she's back with 2 cubs - Page 2

Whew!  I would take a bobcat over a bear any day!

A black bear, or a grizzly?  Egads!  I can't imagine a black bear going anywhere near a horse.  Except for the few that get lured into yards by bird feeders and garbage, most blackies around my parts are terrifed of people or anything to do with them.
I don't know how it works with bears, but fence-baiting works just dandy with dogs.  It was the only way I finally got rid of one pesty dog.  He didn't seem to care about getting zapped on his body, but it only took one zap on the nose/mouth and I never saw him again!  I don't enjoy inflicting pain on animals, but there was a bit of satisfaction in the prolonged yelping I heard coming out of him after all the annoyance he caused me!

Man, I am so glad I don't live in bear country anymore.  I envy those people in the UK and New Zealand where the biggest predator is a fox.  Here is the 'burbs its mostly coons and possems, but there are other neighborhoods nearby that have plently of coyotes.  Where I grew up Fish and Game ususally ended up having to kill a nuisance (sp???) bear evey year or two.  A big determined black bear boar could probably take down the sturdiest coop.  I've hear of them pulling/pushing doors out of the frames.  Cool seeing mom and babies though.  There isn't much cuter than baby bears.

I was just getting ready to ask about keeping bear away from the chickens when I found this thread

We have a black bear that is making a regular trip thru our place. He hasn't bothered the coop yet, but I was afraid he might try that.  We haven't had any sign of bear around here untill this month. He has just walked thru, eaten the birdseed in the back "yard", knocked over an empty feed barrel by the mule barn, and left us the poop mountains that let us know that yes, indeed, it was a bear.

I saw him for the first time last night. He was right outside our bedroom door. He's just an average size black bear, and he walked thru the back side of our property, and then turned and went down toward our mule/horse pen. The horse and mules have seen bear close on the trail before, and were not spooked. In fact they were all standing in the corner of the pen, ears forward, just looking at him as he walked by them! Then on down our drive way road he went.

I have always loved getting to see wild animals in my yard, and would have been thrilled with a bear a few months ago, but now I have chickens.

I also have hot wire (tape actually) and a portable set up we use when we go camping. Will the tape still work if I put peanut butter on it or should I get the wire?