bears? Really?

[SueMuffin]

:/Has anyone lost any chickens to bears? I came out this morning and there were muddy bear prints all over the vinyl siding of my new coop. I have lived in my home for 20 years and never saw any trace of a bear before. Thank goodness I moved the girls out of their cheap coop and into the new one last week!! They couldnt get in so all is well, wonder if it will try again. Does anyone know about the laws about killing predators near a home with a rifle?

 

[Imp]

There have been some very sad posts about bears tearing apart coops, killing the chickens and the owners not being able to do anything but watch. Can't help you with the laws in NY. Remember in South Park they scream "It's coming straight at me" before they shoot.

Hope it doesn't come back. Might consider hot wire.

Good luck

Imp

 

[panner123]

Lost a number of chickens to bears. Don't put to much into the new coop, if that bear wants in, it will. A bear can rip a door off a car, so a vinyl coop will be like cutting butter with a hot knife. A bear will go after the feed first, so keep your feed away from the chickens. If you see it around your chickens, shoot it. Don't just shoot it, kill it. It will come in your house if it wants to. I have had to shoot 2 in my house. 1 coming though the front door, the other coming though the bedroom window.

 

[SueMuffin]

Imp, believe me I will not just watch, if I see it happen it will be the last chicken that bear ever gets, compliments of Winchester firearms!! and I will scream its coming right at me before I fire!! LOL I love South Park! Also the coop is vinyl sided, its stick built and insulated so I think it would have to come thru a window rather than a wall, but I hope it was just passing thru and is long gone tonight! I hope (crossing fingers as she says it)! Oh and we have black bears here, no grizzly's or anything that big, but I suppose it could take out a window if it was hungry enough.

 

[SueMuffin]

Quote:
Im really glad I dont live where you live!! we are rural but not that rural!!

 

[mamawolf544]

Quote:
A Bear!!!!

Oh my. I bet you didn't sleep for a week.

 

[MysticScorpio82]

Yes a bear will rip apart a coop and kill chickens. A few monthes a go I had read about a bear breaking into a rabbit shed and kill them off as well. If I were you, I would call your local wildlife dept and ask about the laws and procedures for a bear attacking livestock - don't say chickens, because they will scoff at you. Chickens are livestock, so you are telling them the truth

. But if you do end up having to shoot it, shoot to kill because an angry bear is even more dangerous than just a hungry one.

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
Im really glad I dont live where you live!! we are rural but not that rural!!

You don't have to be rural for a bear to try to get inside - just in bear country.

This is why I try to live outside of bear country. Seriously. I love to LOOK at bears. From a great distance. With a way to get away from them if they start moving my direction (from that great, great distance away). Really? I like seeing them while I'm on a bus or train, or at the zoo. One of the scariest moments in my life was the time I saw fresh bear prints -- mother & cubs -- while out walking. We weren't far from the Ranger Station and beat it back there. (We were at a tourist site.)

Bears & Mountain Lions give me the heebie jeebies. Let an owl visit me any night instead....

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Im really glad I dont live where you live!! we are rural but not that rural!!

Where do you live in the Hudson Valley that you have bears? I grew up in the area near Hudson and there weren't any there back in the 50's. Closest were in Catskills or Berkshires.

 

[ROC4K]

I contacted the USDA about my bear troubles. They sent out an agent who's determining factor for action was my girls 11, 5, & 5 at the time. Shooting the bear was not an option and I would weigh yours out as well. The police told me I should shoot at her like the ground in front of her. Strapped with four cubs...I passed. My bear took the side of the coop off and the cubs and chickens were all mixed together. She ended up treed over the coop with the cubs for the night. Two days later trapper John arrived and we successfully trapped all five in a night and morning. Good video of it on YouTube search Roc4k and you can see it.(black bear trapped)

You can hear my roosters talking smack the whole time...that big sow bear is locked down. I didn't suffer any loss by them but I was certainly worried about my baby chicks.

From my experience...the fox, coyote, and wolf are far better at catching my chickens...and the owl will has scared me the worst. Does your neighbor have a backhoe? Bury deep luck...I mean very good luck with finding a solution to your poor mannered muddy paw print maker and chicken nerve shaker.