so im thinking of getting a nite guard from murry mcmurry http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/nite_guard_1.html my coop is 6ft by 8 ft and i only want to order one because they seem a bit pricey, do you think that would work ok? and can i just attach it to the coop roof, or would a tree, or a post on the run be better
I would definitely not rely on something like that as my primary predator control. I doubt it's effective at deterring anything at all, or if it does, for long. My father used to grow sweet corn in his garden and had continuing problems with raccoons. He tried everything under the sun: fencing, floodlights, then motion lights, then traps, etc. It never took the raccoons more than a week of a new deterrent for them to get used to it and figure out a way to get past it to the corn. He finally gave up growing corn.
I would be absolutely *astonished* if it worked for the reason the promotional literature gives - "looks like the eye flash from a predator" - since you ONLY see that reflection if you are in virtually-direct line with a light source pointing at the animal. Which is quite common for people carrying flashlights or standing next to porch lights, but surpassingly rare for animals in NATURE to experience. That said, I suppose it is not impossible that it might work by some OTHER mechanism. I am heavily, heavily skeptical though. And deeply mistrustful of "it worked for me" testimonials, given a) the um not entirely unbiased nature of promotional literature quotes and b) the very chancey turkey-shoot nature of whether a predator gets at your animals even if you have NO predator protection. Anyhow, to protect a coop you would need at least two and probably 3 of them, since they are directional not 360-degree. Frankly I think your $$ would much better be spent on better fencing and/or a strand or two of correctly-installed frequently-checked electric wire. JMHO, good luck, have fun, Pat
