I'm totally numb

[MarkR]

I thought about bear, but my hives are untouched, so probably not. No badgers or mountain lions around here, fortunately/unfortunately (depends on your outlook on these things, I guess).

Mark

 

[LynnGrigg]

Can you run the electrical wire around the tree also? I'd hate to give up the shade.

 

[aran]

great idea! I had thought about maybe wrapping barbed wire around the branches overhanging the coop and perhaps a couple of strands around the main trunk. Now all of a sudden my overkill alcatraz prison looking coop/run doesnt seem so impervious to predators as I had reassured myself that it was.

 

[nccountrygirl]

Mark I'm sorry for your loss. I have not had that terrible experience yet, and I pray to God that it will never happen, but I am a realist and I have chickens and there is always some thing out there that wants them more than me. I hope you catch what ever did this. Best of luck!

 

[chickflick]

Mark, so sorry for your loss!! You have lots of people that care, so know that our thoughts are with you. Wish we could do something to help. Hope you catch the b@#%d!! good luck!!
Rose :aww

 

[Wolfpacker]

Having faced a similar situation last year, every morning I walk outside to turn out my girls, I do so with anxiety.

Good luck making your run and coop more secure.

 

[Lunachick]

So sorry to hear of your terrible news. Could it have been a group of coons maybe? Does a bear eat chicken, I know they're omnivorous (sp)?

I hope you find out, and many good wishes toward your future flock!

 

[jenichick]

This is horrible........sounds bigger than a coon but then again, we have a coon that is almost 3 1/2 foot tall that sleeps in a tree in not far from our run. I'f she got in she'd do a lot of damage so maybe it's a really big one. I'm sorry you lost your flock

 

[MarkR]

Hoboy, I think I have big problem. I got home about an hour ago to finish cleaning up in the daylight. I'm thinking it was a bear. On of the posts, set about three feet underground and set in concrete was bent over. at a bout a 45 degree angle outwards (it's escape route I guess. I'm still pretty sure it came in from the top from a tree.

And right by the coop door what do I find but a big ol' pile o' bear scat. Crap! (literally and figuratively.). Oh yeah, and it ripped the bottom of the bucket of my metal feeder.

So, I'm about to get on the phone to some folks in Madison county that's got some reds and americaunas and hope they'll hold them til next weekend for me while I reenforce Coop Knox.

At least I thought it was coop knox til last night. In the past it's withheld hawks, foxes, and skunks. A raccoon did get my rooster a month or so back but it was a fluke really. My house sitter left the coop open all night while we were away.

So what do y' all suggest for bears? Razor wire with about 200 kV running through it? Baited with bacon and peanut butter perhaps? Maybe I'll capture Elvis. I've also got a call into the game warden. And a friend wants to come over and camp out down by the coop to take care of it when/if it comes back, but my little pea shooter will likely just pi$$ it off.

All I have to say is, this chicken farmer stuff isn't for sissies. And I've figured out finally what I'm so angry about. Bears will be bears, after all. It's not really his/her fault that he/she ate my chickens. They never used to be around here and now they are. I guess I'd just better get used to the idea.

Now here's the rant part. . . and since this is a family friendly forum, you can add your own expletives where they seem appropriate:

Our lovely board of supervisors, being populated with developers and real estate people, thinks it's just great that so many new starter mansions are being built up at the base of our lovely Blue Ridge about 12 mile west of me. What the bunch of MONEY-GRUBBING-EEDJITS didn't realize was that they were chasing all that wildlife our way. We never saw bears or bob cats this far from the mountains. We have herds of deer eating their way through fields and gardens and small packs of coyotes are becoming more and more common. For the last time GROWTH IS NOT ALWAYS A GOOD THING. They're taxing farmers and gardeners out and putting up these crappy mausoleum-looking-pieces-of. . .of. . . of scat that I hope will blow down the first big storm we get. AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!

I'm for a beer. I'll hit Lowe's in the morning.

Mark

PS I almost forgot the most important part of this message, Thank you, everybody, for your kind words and your concern. It's good to have friends even when you've never met them in person. We'll have to remedy that situation soon.

 

[rooster-red]

I had an idea that it was a bear that dropped out of an overhanging tree... before you told us you had the tree. I was wondering about the exit it used, and with the concreted pole being bent over I'm 99.5% sure it was a bear.

If I were going to shoot the bear I would use nothing smaller than a .44 magnum.
It has enough knock down power to stop a grizzly in its tracks (Works wonderfully on the coyotes here)

Over building is causing alot of animals that you wouldn't normaly see to stray into populated areas in search of food. It's not the bears fault, but you can't risk having it roaming your property either.