Bear proofing!?

[Godiva]

We have a black bear that has just moved into our area and I am concerned that it is going to tear our coops up to get to our birds. The coops are predator proof for all normal predators but a bear is a different story altogether. I was wondering what type of electric fencing others use and have found effective against bears? I want something that is as cost effective as possible but not at the expense of deterring the bears! What have you got that works well and didn't put you into debt!?

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Korean bear dog/karelian bear dog

Electric fencing may work, but you can see they have THICK fur.
Best way. Look up your hunting regulations and get a shotgun with bear bullets.
Ill do a bit of research on bear proofing, but hunting is the best way, really.
Of course, unless he is showings signs of being interested in your chickens, he may not attack. Some do, some just move on.

 

[chickortreat]

If a bear shows up here, we'll be eating it! Of course they aren't known to be around here...

 

[quigley257]

If a bear shows up here, we'll be eating it! Of course they aren't known to be around here...

There are few things tastier than a proper Bear-B-Q. Delicious!! where I am from in Minnesota we have so many bears that you can buy a bear license over the counter like any other type of hunting license. Friends of mine would get bear tags and every fall we would have a huge Bear-B-Q party. Better than a pig roast.

 

[chickortreat]

Were I a gambling man, I'd wager it would taste just as good without the license....

 

[quigley257]

Without a license everything tastes better...lol.

 

[Godiva]

I don't think it is very easy at all to get a bear license in CO... don't have a gun that will do the job either. I haven't seen any signs of the bear since I posted and I am hoping that it has moved on and found better 'food' elsewhere. I have not eaten bear, but would not be averse to trying some What is bear shot? A friend of ours said that the DOW gave them 'sandbag bullets' for his shotgun. Said that he shot a momma bear on her butt at pretty close range and she hollered and scrambled up a tree with her cubs. Once she got over the shock they took off and haven't been back .... I raked over the bare dirt where the bear went last time so I can see if there are any new pawprints .... there are loads of coyotes around at the moment and plenty of their spoor too.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Not sure, but hear black bear hunting is open year round and all you do is go to sportsman and sign for a bear license...
A bear bullet can be anything, really, can be a rifle or shotgun. My mom has bear bullets for her shot gun, but could easily use a rifle.
Even if I didn't hunt, I'd have a .22 and handgun on hand, just for protection, but I'm paranoid

Best of luck!!!

 

[chickortreat]

My "bear bullet" would be a 150-grain pointed soft point....the only sandbag used might be to rest the gun on.

 

[Triple Willow]

Like some of these other folks I would be very tempted to send Mr. Bear to freezer camp. A big ol' bear would mean a lot of meat. So far there are no known bears where I live but people do a whole lot of white tailed deer hunting. A deer hunting rifle is a high caliber gun but you can also get a "slug load" shell for a shotgun for deer hunting. I'm sure that would kill a bear too and it is cheap if you already have a shotgun. But I would check the laws. Sometimes I think you would get in more trouble for killing an animal out of season that you would for killing a human!
I've never delt with bears but I would think that a good electric fence would help a lot. It would deter most predators (coyotes included) except those in the air of course. If I had a serious problem I would put a fence around the perimeter of the area and on the coop/run. There are fence chargers with a "weed chopper" feature that is good but you would also still need to cut the grass and weeds away from the fence occassionally or it will be weak and eventially short out.
I saw a post from one BYC member who had attached those **tack strips** used to nail carpet down to his coop/run. With those the bear gets stuck by nails if he tries to break into your coop/run. You should be able to get those from any place that installs carpet or make your own. I am considering doing that for other predators.
Also, a good dog that will bark to let you know something is going on is great. But I wouldn't put a dog in serious danger. Coyotes love to eat dogs, especially little yappy ones. I would think two dogs would be better than one so they can look out for each other.