Well, we've heard them at night when we're moving the chicken wagon around, but this past week, I saw my first one. It took me by surprise. This fairly large coyote just trotted out of the woods, across the field, and into some more woods. He glanced over at us in our van but seemed mostly unaffected by our presence. Girl 2 was my witness, though, she was pretty convinced it was a "wolf cub." ;) This was my first coyote sighting, so the fact that it took place on our farm and only a matter of yards from the chicken wagon freaked me out a bit.

I immediately drove home, loaded the truck up with tools and a ladder, and went back to the farm to face the 20-degree winds and install these. . .

Nite Guard. They are solar powered and have a flashing red light that is meant to resemble and animal's eye. Supposedly, if installed at eye-level with the suspected predator, they will keep intruders at bay by fooling them into believing that another dangerous animal is already present. I installed two at coyote-height and two at the top of the tractor at the instruction-manual-suggested height of 10 ft. to deter owls and hawks (which we've also seen over there).

Unfortunately, I forgot to change out of my tennis shoes before I began this project and had chickens climbing the ladder after me, untying my shoelaces. Crazy ladies! But, it was totally worth it when John (who'd just gotten off work) pulled up in his van as I was atop the ladder wielding my power drill and braving the freezing wind. I really couldn't have staged it any better. Yep, he was impressed with his farmer wife: "just gettin' things done, huh?" :)

The Nite Guards seem to be doing a fine job so far. They get great reviews online as well. Anyone else ever used them before?