Bear break-in

[CashewVulture]

Today, at about 8:40 PM, we heard our dog Shelby (who is tied at her doghouse when we can’t supervise her off leash, she isn’t fully trusted with chickens and can’t be indoors. She has been outdoors her whole life.) barking, and when I went out to look from the window, she was barking towards the coop, I’ve never seen her bark in that direction before, so I got little worried. I always go and see what’s going on whenever she barks but she does that often so I wasn’t really expecting anything. I went outside just in case and there was a pile of feathers right below the nesting box. Our broody, Queen, got caught. We have never had a coop break in so I was really in shock. I looked around, saw nothing moving. At first I thought it could’ve been a raccoon but while were installing new protection on the nesting box (pieces of wood drilled to prevent the box from opening), we saw a black bear very close to the coop. Probably coming back for more…we tried to scare it with an air horn and rocks but it didn’t move. Our very powerful flashlight on flash mode made it leave. We now have pieces of wood preventing the nesting box from opening from above, a outdoor light on, and a ultrasound and flashing lights alarm. Is there anything else we should do? Bears are so strong so it could probably destroy the whole coop if it wanted. I heard vinegar and pepper can discourage them so I want to try spraying that around the box. We already lost 3 hens this year (including the one from tonight, the 2 others were from coyotes) and I really don’t want to lose any more. Any ideas? Tips? Anything?

First picture is the muddy marks it left when opening it.
Second is what it looked like before it arrived (I put rocks on top but clearly doesn’t work…)
Third is the bear
And the last one is what the coop looks like

 

[Sic]

You can try AM talk radio, but at this point I'm not sure if that would work at all since the bear already had a free meal, it will most likely return. A bear that doesn't respond to an air horn isn't good. Tied up, your dog would also be in grave danger.

 

[gtaus]

Any ideas? Tips? Anything?

Contact your local DNR and tell them about your bear attack. They might have some good ideas on how to deal with it. I know our local DNR will trap and relocate bears that get too close to people, like raiding dumpsters, etc...

I have a Fort Knox coop, but it would not stand up to a bear attack. Sorry for your problems. Will be following your thread to see how you work this problem out. Good luck.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, contact your DNR today! Also, electric fencing with a very strong 'zap', baited to encourage a bear to try tasting it, also best. And your dog is at risk bigtime!
Premier1supplies.com has good products and advice, online and by phone.
Mary

 

[Sic]

We live in bear country, no black bears, just very large ABC Island bears. Being on a remote island we do not have resident bears, just get some passing through as they swim from one island to another. Sometimes a sow with cubs will winter here. We had bears attempt to get into our duck enclosure, so when we decided to get chickens we built our chicken coop to withstand a bear assault if for some reason the bear fence wasn't on or operational. It would be easier to knock down the walls of our house than the walls of our coop. Coop has 2x4 framing, 5/8" plywood inside and out, with the exterior covered by 3x4 cedar t&g. The coop and the enclosed run are underneath our living room and the walls of the coop are attached to our foundation posts and beams. My external access to the nesting boxes is behind this heavy solid wood door, which opens out and is blocked in with studs so it cannot be pushed in. Nothing has ever breached Fort Nugget and hopefully never will. Living in bear country requires adaptive measures.

 

[FrostRanger]

100% call DNR. A bear that doesn't fear humans is very dangerous

 

[CashewVulture]

@Sic @gtaus @Folly's place @FrostRanger Thank you everyone for all the advice We are actually getting a electric fence today. Hopefully it will keep him out and discourage him from every coming back! If not, maybe calling the DNR would be best. We’ll see! And as for our dog, I did think her being tied up would be dangerous, especially since we also have mountain lions here. People here have seen some but we haven’t seen any ourselves. I’m just afraid she’d put herself in danger if she were off leash during the night…she is a 60 pound mixed breed and is very energetic. (Mainly Maremma/Border Collie) She would be in the electric fence perimeter though so that’s good.

 

[FrostRanger]

I'd call DNR anyways, the fact that the bear wouldn't flee from you is really bad and could put someone else in a really dangerous situation

 

[CashewVulture]

I'd call DNR anyways, the fact that the bear wouldn't flee from you is really bad and could put someone else in a really dangerous situation

Yes I agree about him possibly being dangerous to other people. I feel however that the reason he is hesitant about leaving is because he’s hungry for more chicken and thought it was such a good find. I think that otherwise he wouldn’t stay around. Most bears around here just avoid humans but they don’t usually run away scared, they just walk away like “okay I’d rather not be around you”. Of course being so bold isn’t good. He seems to be spying on us to wait until we leave so he can break in again. I will continue to observe his behavior and see if the noise we made this evening made him change his mind about the chickens. (Our dog has not barked since so maybe it’s a good sign)

 

[gtaus]

And as for our dog, I did think her being tied up would be dangerous, especially since we also have mountain lions here. People here have seen some but we haven’t seen any ourselves. I’m just afraid she’d put herself in danger if she were off leash during the night…she is a 60 pound mixed breed and is very energetic.

Sounds like you live out in the sticks if you have bears and mountain lions to deal with. I can understand that. I live on a lake and over the years I have seen a few bears in the neighborhood passing through.

We had a neighbor who was putting out bird food in a feeder that one bear found an easy meal. She took it down and the bear quit coming around.

I hope your electric fence and noise makers will drive off the bear you are dealing with. However, I suspect that one free chicken dinner may be a great temptation for a hungry bear looking for another meal.

As for mountain lions, we had one (maybe two) pass through our property a few years ago around midnight. There was one terrible loud, high-pitched scream and another low rumbling sound. I suspected it was maybe a male and female calling out to each other as they crossed my property. But I don't know.

We had a (free range) dog living with us at the time, so I went outside on the porch to call him to make sure he was not running after the lion, or something stupid like that.

Not to worry, I found him cowering down in the basement and he had no intention of going back outside!

Here is a YouTube recording of almost exactly what I heard in the high-pitched scream...

The other low-rumbling sound was like this in the first 15 seconds of the video...

I called the "sighting" of the cougar(s) to the DNR the next day, just in case they track reports. I have lived here for 36 years and that was the first and only encounter we had with a mountain lion. I imagine it's the lion that you don't hear that is the one you really need to be worried about.

In any case, I would still report the bear encounter to the local DNR and let them know what defenses you have put in place. They might have some good ideas for you as well. And, if you have more encounters with a nuisance bear in the future, they might be able to trap and relocate the bear somewhere safer away from people based on your report(s).

Good luck.