Alaska/Canada preditors...inquiring minds want to know...

[BirdBrain]

We used to live in Anchorage, AK and I keep wondering what you do about bears and the like. Don't your chickens attract the bears? We had black bears coming to peoples back porches for the winter bird feed. What do you do? Are there specific predation issues that you deal with that are different than somewhere like Texas?

 

[PortageGirl]

I lived in Anchorage for 7 years, and yes, bears like chicken meat a LOT... Tastes like CHICKEN!!!

My friends who lived in Eagle River had a coop/barn that looked like fort knox, they had goats too, and kept a gun handy at all times.

I really thought it was a recipe for disaster, but though they often found tracks they had surprisingly little trouble. I think they did kill one teenage bear, but they were pretty careful about not ever having trash, birdseed, dog dishes etc exposed.

Love to hear what the other AK folks have to say though!

 

[BirdBrain]

There have to be some Alaskans or Canadians out there who have an answer for this.

 

[2468Chickensrgr8]

When i was a young teenager (1970's) and visited my father out in British Columbia .He lived on the side of a mountain and he had pigs/cows/horses/free ranging chickens... I remember when he Butchered pigs he would bring the "leftovers" up to the top of the mountain for the coyotes....I also remembered he had guns everywhere unloaded and always carried the bullets .Plus he had a couple outdoor dogs that would let you know when something was happening .... he lived close to the Orchards so the Bears were more interested in the fruits....and the deers that visited the orchards...

 

[sandypaws]

look into KARELIAN BEARDOGS..... i can direct you to a few breeders

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

At the first sounds of ANYTHING prowling around outside we let our 3 big dogs out, and turn on all the outside lights to light up the yard.
We also use electric fencing around all the coops. We use the fence designed to keeps bulls in their pasture. It has a 5 mile range and we only have 100 feet of fence hooked to it. If anything touches it I'm confident it wont do it again.
Lastly I keep a shotgun by the door and another by my bed also keep a spot light by the door if we have to go outside.

Our area gets Brown and Black bears passing through as well as fox, lynx, coyotes, wolfs and moose.
You might not think of moose as dangerous but late in the winter when their cold tired and hungry they get ornery. If a moose gets the lid of your feed bin they wont leave until its empty. Then they come back the next day and the next. They will tear down fences to get to it also.