Advice on bears?

[fiddlehawk]

anyone have fool-proof deterents for bears? We lost our girls to a bear about a month ago. Tipped over our very heavy hen house and killed half of them the 1st night, and then did the same, ripping the padlocked door off the hinges the second night. No more chickens. Not even a scrap left except for piles of feathers here and there. Many of our neighbors have had the same experience this spring. While our area has bear issues every spring, this is the first time chickens have been the target. They usually hit our bee hives. May just be a problem bear but the range leads us to believe it's just a boon in the migrating population. We have all the latest deterents on the hives - electricity, nail boards, fencing, a motion-detection camera with flash, even a manaquin!! We want to get more chickens but I don't want to deal with another massacre like that. Any help appreciated.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Check your states nuisance wildlife laws. Your DEC website should tell you what to do about wildlife attacking or bothering livestock. We are allowed to shoot them here as long as we notify the local dec officer afterwards. This time of year is tough because bears have been traveling looking for mates and food. Have you tried an electric fence? If this is a problem bear for your area, you might be able to get the DEC to come and trap it. Unfortunately, now that said bear has found a meal at your house twice, he/she will be back many times in hopes of finding more. Bears are very hard to deter.

 

[Yardbirds286]

Be very careful. Now that the bear has had two dinners at your place he could try to enter your house looking for more food.

 

[Dogfish]

Strong electric fence and a good rifle. Leave the .22 on the rack and grab a serious rifle or a shotgun with buckshot or slugs. You do not want this predator coming back.

 

[Rebel Rooster]

SSSHHHHHHH... Wat's under dat pile of fresh dirt back dare in da woods??? HHHMMMMM....

 

[panner123]

Now I have had my share of problems with bear and there is only 1 way to stop them, call on Mr Smith & Mr Wesson of the larger size. I have had some luck keeping them out of the coop with an electric fence and a radio in the coop. The current must be run though barb wire. The plain little wire that comes with the charger is shorted out by the bear's hair. The barbs slice though the hair and hits the skin. Some will tell you to put bacon or some other bait on the fence, this never worked for me. As long as you think the bear is in the area, DO NOT GO OUT WITHOUT BEING ARMED. Most of the time the bear will run, but it only takes that one time and you end up in the hospital or worse. If you ever have to shoot a bear, shoot to kill. A wounded bear or any animal is a REAL PROBLEM.

 

[huntercf]

I agree with panner, shooting a bear is way different, they are similar to wild hogs, if they are hit, many times they will come after you. Aim for right behind the front leg. You should definitely check with DFG first because killing a bear may require a special permit ahead of time, also DFG may want to trap the bear to relocate instead.

Bears have poor eyesight but excellent sense of smell, you could try and spread cayenne pepper or chili pepper around and that may help deter them. You will need to keep spreading it on a regular basis especially when it rains.

Stay Safe

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

just the thought of a bear coming to my property scares the crap out of me...but if I were to shoot it...it would be with the most powerful gun I could find. No .22 will slow it down. it might sting him unless you hit it right between the eyes I would imagine.

 

[huntercf]

If you shoot a bear with a .22 between the eyes it will bounce off and make him mad. For black bears I recommend a .270 or higher, I use a .300 WSM. Don't shoot grizzlies they are mostly protected unless you live in AK. You definitely need to check with DFG because shooting wild game (even if they are destroying your property) can be a tricky and expensive. A lot of times they will want to trap the bear and relocate it first and if the animal needs to be destroyed they usually want to be the ones to do it.

This is going to sound weird but another method to try (if you have ample space between you and your neighbors) is to pee around the perimeter of your property. Bears do not like humans, they only come into human areas when they are hungry or thirsty. But once they get in and find a source of food it is hard to get rid of them.

Good Luck

 

[Dogfish]

So that's why we don't have bears. The boys and I let it fly all over the property.