Do BEARS bother chickens?

[Karrie13]

My kids just called me (I am at work) and told me that we have a black bear walking around the yard. This is the first time we have seen one around but we have suspected they were there.

The chickens are in their 6 ft tall run with access to the hen house. Will the bear bother them?

 

[Chirpy]

I haven't had to deal with bears here, thankfully. However, there has been threads on BYC in the past of people trying to stop the bears from wiping out their flocks. So - yes it could go for your chickens. If it's getting plenty of food from other sources it probably won't bother messing with them..... but???

Other than a 3 ft. thick cement wall with a underground bunker

there is not much that is bear proof. Some people say they've had good luck with using a strong electric fence. I know here in CO, bears have ripped through and into pretty every structure made by man.

 

[Dragonfly Ranch]

I posted a similar thread about bears in our area. I was silly at first thinking that bears wouldn't bother the chickens, but quickly discovered from others that like everything else bears love chicken and will tear things up to get to them. Thankfully the bear in our yard moved on and didn't do any damage. I would be careful.

 

[Karrie13]

Great. Thanks for the replies, I was hoping it wouldn't be interested in the girls.

There is plenty around for it to eat (like my vegetable and berry gardens) so hopefully it is just out exploring.

 

[AkTomboy]

If its an easy way to get food yes. If the bear is hungry, old or young then yes. We have lots and lots of bears around here both blacks and griz electric works for some people I like my pyrs but for those who dont have them I say frozen paintballs. I have families in my 4-H group that I get to use frozen paint balls (blue) first, then if it comes back the firecrackers that pop a million times. And if that dont work it then goes to the freezer.

P.s. Please be sure to keep yourself and kids safe. I know we all love our chickens but our human family is much more important when it comes to dealing with an animal such as a bear. I hope not to offend you by this statement but we just had a man in a town less that 50 miles get mauled because he tried to get a bear out of his coop himself instead of just shooting it or letting it leave on his own. Now his family is left without a husband or a father.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Quote:
Bears not only will bother your chickens they will bother your children. A full size bear can easily tear through a door frame. Call the appropriate authorities to come remove him.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

If it's legal where you are, I would shoot the bear.

 

[MtnChickie]

Unfortunately, bears love chickens! In my area (the Sierra Nevada mountains) there are bears, as well as mountain lions, etc. Recently a bear came and ate two of my eight chickens, tearing through a small door in the coop where I had some smaller hens seperated from the large ones. A few days later, it came back and ate the other six. This time by pulling the roost area door open, destroying the hinges.

So, we spoke to Fish & Game and were given a permit to destroy the bear. Once they get a taste of what you have to offer they have a tendency to keep coming back... Ours has been coming back every couple of days for the past two weeks.

Needless to say, we will be beefing up our predator protection for our coop and our orchard. (The peaches will be next!)

Any ideas would be welcome!

 

[panner123]

Only 1 way to deal with a bear once they start eating chickens or just get close to your property. Call on your 2 friends Mr. Smith & Mr Wesson, of a large cal. 30/06 will work just right.

 

[Karrie13]

Wow. I didn’t realize they could be so destructive tearing up a coop. I think it was a young juvenile out exploring and didn’t bother anything. The kids said it was small, of course they tried to take a picture of it but the camera didn’t work. I wouldn’t like to think an adult would be as dumb this one was walking around the yard and road.

We will be keeping a sharp eye out for it and if we see it again we just might have some extra meat in the freezer. I will have to check out the local regs on it first of course but I am keeping my hunting rifle (30/06) handy. With the number of dogs around us I am just hoping it is passing through. We have four and the neighbors have two (that they NEVER confine).

I must say I am glad we don’t have many bears around here and no grizzly’s ( they scare me more).

Thanks to everyone for their warnings and advice.