do you reckon a proximity triggered security light on a shed adapted for chickens would be a good deterrant for predators at night?

[HappypillsGalore]

or would it get set off by innocuous things like deer and rabbits and owls and bats and flies (!) and just disturb the chooks all night?

We have a dog, this does the trick very effectively. We let him out at 11pm for the loo, and he scent marks around the pen.

poo

i want a dog

dp wont hear of it

will take lots of work to make him agree

Our automatic lights were set off by foxes, badgers etc so often that we switched the damned things off. The foxes didn't give two hoots.

ah, wont bother then.
ta!

Do you have friends with dogs who would let them into your garden every few days or just let them walk around the pen? It might work.

hmmm, you might have something there... mind you, will the dogs not try to eat the hens?
and if they scare the crap out of the hens chasing them about (what with them being a novelty an all) will it make them go eggbound and mean i have to stick my oiled finger up their bum?

im over thinking this amant i?

Our chickens bully the dog, he runs away from them, so it depends on the dog. When we first got the chickens, the dog tried to chase, but soon trained him to ignore them. I guess it depends on the dog, but I think done regularly it would ward of foxes.

does it have to be a male dog?
Dh would do it but via a pot.
we do have an irratating tom cat who is always spraying in the garden.

Not sure about this, our dog is male... but not an expert on dog pee!!

have posted a dog pee thread to find out for you.

Agree with TheDuchess - the assorted wildlife that wanders through our garden is entirely unphased by automatic lights.