This is especially exciting for those of you who are besieged by the nightly prowlings of a wily fox.
Now I don't know that it's all that scientific..and I have tried many things since my old flock got taken. Getting Mr and Master Bok to pee on the fence. Putting out bits of hair (I know! Read here). Randomly pouncing outside in the middle of the night yelling BOO!! just in case a fox was lurking. And yet...and YET!...there are still signs every night or two of a fox break-in attempt.
Enter Jamie Durie.
Don't go weak ladies.
It's only butterflies...
Of the flickering, glittering, solar powered kind!
I picked up these night lights at Big W. Because they were sort of cute and I was looking for ways of making our temporary chicken enclosure look more enticing. Little did I realise that these little babies would twinkle (yes they randomly twinkle off and on) all night long like some kind of wonky fairy landing strip. SCARING AWAY THE FOXES. No break in attempts in the last fortnight we've had them in.
$19 well spent I say.
The hens? Well they have thanked me by going broody. Joan and Teapot (Hypatia) that is. Whilst the others pace...up and down, up and down, every time Tim Tam is near by. He's no fox though.
In other news. I didn't make it onto Santa's list AGAIN this year. I'll have to try harder to be good.
p.s. Nope I am in no way affiliated with Jamie Durie (would be fun if I were!) nor Big W. I made an accidental discovery which may or may not work! But hey! It's worth a try.
Wow glad you found something to keep those foxes away, bet the girls are pleased.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I hope it keeps them away!
ReplyDeleteWe have those lights, but in the bird variety! :)
ReplyDeleteooh great idea!
ReplyDeleteOooh good tip, thanks. My hubby saw a fox across the road the other day, and the local duck family I see every morning is down to 3/7 ducklings, which may be because of the fox.
ReplyDeleteglad that the fairy fearing foxes are fleeing instead of feasting.
ReplyDeleteDeb
Who'd have thought Jamie Durie would have been so useful! X
ReplyDeleteWhat a great concept- keep us in the loop if it continues to work. We are almost at the point of feeling ready to be chook parents again, still recovering after our fox attack in September. melx
ReplyDeleteWhen I was way younger and so much more fun, I worked at MYER, in the book department. In the department next to ours, the chocolate and lolly department, worked a girl I had gone to primary school with. She was one of those dreadful girls who was very beautiful but oh so nasty.
ReplyDeleteAaaaanyway, at the time of our MYER stint, she was going out with Jamie Durie (when he was a stripper!) so he would come in quite often and stand around doing the boyfriend thing while she was working.
I just realised that this is a pretty dead end story as nothing more really happened! I did find out years later though that he was not the most faithful of boyfriends to her, and broke her heart. I was surprised to hear that she actually had one :D
Ooooooo that was mean!
Love your butterflies - what on earth do they have to do with Jamie Durie??
Hallo girls! Yes they are still twinkling away at me out there.
ReplyDeleteAli! Twins! I used to work at Myer when I was at uni...in the BOOK department!! other than christmas where I was a christmas elf (oh so not as fun as you'd think)... The butterflies are part of the Jamie Durie for Big W range!
Mel, I think they work the same way as the 'fox lights' which I was thinking about ages ago.
Sarah - I know! He is a ctually being useful for now and has no idea :)
HI Greenbackyard, I hope your girls recover soon. And that is very sad about the ducklings.
Kari, I saw the birds too but have been told I'm too bird obsessed, which possible is true :) I have a friend who cannot visit me because she is terrified of birds...and I have bird prints and bird shaped things everywhere in my house!
It's nice when you stumble into a solution!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds goof. You may well have stumbled upon something. So glad your hens can now forces on raising baby chicks instead of outwitting a wily fox.
ReplyDeleteFocus!
ReplyDeleteGreat news! I hope your discovery continues to work!
ReplyDeleteMost great discoveries are made by accident! i am not sur eif they are available over here but I am sure something similiar would be, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletePeggy
organicgrowing pains blog
We've had foxes about, too. Sadly, no chickens for Pom Pom, but I DO love reading about yours and Tim Tam is a draw as well!
ReplyDeleteFairy lights scare away foxes? I love that!
Glad to hear the lights are keeping those darn foxes away!
ReplyDeleteExcellent Missus! It obviously works.
ReplyDeleteJust remind Mr Bok NOT to continue pee-ing on the electrics!
This is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteOoo, interesting! We are building our fox-proof fortress (I hope) at the moment, now wondering if I should think about rigging up a power point for lights out there too...
ReplyDeleteThe lights are certainly spooky. I hope they do keep Mr. Fox away. As for the other tricks, I don't know if they work. They are also supposed to be remedies to keep deer out of the garden. Hope the lights work, but I would still keep the hens locked up.
ReplyDeleteWonderful idea, I am actually already doing this,(just not realising i was doing it) much for the same reasons as you listed. (the whole fairy castle farm theme and all). Also we have a street light just outside the kingdom gates, and I have suspended solar lights above the walkways and the castle is covered in fairy lights, phew! lol it's a little like neon city out there at night. I wondered if it would keep the bunnies awake at night, but now I read your post, they will just have to deal with it :O) Take care and beautiful girls going broody so precious :O)
ReplyDeletewow, that is amazing...and pretty. You clever little bokker, you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I heard a fox calling somewhere around here last night, and I went outside with my LED torch, flashing it around and making a lot of noise and fuss. We have hair scattered around our yard too, everytime we get a haircut! I had not heard a fox so close to the house before, so I was surprised when it was calling here!
ReplyDeleteHooray! That's fabulous news after the last time! Well done, Mrs B!
ReplyDeleteHi there you may not have even missed me but I have been absent for awhile, holidays and then the olive harvest, it is taking me awhile to catch up with all my favourite blogs. We used to love keeping hens but the worst thing was the visits from the foxes, which used to upset us all so much.
ReplyDelete