Bear in my FRONT YARD!

[KellyGwen]

There was a BEAR in my front yard earlier this evening!! I grabbed my camera (and my gun) and ran out to close up my coop!

I didn't get a picture of him... but last week my neighbors found his... um.. poop in their yard...

How likely is he to break into my coop??? I live in a very rural part of the state. There isn't any real yummy or stinky food in my coop (other than the chicks!

) and I think he'd be more likely to raid our compost heap...

but....

Has anyone else had trouble with bears bothering their chickens????

 

[morelcabin]

We have a bear or two that live around here and find poop, but he has never bothered my coops. On my old property I saw bears all the time, never bothered my coops there either. I wouldn't worry about it much but I wouldn't leave the coop wide open at night either:>)

 

[gumpsgirl]

I wouldn't take any chances for sure. You did the right thing in making sure the coop got locked up. Make sure they're in nice and tight for the night!

 

[chickenman7]

WOW! we dont have bears here

 

[jeaucamom]

There are plenty of threads on here about coops being torn open by bears. Use the search function above and you will find plenty with pics. They are a real threat to your flock. You should also talk to panner123, he will tell you all about bears and chickens. Good luck!

 

[speckledhen]

I sent hatching eggs to one of our members who had his entire flock decimated by a bear, so yes, if they decide they want those chickens, not much except a hotwire will stop them.

 

[talos321]

Yes they will kill them. This concerns me because they are being found in South Carolina now as they are moving here due to habitat loss.

 

[speckledhen]

I know we have bears here around my neighborhood, but so far, they haven't bothered the coops at all. There was a sow with a cub spotted several times last year about 1000 ft from my house.

 

[panner123]

Quote:
Bears don't care one if your coop is closed or not if they want in. Bears will eat chickens, a couple of years ago I lost 35 in one night. What they really go after is the feed. So what I have done is store some feed right below my bedroom window. The window is open 24/7/365 with a 12 ga shotgun, loaded 3" mags with triple 0 buckshot. At that distance it won't go far. I due perfer using a bow just not at night. Oh and by the way, they will come in the house. Have had that happen twice. Anytime you see a bear on your property, forget the camera get your gun. You can take better photos of a dead bear and it is a heck of a lot safer. You only have two friends when a bear is on your property, Smith & Wesson. And whatever you do, DO NOT use a paintball gun, pellet gun or a 22. Use the biggest one you have. You don't want to make it mad or wound it, you want to
KILL it. I do not like any predator man or beast threating my family or critters. Next to man a bear is the most dangerous.

 

[kees]

I don't think that a lock will deter a bear. As another poster said, it's better to kill it right the first time.