A BEAR DESTROYED MY COOP WHAT DO I DO

[RRRescue]

It’s going to sound gruesome, but rip apart the deceased and leave them in the coop. Relocate the living. Wait for him to be back. Typically it will be toward evening/night. Place a light so you have enough light to shoot. Then wait. He will be back.

Leave the bait OUTSIDE OF THE COOP.......NO SENSE INVITING MORE DESTRUCTIVE DAMAGE!!!

 

[cassie]

I think you have everything covered. You might look into electric poultry fencing. It is easy to put up and take down and it might do the trick. All I have ever had to contend with is raccoons, no bears. The raccoons are bad enough.

 

[RRRescue]

The bear has returned twice. Second time attempted to tear into a shed. Last night he returned again and killed three of my chickens. I’ve been up since 3am when it woke me. I’m totally devastated and can’t get the images of my poor sweet birds out of my head. They didn’t stand a chance. I just don’t know what to do at this point.

This time around I managed to fire off a few shots but I didn’t hit him. He had pawed at several places around the coop and tore out the hardware cloth and broke another window. The tore some splinters off the human door before finally managing to knock the latch open. It looked like his single swipe is what killed my poor sweet rooster and a laying hen. Another hen was injured at least slightly, had a lot of feathers missing, but she was too panicked for me to investigate. We boarded the windows up entirely and collected the bodies. The leghorn was in an A-frame coop in quarantine. She was just rescued from a commercial farm and saw grass for the first time ever last night. The bear ripped the walls off of her coop, which had no feed in it, and I have found no sign of her at all. It’s still dark at 6am but am hoping to go look and see if she is around. My heart is just broke. The electric fence did nothing to deter him. He has killed 12 of my neighbors chickens just a few weeks ago and was seen on their property in broad daylight but the game warden has barely lifted a finger in response.

A regular

 

[hayley3]

I think you have everything covered. You might look into electric poultry fencing. It is easy to put up and take down and it might do the trick. All I have ever had to contend with is raccoons, no bears. The raccoons are bad enough.

Yeah I'm grateful to have raccoons now vs having a bear visit!

 

[RRRescue]

I am so sorry. How terrifying. You need to use tposts and solid wood corner posts and build a proper fence. Make sure the wire is TIGHT. Not sagging at all. Did you bait the fence? You can hang tin cans from the wire and put food in them. He will be shocked. If he is now tearing into other buildings your home may be next. Shoot him of you can. This is a learned behavior and he will not stop. Put a proper fence up for more bears that may be in the area. I know you did your best with the time that you had. Hard lesson learned. Best of luck

You cant just shoot a bear with any kind of gun.....It had better be a high caliber gun with hunting hollowpoints.......know where to shoot for a kill shot.....heart or head....just shooting anywhere is not gonna work
.....just pain & suffering......Id call the local sherriff for advice....might get you an assistt........

 

[RRRescue]

Yeah I'm grateful to have raccoons now vs having a bear visit!

Poultry fencing wont work for bears....not enough volts or amps to do anything for a bears size.....

 

[1shelby1]

Please help! How do I rebuild and bear proof a coop over night!? Even if I put them in my garage, my coop was stronger than my flimsy garage door. None of my hens were killed by some miracle. I’m shaking like a leaf. What do I do?

Sorry !

 

[Big Doggie]

On TV not long ago I saw on a program a fellow making a unwelcome mat for grisly bears. He used big nails and surprisingly the bear did bend some of the nails but it kept the bear out of the cabin. His unwelcome mat was about the size of a full sheet of plywood.

Electric wire is good but also you need a good fence charger so the bear will know when it touches the wire. The more joules the stronger the shock. A bear has thick fur so bait the wire with something like peanut butter so it will touch the wire with it's nose or tongue so it will feel the shock and not come back. I would put some peanut butter in a few places on the wire. There are place where I have some wood with long staples sticking through for a fox I have been seeing lately around my coops as well as electric wire but for a bear you would need some spikes. Good luck.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...orks-60-mile-ac-powered-low-impedance-charger
http://bearsmartdurango.org/unwelcome-mats/
Here is a picture I came across. If you make a bear mat make sure to use good sturdy nails or screws. I would make it bigger than the one in the picture.
View attachment 2224882
I also came across this advice.
"Unwelcome mats are basically boards full of nails pointing up, that are placed in front of doors and windows to discourage bears from entering buildings. They are simple and inexpensive to make.
The sheet of plywood must be large enough so that a bear cannot lean from one edge and reach the door or window, and should ideally extend past the sides of the door or window by 60 cm (2 ft).
A 4x4 sheet of plywood would provide minimal protection for a single doorway, while a 4x8 sheet will be needed for most sliding patio doors. Use the thickest plywood possible and galvanized roofing nails with the large flat head. The nails should be long enough to stick out of the wood 2 - 2.5 cm (¾ - 1 in).
If the nails are too long and not strong enough, the bears will discover that they can simply bend them over and step on them. The nails should be nailed into the board about 5 cm (2 in) apart so that there is no way a bear can get his paw on the board.
The sheet of plywood also has to be secured so that the bear cannot simply push it out of its way. If it is placed on a wooden surface, a couple of nails pounded through the plywood should secure it. If the mat is placed on dirt, pieces of rebar can be pounded through the corners into the ground to secure it.
Caution tape should be placed around the area of the mat so that people do not accidentally step on the nails."
Good advice. You really need to zap them. Bears will still rip apart a coop if it’s screwed. They are incredibly strong BUT they respect a good electric fence.
You can also put boards across the windows with the nails sticking out. Electric wire is probably the best option.

 

[MarkJr]

You cant just shoot a bear with any kind of gun.....It had better be a high caliber gun with hunting hollowpoints.......know where to shoot for a kill shot.....heart or head....just shooting anywhere is not gonna work
.....just pain & suffering......Id call the local sherriff for advice....might get you an assistt........

Hollowpoint projectiles aren’t used for large animals. They expand and fragment too quickly.

If the gun you’re borrowing is .270 or larger it will work fine for its purpose. If it’s a 243, please be mindful of shot placement. Head from side at base of ear will do the trick. You have about a 3” circle to drop them, so if accuracy isn’t your forte, then larger caliber (.270 or larger) right behind shoulder just under halfway from chest to back. Clean hit, don’t follow it for 30-40 minutes. Allow it to expire without being startled.

Only reason I say leave carcasses inside coop is because a pile of bodies outside coop consists of a bait pile. The warden will see the scene if called.

 

[MarkJr]

Leave the bait OUTSIDE OF THE COOP.......NO SENSE INVITING MORE DESTRUCTIVE DAMAGE!!!

See last post.