Solar lights to deter varmints?

[monica.stromberg]

What do you all think? Lowe's has some pretty solar lights on sale, and I was wondering if that would help any keeping chicken eating critters away. So far we are doing just fine, but...

Paradise Chickens
"Poultry in Motion!"

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

The "Night Guard" red LED flashing light works for keeping my chickens safe. That, & a radio tuned to a talk channel.

 

[crazyhen]

I have a flood light but the raccoons use it to eat bird seed by. I don't think lights matter at all. I held a flashlight on one and he just kept eatting. So far no chickens have been taken.
I have a very secure coop. Gloria Jean

 

[CatDaddyAlbert]

Thought I'd stick a few cents worth of opinion on this as I happen to live on about 40 wooded acres in Delaware and have the three worst predators a flock has to deal with, Fox, Raccoon, Hawk and Opossum, pretty much in that order.

I think at last count a couples of days ago there were 59 Guinea's running free range along with 3 Roo's.There are a couple of things you can do to protect your birds during the day, and lockup in a secure area works at night.

I have 6 flashing red lights and then have taken and hung cd's from tree limbs all around. As it gets to dusk, and before all the flock has returned to the houses and we have locked the doors is the most dangerous time, at least for my flock. The one thing the Fox and R'coon do not want to deal with is the sight of red. It thinks it is a set of eyes. White lights will do little if anything.

With the cd's hanging from the trees the area really flashes with contant red light beams reflected of them.

As for the Hawk...now that is a different story all together. Because of the canopy we don't have many...but little stops them. I have had one fly down and grab a Guinea while I was standing right there. That one was not funny at all. We have found the red lights and reflections don't do a thing.

The radio on all day between the coops....we think it works. As suggested put it on a talk radio show or NPR and turn it up a bit. The predator thinks someone is there.

For the opossum.... he is just curious and it looking to eat the Guinea eggs if they lay in a new area I cannot find. You trying looking in 40 acres of woods for where your eggs are! That is why this old codger uses a golf cart.

We do set 6 Hav-A-Heart traps at this time a year and relocate the opossums.

Hope this has something someone might use to keep their flock safe at dusk.

 

[christineavatar]

I also use 'Nite Guard' lights. I was also grateful for CatDaddyAlbert's feed back. It was helpful for me as I, all the way over on the West Coast, have pretty much the same predators - plus coyotes and mountain lions.

 

[elmo]

It can't hurt, but I wouldn't count on it. Your best defense will always be some kind of barrier that's impenetrable.

My father used every invention known to man to keep raccoons out of his sweet corn patch. It only took the raccoons a couple of nights to get used to motion lights, constant lights, red lights, etc. He moved on to traps, but after relocating 30 raccoons and they still kept coming, he pretty much gave up.

 

[BoltonChicken]

Raccoons and foxes will get used to almost anything EXCEPT an electric fence. This, coupled with well fastened
hardware cloth stops everything including pit bulls. There is lots of information on this forum about electric poultry
fencing, and it is well worth a read.
Lights only give the preditors better vision.

 

[psimons2004]

In our experiences the foxes and predatory birds strike in broad daylight, so lights don't seem to make a difference....

 

[bryan99705]

A tight, skirted fence will stop a daytime fox or dog attack. Deer netting over top will stop hawks. A secure coop with good wire and latches will secure the birds at night. If you follow this, it won't be a big issue as you can allow the critters to roam the run and yard at night cause the birds are protected. If you want the birds to come and go in the run, then wire in the roof. Why waste money on lights when the critters can't touch the birds?

 

[romadfox]

Hey Y'all,
Greeting from Ridgeway, SC. I live on 9.25 acres of woods in a very rural area. Had a fox trot through the backyard once and I didn't bother her a bit. We have a fair numbers of predators I'm sure. I have a really well wired coop with poultry net and I use the Solar Nite Eyes for my night time deterent. I have had no problems thus far and I sleep better with the red eyes flashing away. It the same principal as the Nite Guard except two red lights flash instead of one. The products are very comparable. Here's the link to their website, and if you mention Grit's Backyard Chicken Magazine you get a $2.00 off per unit discount. Good luck!
Vince