bears and more how do you deal?

[Pinky57]

A bear, mid afternoon, tore apart the door to our feed bin. Later that night something got into the chicken coop and killed several birds and went off with more. We found a trail of feathers leading across the field. There were tracks in the neighbor's yard of bear, deer, and coyotes (they call them Coy-dogs, here in NH). Seems like someone has hung out a "Free buffet" sign out. I had 2 goats but sold them last week, do you think the goats could've been keeping away the critters? We now have 2 piglets, we hope that they'll be safe. We installed all new hardware cloth on the coop and will keep the birds locked up for a bit. The bear we figure is hungry because none of the berries are out yet. The blueberries will ripe anytime now, followed by the Raspberries and blackberries, so soon the bears will be ok. We've had so much rain that there just hasn't been anything for any of the critters to eat.

How have you all dealt with coyote or fox attacks, traps, laying in wait with a shotgun? Will a 38 revolver help? My ex took all my guns when he left, so all I have is my sidearm.

 

[pats4lsu]

I saw where you had replied on my other post. I would not have even had a CHANCE if my dogs had not sounded the alarm. I've got a small arsenal and to me the safest and most effective is a 12 gauge shotgun. #4 shot for smaller critters and for a good sting in the a$$ for the larger. Buck shot for the coyotes and foxes. Deadly up to 60 yards. 40 yard range with the #4 shot. The buck shot also works well for stray rottweilers and any other dogs in need of quick dispatch. The #4 shot from 50-60 yards will run the bear off, I promise!

 

[Uppity Peon]

My first inclination is to repel pests and only kill when that fails. Try electric fencing.

 

[pats4lsu]

Shotgun shells are waaaaay cheaper!

 

[Mrs. Glassman]

When it comes to bears, this is me:

 

[rhodiegal]

You need one or two Great Pyrenees dogs for a bear. We have a problem with bears here as well - they do not seem to be afraid of humans! Ever since we have had our Pyr - no problems.

 

[Alaskan]

bears love pigs.

Up here we usually use electric, HOWEVER, it has to get them on the nose, all of that hair is a great insulator.

So, you have to set up the electric fence, and then bait the fence. Get aluminum foil and wrap a hand full around the electric wire. Coat the foil with peanut butter (best stuff for bears) then turn on the electric.

Anyway, usually it smarts so much that you only need to sting the animal once. So if you only have one bear, then you only have to sting one animal...very nice.

I would highly recommend the electric, unless you want a dog out 24/7. Bears can tear into anything.


Good luck

 

[shesell]

Predator Detection and Early Warning System!!
I live on the border of the Ocala forest here in FL in a very rural area. We have 7 BO, 7 NHR and 5 Welsummers who are only 8 weeks old and they are so precious to us. Everyone out here has a bear story to tell because there are so many of them. We invested in several simple driveway alert devices. They're designed to let you know when someone is coming up the driveway by alerting you with a tone inside your house. It's an infra-red motion detector and mounts easily anywhere critters are likely to be moving about.. We use them at strategic points on the property to let us know when somethingcomes to visit, including bears and the occasional coyote. Since you can't kill bears here (even if they are killing your chickens, trying to break into your house or shredding your back porch door!!!) so we use the shotgun to scare the heck out of them. It works for a while but they are persistent...and do come back. So, for a pretty low price, you get an Early Warning Infra-red Predator Detection Device! Down side? Bears keep late hours....lol

 

[Pinky57]

My dog (at age 15 and a half) was put down last year, we really do need to get a new dog they can hear things we miss. I like the idea of the driveway alarm as well. I think that we've had more than just the bear since a bear couldn't fit through the windows into the coop. So I thing there are fox or coyote as well. I think that a nearby bear hunter has been baiting the bear on neighboring land, which is like hanging out a "Free Buffet" sign.

I checked out the local humane society's website and they have a young boarder collie available, I'll call about her today. I wouldn't have her out all night, but just have a dog around, and peeing etc. helps to deter critters, plus their hearing is so much better than ours.

I thank you all for your good advice.