Bear proofing my coop

[GiddyUpGo]

You're welcome.
Could you post a picture? A bear of that size, from what you are describing, is likely a boar - male bear.
It's a possibility of both - the bear getting in again or not. I had bears less than 10 feet from myself and chicken coop and have never had a bear take any of my chickens or any break in's. That's what I call it!

BTW I am a bear hunter so... I know quite a bit.

Okay in my head the bear was a lot bigger than this, I guess that's what dramatic experiences do to your brain, lol. It really doesn't look that huge in this picture anymore (I've actually avoided looking at it since this all happened). Anyway, there it is with my doomed chickens clearly visible on their roost

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Okay in my head the bear was a lot bigger than this, I guess that's what dramatic experiences do to your brain, lol. It really doesn't look that huge in this picture anymore (I've actually avoided looking at it since this all happened). Anyway, there it is with my doomed chickens clearly visible on their roost

The bear has a stance and body figure that looks like a boar - male bear. Likely he was hungray and just passing through. Is there a way to lock your chickens inside the coop instead of that closed in run? Leaving them out like that just seems troublesome to me.

 

[GiddyUpGo]

The bear has a stance and body figure that looks like a boar - male bear. Likely he was hungray and just passing through. Is there a way to lock your chickens inside the coop instead of that closed in run? Leaving them out like that just seems troublesome to me.

I thought about that, too ... I don't really have an enclosed coop for them and wasn't sure if attaching a shed would be a good idea or not. I originally did not add one because we have very hot summers and I wasn't sure keeping them shut in a shed in August would be a great idea. But this didn't happen in August ... so ...

I'm not great at building things so was considering something prefabricated, but my husband argued against it. He thinks a bear could just as easily rip a prefabricated shed apart as it did the run. I thought there might be some value to having the chickens sleep in a place where a bear can't see them, but he thinks it would be able to smell/hear them and it wouldn't matter. But if he's wrong, I'd love to be able to tell him!

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

I didn’t see anyone mention it already so I will add: put bait on the hot wire to make sure your bear gets introduced to the electric shock in a vulnerable spot.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I thought about that, too ... I don't really have an enclosed coop for them and wasn't sure if attaching a shed would be a good idea or not. I originally did not add one because we have very hot summers and I wasn't sure keeping them shut in a shed in August would be a great idea. But this didn't happen in August ... so ...

I'm not great at building things so was considering something prefabricated, but my husband argued against it. He thinks a bear could just as easily rip a prefabricated shed apart as it did the run. I thought there might be some value to having the chickens sleep in a place where a bear can't see them, but he thinks it would be able to smell/hear them and it wouldn't matter. But if he's wrong, I'd love to be able to tell him!

Bears are normally pretty lazy, and they are mainly scavengers. Probably what happened is he was walking through and seen/heard your chickens and sadly decided to make a meal out of them.
Bears don't randomly break into sheds for no reason. They don't like putting a lot of effort into their meals. I would say your chances of the bear breaking into the shed is like 1/10,000. I would say your husband is wrong on that one.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I didn’t see anyone mention it already so I will add: put bait on the hot wire to make sure your bear gets introduced to the electric shock in a vulnerable spot.

Don't bait the bear to your chicken coop! You don't want the bear to get used to finding food around your chicken coop or your property.

 

[Debbie292d]

After losing all but one of my chickens in a horrible bear attack last December, I've gone over and over in my head how I am going to rebuild my coop to keep my chickens safe. Previously my coop was covered in hardware cloth, which did a good job keeping out smaller predators but did not slow the bear down at all.

After talking at length with a rep from Premiere Fencing I finally decided on a high-quality hotwire setup around the perimeter of my coop. I was also planning to reinforce the inside of my coop with something a little tougher than hardware cloth. I had originally thought I would cut up some of this stuff: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/horse-fence-panel-5-ft-x-16-ft-3610375 and use it to line the coop on the inside, but I wonder if it's just an exercise in futility. If the bear got through the hotwire I'm pretty sure it could also rip out the fencing, especially since it would have to be installed in pieces.

Anyone ever successfully bear-proofed their coop? Is it even possible?

If you're in the U.S. you can call the DNR about relocating them. We've got the number to do so here if the bear keep returning. 20-gauge shots in the air scares them off for quite a long time. Our coop is an Amish shed so impenetrable but they love sunflower seeds so snatch all 8 of our feeders. We now hang a few of them high out of their reach. The DNR said to call if they keep causing problems and they'll send a team out to drug and relocate.

 

[GiddyUpGo]

Bears are normally pretty lazy, and they are mainly scavengers. Probably what happened is he was walking through and seen/heard your chickens and sadly decided to make a meal out of them.
Bears don't randomly break into sheds for no reason. They don't like putting a lot of effort into their meals. I would say your chances of the bear breaking into the shed is like 1/10,000. I would say your husband is wrong on that one.

Good to know, I'm going shed shopping!

One more question for the group in general ... do you think a prefab shed would work? I don't know if I trust the metal ones, but maybe a resin or wood one?

 

[GiddyUpGo]

Don't bait the bear to your chicken coop! You don't want the bear to get used to finding food around your chicken coop or your property.

Given that we've had exactly one in four years, I was thinking giving them new things to draw them in might not be a great idea ... maybe if we had a perimeter fence but I'm attaching this one to the coop itself.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Where are you located if you feel comfortable sharing? A country or state?