Help repairing bear-damaged coop--what to do with bloody ground?

[OneBrahma]

I am not sure if this is the right category, but here goes. We had a bear tear into our coop and kill 18 chickens. We shoveled out the bloody wood chips, but the dirt floor is stained in several areas with blood. Also, there is one patch where some thick white mold has grown. We have new chicks coming any day now, so we'll need the coop to be ready for them in about a month. However, I don't think it would be healthy to establish new chickens in a coop with a blood-stained, moldy dirt floor. What do we do to prepare a safe, clean coop for our chicks?

 

[Naturegirl44]

Quote:
I am so sorry that happened poor chickens I am new to chickens so i have no advice as to how to fix your floor but i just wanted to say i am so sorry about your chickens

 

[laturcotte1]

I would rake and scrap out the bad spots get rid of it. Then get some new soil to put in the coop. Not sure why there is mold growing but you'll have to watch that spot in the future. You should be fine. Of course remove all the shavings and replace with new. They should be fine.

 

[CedarAcres]

I'd definitely dig out all the bad dirt & put some new dirt down. So sorry about your chickens

 

[koop]

I'd also dig out the bad spots and mix in some lime to stairalize the soil.
Maybe there's a better product to kill the spores?

 

[cwcochran1961]

MY BIGGEST FEAR IS BEARS WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

 

[OneBrahma]

Thank you for your sympathy, Naturegirl44. Yeah, that was a pretty bad morning.

 

[OneBrahma]

MY BIGGEST FEAR IS BEARS WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

Rural Virginia. You can try to prevent a bear attack by putting electric fencing around the run and not leaving food in the coop (so we learned after the rampage).

 

[OneBrahma]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[mtdream33]

My sympathies. Will follow this thread with interest. We just built our coop and live in bear country. I really wonder if there is any real way to bear proof a coop. We've already had grizzly/chicken encounters in some areas around us. Our likely issues will be with black bears rather than grizzlies since the grizzly isn't predominant in our woods. However, wondering about my windows as I'm pretty sure a smaller bear will be able to go right in, hardware cloth and all. Hate to think I would need to keep the windows closed this summer. It's really not an option, I think they will HAVE to be open.

We don't have chickens yet only because the interior of our coop is not even started and we don't have our run fenced. I'm pretty sure we will have multiple electrically charged wires around the run...now I'm wondering if surrounding the coop with a few wires as well is in order.

What area do you live in, and how exactly did the bears access the coop. I'm sorry it doesn't help you now, but I'm truly sorry! Maybe you can help me prevent the same thing. Thanks so much! Becky