A bear killed all but one of my chickens

[Huntmaster]

A hawk is just one predator to deal with while free ranging how does yaupon holly keep them safe from all of them?

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Is the bear still around? Any sightings of the bear or sign ( poop, claw marks)?? Do you have game or trail camera? Motion lighting around you coop, chicken set up, or your home?

 

[CharlesnBlue]

I built a coop close to the house to deter large predators but building them into a hillside (like a cellar or a dug out) protects them better. Here is a link to an underground coop built by one of our own members! https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/oblio13s-underground-chicken-coop.47864/

Coops that aren't close to your house are higher risk of being destroyed by bears.
Most bears will run once they're detected. I've never had one in my yard to my knowledge but we have had them in our driveway. My coops 20 ft from my house.

My uncle had to to give his chickens away
because a bear kept destroying the coop
it was 50ft behind his trailer

 

[McChooky]

My uncle had to to give his chickens away
because a bear kept destroying the coop
it was 50ft behind his trailer

Between bob cats and bears few people keep chickens long here.The rest are killed by coons,hawks and dogs.One of my neighbors keeps dogs beside his coop and a radio playing.

 

[McChooky]

My uncle had to to give his chickens away
because a bear kept destroying the coop
it was 50ft behind his trailer

Being so close to my yard makes my coop extremely difficult to surround with an electric fence

 

[GiddyUpGo]

Coops that aren't close to your house are higher risk of being destroyed by bears.
Most bears will run once they're detected. I've never had one in my yard to my knowledge but we have had them in our driveway. My coops 20 ft from my house.

Mine's right next to the garage, maybe 10 feet away. It was a bold bear.

 

[GiddyUpGo]

Free-ranging. Massacres only happen to trapped chickens. I feel pity for all of the poor animals I read about being killed by predator break-ins

I lost plenty of chickens to foxes and coyotes (during the day!) when I free-ranged, so I'm not sure having them loose at night is a great idea, either. There probably wouldn't be any massacres, but I'd probably lose a lot more of them in the long run.