What did this?

[redstars]

Bear tastes YUMMY!
I would be waiting for it to come back tonight then Repo my chickens!
Next stop my freezer.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

Dang! I thought I had problems with a hawk... A Barr!!! Holy Night Stalker Batman! yep... I think I would put on a gillie suit and wait on yogie and intro him to mr. shotgun slugs!

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Look for tracks Bear would be the most obvious culprit, I would think. Their tracks would be very easy to see. I agree with the electric fence Idae. I have it around all our pens for coyotes and fox. Also, take a cheap radio outside near the area and leave it on, the voices off it help deter a lot of preditors.

 

[mikesbigroo]

where are you located,, have ya tried putting flour down around to see what type of tracks they are, any a-hole neighbors ?

 

[brookfieldreds]

Still waiting for the fish and game agent to contact us. Our lonely girl made it through one night alone nestled in the hollow tree. One of our friends took her to join her flock so she won't be alone.

Our neighbors are great and we give them free eggs, so I don't think it was anyone with a grudge against us and our chickens. We're on 5 acres in a rural area.

We did find claw marks above the coop window and on some of the wood that was torn down. We're borrowing a game camera and going to put some flour down to see if it comes back.

Thanks for all the sympathy and advice.

 

[CMV]

I am so sorry for your losses. Bears are a daunting predator and the only way to make a coop bear-proof is to have the coop sitting in the middle of an electrified enclosure. That's still not a guarantee, but it's pretty effective. If you decide to try again next year, I'd start by investing in a good electric fence set-up. If you look up some old posts related to bear attacks there are pictures of people's enclosures and lots of good info on deterrents.

Good luck and again I'm sorry.

 

[AngieChick]

BYC member panner is very familiar with bears. You may want to pm him, I believe he uses electric fencing, but you may be able to get some good tips and advice on how to set it up.

 

[archerobx]

If your in Pa bear season is comming up