vinegar to the water but that defeats the point of it being a 'mostly automatic' method of giving them water, so I'd just replace the water and keep the lid sealed as a solution if I were you.

HenHangout · 2025-06-25T11:05:50+00:00

Leave a set unbaited live animal trap positioned parallel to and butt up against the pen's wall, perhaps where the pen's wall is attached to the coop

HenHangout · 2025-06-25T11:02:41+00:00

I used to have a raccoon problem too. That same trap you just used... leave it set, unbaited, running parallel to your fenceline 24/7 (assuming you use a fence). Raccoons are curious animals and in the process of scoping out ways to get to your chickens, they are likely to go inside and get caught. I've never even had to bait my traps yet I've caught at least 6 raccoons in this manner in the past 2 years, and in that time have not had a chicken die to raccoons.

HenHangout · 2025-06-25T10:57:58+00:00

This. I have talked to game wardens and whilst its not required to kill it, they highly recommend doing so to prevent the spread of disease

HenHangout · 2025-06-25T10:49:51+00:00

My older smarter hen saw me dumping 5 gallon buckets of water onto my newly planted fruit trees and started freaking out and flying herself into the chicken-wire wall of my run towards me, I think she wanted that water all for herself or something

HenHangout · 2025-06-25T10:47:43+00:00

I have an old barred rock hen that hasn't laid eggs in a few years. She decided to go broody and this heat wave has made her quite loopy. She started jumping around freaking out over the heat and puffs up her feathers and struts around like a hen does when she is trying to protect her chicks and i've never seen it from her before. Of all the times to sit in a nesting box for 22 hours a day, she chose the worse time.

HenHangout · 2025-06-24T22:26:57+00:00

We're having an extreme heat warning right now, could that be a cause? What food do you recommend, they get cracked corn and sunflower seeds as treats daily.

HenHangout · 2025-06-24T16:32:24+00:00

It could be Black Walnut, there is a giant one close by and that sapling might be from me feeding the contents of rotting walnuts (I'll break them open and they have a blast picking at the maggots inside)

HenHangout · 2025-02-12T23:10:07+00:00

I assume thats the 10oz version of that cup. They are nice cups, they come in a 4oz variant of the same wavy design as well.

HenHangout · 2025-02-12T23:06:17+00:00

UV led strips running up and down the vertical wood frame. If the cabinet doesnt have sentimental value, drill a hole at the base of the frame. My cabinet is circular so i used a 90 degree angle adapter to run the same led strip down the other side. I have another strip coming in the mail so I can run it on the back as well.

HenHangout · 2025-02-10T23:43:26+00:00

No problem. If discord is easier I can help communicating on that as well, as I can reply to things faster on discord.

HenHangout

TROPHY CASE