NIghttime predators - lights?

[Scatterknit]

Any thoughts on whether lights will help keep them away or am I just "lighting the way" for them - so to speak?

My chickens are inside a chain link run. It has a tarp cover but a raccoon has discovered how to get in and last night it killed my favorite prettiest hen. It just now tried to get in again and tore a clump of feathers off another one. I need to reconfigure my coop situation but until I can get something built, I need some protection. I can't keep running out there in the middle of the night.

I was thinking about clipping a light facing out of the run into the forest until I can get my coop/run rebuilt/moved. Any thoughts on that? Am I just wasting electricity?

 

[Ezzstar]

I've never had a raccoon problem but when I had a Fox trying to get my princess hens, I put my dog up near the coop he was great a light will help too

 

[PeepsAreForMe]

Can you put them in something at night to protect them? A tarp is not going to do it, and pretty soon you won't have any chickens left. How many do you have? If you can't build something yet, I would run some sort of electric fence around them. Even if you only turn it on at night.

 

[Scatterknit]

They've been fine this way for the last year or so but now there is something on the prowl. The electric fence is going in tomorrow so one more night to keep them away.