Bear damage

[jonusko]

There have been some posts about bears. Here is what happened last night.

Coop door...

Fence damages...

People have also been wondering what the scat looks like. They left three piles. I added a bottle for a size reference.

Pile 2...

Pile 3...

In November a sow and two cubs broke down a more flimsy door and killed a few chickens. Last night, one or more of them went straight for the coop door (which was more sturdy), broke down the door and ate two chickens in exactly the same spot as the last time.

Any suggestions on building a bear-proof door?

Last time, they woke me up and I got them to leave (a long story) before they killed all the chickens. Last night, we had a really loud fan going, so we didn't hear a thing. Luckily, five of the chickens escaped.

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

could you try to run electric fencing around the coop??

I know my grandpa's cabin has been "broke into" before by bears...

They broke double pained windows, broke down steel door, clawed/chewed/ripped through the logs on the walls. Even tipped over there outhouse...

Can you get reimbursed through the DNR for the birds...Or maybe they can trap the bear and relocated it, specially seeings how this has happened before...

They had to do that for my grandpa- not because of the cabin damage, but because of loosing cows calves and even a bull to bears. They lost 15 head of beef cattle in the corse of 25 days from bear. The DNR trapped 3 or 4 bear that time and relocated them. They still have bears and have lost cattle, but not to the severatey (sp??) they were having.

There cabin has had bear damage every year for as long as I can remember. The DNR hasn't offered to trap those ones though...
There cabin and house are about 75 miles away from each other....

I guess it was just an idea for you and maybe a long winded story...hahahaha

Shawna

 

[snowydiamonds]

None of your set up would keep predators out even though it was a nice set up. I use chain link fence lined on the bottom half with hardware cloth or chicken wire but I know that would not keep out determined dogs let alone bears. We use electric fencing in Alaska to keep moose and bear at bay, I haven't but others do.

I know fire makes 'em run for the hills so along w/my dogs to help alert me, I keep firecrackers on hand, a big bag as they sound somewhat like a smaller gun and make a lot of smoke, you can toss them in any direction needed.

Do you have a dog or two? Get firecrackers, altho if I remember right, California is burning up and its most likely you can't even build a fire, let alone firecrackers. If so, I'm no help except the wire fencing...

 

[LynneP]

Dear God, what a mess. We've discussed using a bracket behind our coop door with a 2x6 across, though I suspect that if a bear wants into a barn or coop it would be difficult to prevent it. Will a natural resources team agree to relocate this/these bear(s)?

 

[jonusko]

Quote:
This setup has kept out raccoons, bobcats, foxes and coyotes. I have a raccoon that tries to dig under every night. It hits the buried fencing and gives up. It has killed a few chickens by grabbing them and pulling them through the horse fencing. Adding multiple layers of chicken wire has stopped that.

Quote:
Fire/fireworks are too dangerous here. One of the large CA fires is 15 miles away and only 20% under control. I have a 30-30 to scare off predators. I didn't use it last time on the bears because it tends to tree them which makes it take longer to get them to move on. I use my voice with the 30-30 as a backup. Next time, I will fire off a couple shots once they are away from the trees.

Quote:
We have two dogs that are good for most predators. The fan was so loud last night, that none of us woke up (including the dogs).

I realize that if a bear can break into a car, it will be able to break into any chicken coop. All I can do is make it sturdy enough that it slows them down and gives me time to wake up and scare them off. I can't afford to spend a lot of money running power out to the coop or rebuilding it with chain link. I am limited to hardware store materials and some ingenuity.

 

[Beekissed]

Maybe if the dogs were outside?

I don't think my dogs would be able to protect the coop from inside either!

 

[panner123]

You have to built a bear proof coop, not just a door. This can be done, but you would need to take out a second on your house. What you need to do is read some of the past posts on bears. Over the years I have had my share of run ins with them, more lately. You can keep them at bay with an electric fence and radios, which I use along with motion detectors. Since we are more or less neighbors we could be seeing the same bears. When you go out with your 30/30, let it speak first, then you can yell all you want. Just done miss. If you kill it just bury it unless you know some Indians that will use it in their ceremonies. It does make good bacon. And the rump roast are almost like pork.
If you do call the state trapper the first thing he will ask is, do you have a back hoe? That is for digging the hole to bury the bear in.

 

[bluie]

Wow! Those were some impressive bear poops! I wonder what in the heck they had been eating! (Besides chicken

)

 

[Beekissed]

Looks like apples to me....I know, my dog is putting out the same thing!

 

[justusnak]

OK, first of all....how many of us sat here stareing at the bear scat, trying to figure out what it had been eating!??

Now, for the issue at hand...let me say, I am so very sorry for your loss and damages. Is there a way you can put a baby monitor in the coop...and by the bed...to alert you of any disturbances!?? We did this because of Mink! And let me tell you...you WILL hear the ladies raiseing a ruckus! Good luck...Hope you can get them safe again.