Solar powered light ideas?

[motherhenfran]

Hey guys,

I recently discovered why my solar panel Christmas lights I have inside my coop for my girls (for alittle extra light once it gets dark so they can see a little bit inside their coop once it gets dark) were being eaten by the mice and rats that come in at night to steal their food

. I'm obviously not too happy-it took over 2 hours to staple the lights into the rafters and of course the rats eat right the the beginning so the entire strand goes out.

Have any of you had luck with solar powered lights in your coop? It doesn't need to be super bright...I just like the extra bit of light it gives the girls to fly up to their perch (they stay outside til it's pretty dark so it's almost pitch black inside there once they go to bed) and also by the extremely rare chance a larger predator gets in they can see it coming.

It needs to be solar powered. Running an electric cable from the house to the coop is not an option. And I also would prefer one that is NOT motion sensor. I understand chickens are "wild animals" but my girls (will be one years old in beg of March) have always had some light source at night and I don't want them stressed with a light that keeps turning off and on with all the mice and rats coming in and out tmor the chicken food buffet at night.

Id appreciate any tips on what's a good light to put in, clearly my heist as lights didn't last more than 6months so anything that lasts longer than that-Id love to hear about it.

Thanks BYC community!

 

[LPeaslee]

This moght be more than your asking, but here's my solar setup, just scroll down near the bottom of the first page.

 

[motherhenfran]

Sorry LPeaslee but I couldn't find what you're talking about..went to your profile and looked at your pics but didn't see...if you could post a link to where to go I'd really appreciate it!!

 

[LPeaslee]

Sorry forgot to add the link.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/864880/the-island-view-coop-picture-heavy#post_14244053

 

[motherhenfran]

@LPeaslee wow your coop is impressive!!! That system looks amazing but I was thinking of something more simple like a lamp/dim spot light attached to a small solar panel.

This is what I have in there now and unfortunately the rats/mice chewed through the wires.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A41LD3I

 

[LPeaslee]

Is there a Harbor Freight store near you?
http://m.harborfreight.com/solar-shed-light-95573.html
You might try running the wire through sone conduit or pvc pipe.

 

[motherhenfran]

Running the wire through a pipe is a great idea. There isn't a harbor freight near me but we have a lot of Home Depots. I was also thinking of giving "rope lights" a try but wouldn't know how to keep them in the rafters. Stapling with a staple gun (like my current lights) would only rip through the plastic tubing and ruin them. I could always do hooks into the rafters but that's a lot of hooks to hang some lights. Maybe you have a better suggestion?

 

[yellowchicks]

I use a solar landscaping light inside the coop, hung right underneath the skylight, works great.

 

[LPeaslee]

Running the wire through a pipe is a great idea. There isn't a harbor freight near me but we have a lot of Home Depots. I was also thinking of giving "rope lights" a try but wouldn't know how to keep them in the rafters. Stapling with a staple gun (like my current lights) would only rip through the plastic tubing and ruin them. I could always do hooks into the rafters but that's a lot of hooks to hang some lights. Maybe you have a better suggestion?

You could probably use somthing like this.
http://m.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Be...c-Cable-Clamps-12-Pack-PPC-1550UVB/100175900/

 

[LI chickie]

I've been looking into putting a solar light in the coop I thought about this one
http://m.northerntool.com/products/shop~tools~product_200422028_200422028?hotline=false