Killer bear!!! Advice needed

[Pamelajfilby]

i read this thread before bed last night and i dreampt of bears.. i live in upstate NY and they have bear sightings here once in a while, i have 6 acres of woods and i fear getting bears..

Sorry about that!!! It's awful. I've been having nightmares every night and I've been half awake listening for him to c e back.

 

[Suzi18]

As much as I love nature and wildlife....I can't imagine how scary this must have been. I hope your hen shows up.

 

[Pamelajfilby]

As much as I love nature and wildlife....I can't imagine how scary this must have been. I hope your hen shows up.

Thank you!!!

 

[Pamelajfilby]

As much as I love nature and wildlife....I can't imagine how scary this must have been. I hope your hen shows up.

Thanks... me too. But I am not banking on it now. It's been since Tuesday.

 

[jandsferguson]

Hot wire! Electric fence charger and wire up the coop and run.
They make ones of different strength. I use a hot wire with a charger designed to zap a dog to keep my bird dogs away from my chickens. Very effective tool.

Oh and I do wish the circumstances were better.

You are correct I have wolfdogs and I use Hotwire to keep them in the yard. My husband accidentally got shocked (I laughed he got mad) and said he couldn’t believe that it is that strong. I use one designed for predators. They are very effective. And aren’t that expensive to run. I think you would probably need one for predators if it was a bear. I think ours is 2 joules.

 

[Pamelajfilby]

Oh my gosh! That's the scariest story I've ever heard! I am really sorry for what your whole family experienced and hope you get everything reinforced fast and twice as strong.
I don't have any usable bear experience to share. Unfortunately.

I can't imagine that your little hen who's been hiding in the hen house the past few days would have been snatched by a bear and lost so many feathers but escaped without so much as a scratch... bear claws are huge and it sounds as if this one was in a frenzy.
It almost sounds like an uncanny coincidence of the beginning of broody behavior. Or maybe the trauma triggered a hormonal shift.

They will sometimes pull out their breast feathers all the way down to their tummy, and clear up to their armpits, perhaps leaving just a strip right along the middle. You might find that she's stashed them in the nesting box.

I hope the missing one is not lost but just hiding somewhere too and comes home soon.
Best wishes to you, your family and your flock for a safe and restful night.

Thank you! I thought it was odd too that she didn't have any other evidence of being attacked. I didn't look at her chest till yesterday when I picked her up. I noticed she was still just laying in her box which was the third day she didn't get up with the others when I went out in the morning. I figured she was just laying an egg the first day which is like her, she doesn't get up. So when I picked her up to examine he I saw the bald chest! She is only about 6 months old so I had no thought of her brooding and saw no sign of it before the attack. She is hunkered down keeping warm and is talkative still. Seems ok in all other ways. Should I just let her be or should I be doing anything else. It's going to get very cold here this weekend.

 

[jandsferguson]

Thank you! I thought it was odd too that she didn't have any other evidence of being attacked. I didn't look at her chest till yesterday when I picked her up. I noticed she was still just laying in her box which was the third day she didn't get up with the others when I went out in the morning. I figured she was just laying an egg the first day which is like her, she doesn't get up. So when I picked her up to examine he I saw the bald chest! She is only about 6 months old so I had no thought of her brooding and saw no sign of it before the attack. She is hunkered down keeping warm and is talkative still. Seems ok in all other ways. Should I just let her be or should I be doing anything else. It's going to get very cold here this weekend.

You’ll probably think I am crazy but I would go out and get her and bring her inside and snuggle with her. Lol. Unless of course If she is a CornishX I think she should stay outside. They are mean lol

 

[Pamelajfilby]

You’ll probably think I am crazy but I would go out and get her and bring her inside and snuggle with her. Lol. Unless of course If she is a CornishX I think she should stay outside. They are mean lol

No I don't think you are crazy!! I have considered this too. I am going to do that today for a bit and see how she behaves. She is never mean. She's the sweetest little thing. I just love her.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I'm very sorry to hear this tale! But thank you for sharing as I had no idea bear attacks on chicken infrastructure even happened!

I've run afoul of black bears in the back country. I know they live in my town and at least one visited my property earlier this year (before I had the coop and run built). I'm sure the chicken feed is their prime target in such raids. Thankfully I have never heard of a bear messing with a coop or run in our area. Every other predator you can think of, sure. But not bears.

I specifically designed my run to not be bear resistant (to save time, money, and labor). I've never left more than a cup of feed in the run after dark, but after hearing this I will make sure to bring the feeder into the house each night, too! Very scary!

Again sorry, and best wishes as you move forward.

 

[aart]

She is hunkered down keeping warm and is talkative still. Seems ok in all other ways. Should I just let her be or should I be doing anything else. It's going to get very cold here this weekend.

Just let her rest, she's probably bit shocky, make sure she's eating and drinking...bringing her inside could screw up her adapting to the colder temps