Bear gorging on free range feed!

[scooter147]

I would be very concerned that he is going to figure out that your turkeys and chickens are food.

You may have no choice but to have Fish and Game dispatch him or get a permit to do so yourself.

 

[centrarchid]

I bet money bear knows the birds are tasty. Bear is likely thinking the feed simply easier way to meet it nutritional needs, especially if bear is simply craving calories.

 

[Sarahal88]

Well....this problem is still going on. I've started putting food out only in the morning when I am home and in the evening when I get back. The birds act starving, and the bear is catching the routine - he surprised my dog and me this morning by coming at 7:45 which he never does - before he always came in the middle of the day when we were gone. I wasn't expecting him and my dog was off leash - I ended up having to chase after the dog, chasing the bear, through the woods up the mountain for half an hour. Thankfully the bear didn't hurt my dog, but I am feeling less sympathetic and more concerned that him hanging around is a risk.

Dept of game won't issue a kill permit because there is "unsecured food" being left for the bear. I showed them my electric fence, and they said any electric wire that is high enough to allow the turkeys under will also allow the bear access, so I need to design the fence so that the turkeys must FLY over the fence to eat and then fly back over to leave. I really don't think the turkeys are this smart. They get themselves stuck in my chicken run all the time by flying over the fence and then forgetting that they can fly back out. I am brainstorming other designs but not coming up with anything promising.

Is there such thing as a feeder that is strong enough to some how exclude the bear? Or one that would be easier to configure to deliver a shock?

Now we feel really stuck.

 

[scooter147]

At this point I would be afraid for my safety/life forget about my birds and dog. If he is coming out while you are outside he has lost all fear and may see you as a threat to his food supply.

I would take the situation into my own hands. SSS.

I simple would not risk my life or limb any longer.

 

[centrarchid]

An idea. Place feed on ground in a row along current fence. Place an additional wire or two in parallel to current wire so bear can not stand up to feed but far enough apart so turkeys can get at the feed without getting shocked. Have you tried scattering the feed very thinly so bear can not simply lick feed up? I would also see how dog can more effectively repel bear when it approaches yard. Two better for that but you have what you have.


Or get rid of turkeys to give you more flexibility with fencing.

 

[scooter147]

Centrar

The "problem" I see with your solution is if the feed goes away I see the bear turning on the turkeys and chickens.

 

[centrarchid]

They will be easier to defend in confinement for a short period of time. If bear can not get them pretty quickly it will need to move on or starve. Yes, it will come back from time to time but then you will be in the same boat as everyone else dealing with bears.

 

[Sarahal88]

An idea. Place feed on ground in a row along current fence. Place an additional wire or two in parallel to current wire so bear can not stand up to feed but far enough apart so turkeys can get at the feed without getting shocked. Have you tried scattering the feed very thinly so bear can not simply lick feed up? I would also see how dog can more effectively repel bear when it approaches yard. Two better for that but you have what you have.


Or get rid of turkeys to give you more flexibility with fencing.

I am having a little trouble visualizing your idea but I do think there has got to be a way to run the electric that will actually shock the bear but not require a higher IQ than the poultry have available to them to get around. The turkeys will only be around until Thanksgiving....but then again, bear season opens at the end of November, which is still a long way off.

Centrar

The "problem" I see with your solution is if the feed goes away I see the bear turning on the turkeys and chickens.

This has been my concern all along, but I am hoping that the live birds will be less of a draw than the free calories of the feed. Plus, if my rooster is half as nasty to the bear as he is to me, that might make the bear think twice about going after the hens. Or maybe at least he would eat the rooster first which might suite me just fine... (just kidding). Of course, the rooster couldn't care less what happens to the turkeys.

 

[PatchtoTable]

Wow a bear - how cool (scary).

In Australia we get snakes and foxes.

How is the bear getting at the feed? Is it in an open feeder?

Have you tried different feeders?

 

[Sarahal88]

Wow a bear - how cool (scary).

In Australia we get snakes and foxes.

How is the bear getting at the feed? Is it in an open feeder?

Have you tried different feeders?

The feeders are easy to dump/eat from. I've been searching for a "bear proof" or "bear resistant" design but again, it's difficult to imagine something that a bear can't eat from that poultry can. I think I have seen some designs where the fowl have to reach their heads into a small hole to reach the food. But bears are strong and can be destructive/persistent. If they knew there is food inside, they are happy to destroy whatever is containing it.