NPR

Over the years, we have had issues with predators killing our poultry and stealing eggs. Mostly, it’s been racoons, skunks, possums, weasels, and crows (check out a past blog on them here). We have solar-powered predator control lights all over the poultry pasture which helps, but they are not 100%. These turn on at night and looks like an animal’s eyes. We have attached them to fence posts and aimed them in all directions. Last spring, we had more racoon attacks which has been an annual event. We have also had annual racoon attacks every fall against our large pasture-raised turkeys. Obviously, these racoons have determined that the red flashing lights are nothing more than that. Greg started looking into livestock guardian dogs, but he really didn’t want to feed and care for another large animal.

Several months ago, we added a new way to hopefully keep the intruders out, and it seems to be working so far. We have not had any casualties since we started playing NPR (talk radio) all night. Yes, talk radio! Brilliant, right? 

Animals stay away because they hear the voices. It is quiet enough that it can only be heard in and near the pasture. It is also on a timer and only plays at night. This is something that actually took a fair amount of work. We ordered a cheap clock radio off Amazon and hooked it to a timer, but we then discovered that the radio station doesn’t stay put. Most radios these days are digital, and that will not work. We had to send that back and find an old-school analog radio with an on/off/volume dial. That way, when the timer cycles power on and off, the radio will turn back on. After we figured out that part, we were set. We are very happy to have found a basic solution to keeping predators out of the pasture. And as a bonus, the chickens and ducks seem to like it. Egg production is at an all-time high.

Please feel free to reach out anytime if you are interested in farm fresh eggs.