Bear-proof Chicken Coop

[maribel]

My chickens were all slaughtered by a bear. We kept them in a wooden coop with all metal hinges and locks behind a serious dog fence. We really loved these birds and are devastated by our loss. We plan to try again next spring. Any ideas on how to bear-proof a pen. We moved to a rural area from the city and now realize how naive we had been about the strength and cunning of a bear.

 

[ILOVEFRIZZLES]

put out a picnic basket

 

[MAllen]

Bear proof it with a Winchester, works every time.....

Matt

 

[twincreekfarm1]

Just read all these posts as I purchased a 26 acre farm in Southwest VA in a wooded area up a mountain, and have my first chickies in the brooder. I have a very sturdy chicken house and lots of electric fences, but have been giving a lot of thought to bears.

My sister owns 35 acres in the Shenandoah near the national park and has lots of bear visitors up there. She bought her land from an elderly orchard man and his wife and the bear stories will give one food for thought. For instance: orchard man Alvin built a lovely rustic cabin near his largest orchard for weekend getaways and for the kids and grands. His wife came to the cabin on summer days and cooked lunch for him and the orchard crew. She was minding her own business and the cooking one day when a bear decided to rip the front screen door off the cabin. The bear was part way through the solid interior door when she ran out the other door and into her car. (no cell phones in those days). She drove down into the orchard to get Alvin and he came to the cabin, toting a heavy gun. The bear was partway in the house when Alvin shot him dead.

Moral to the story: I agree with those not wanting to kill "beautiful creatures", BUT, if a bear is ripping through my back door or my coop, HE is going to die, go to the meat packer and take up residence in my freezer. I don't think AR's are the way to go unless you have no neighbors. I keep a large game rifle and I know how to use it. There are 130 acres of farmland behind my farm and no roads. I bet there are more impressive critters out there than you can have in a nightmare.

My life has taught me that it is best to be prepared for the worst and hope it will not ever happen. I sleep better at night that way.

My coop is a large and heavily-built storage building with windows lined with galvanized hardware cloth and solar powered fans. Tight wood floor is off the ground. (I could live in there if I didn't have so many dogs). Coon proof latches. Runs have three kinds of fencing and electric tied to grid. The guy before me raised valuable alpacas, and having seen mountain lion, and worried about bears on the property, was well prepared. I think my spoiled chickens will be fine. Shortly adding goats and miniature donkeys and will probably get a livestock guardian dog to take care of everybody, including my numerous smaller dogs. Then I will REALLY sleep well at night!!

I do have a 1700 lb draft horse, but no creature on earth is going to take him on......not even the odd dinosaur left over from the extinction!!

Interesting caveat to above though: even if these chickens steal my jewelry, rat me out to my relatives, bad mouth me to the neighbors and spend my money gambling, drinking moonshine and shooting pool.....I will never be able to kill one of them!!

 

[Preservation Acres]

I don't think it will be possible without serious electrical fencing.

 

[patman75]

Quote:
I 2nd that

 

[G Wiz Ranch]

Quote:
I 2nd that

3rd for the electric fence. Or- use a shipping container and have someone weld in some windows and doors.... STEEL.

 

[wombat]

Bears can tear the doors off cars. Electrical fencing to scare them off is about all you can do, short of shooting the bear.

 

[JessHall]

Quote:
I 2nd that

3rd for the electric fence. Or- use a shipping container and have someone weld in some windows and doors.... STEEL.

4th for E/F My company makes bear proof food storage containers, http://www.bear-aware.com/
The boxes have to be sent out for a series of tests before they are approved, one of the tests is with live bears...and we get videos of the tests... man are bears smart and very strong.

If they want in, they will work until they are in, get scared away, or get so angry they completely trash whatever it is. I've seen them break into grain sheds, dumpsters, cars, and even cabins. They also have a really strong sense of smell.
In short, they're pretty amazing creatures and sometimes a real pain as I'm SURE you know. I'm sorry for your loss.

I hope that you will update this thread when you come up with something, or have successfully kept one out. One other thing...where abouts are you from, what kind of bears are you dealing with? Good luck!

 

[patvetzal]

There is a product on the market called "hi-tensile" electric fencing. Its steel wires and strong enough to keep cows in with the power turned off. You just need to have STRONG posts to attach it to as a bear will pull down the normal electric fence as soon as he feels the jolt. There is also a hi voltage charger for it which delivers the charge on a more constant basis that the "tic-tic" battery powered ones....