Major attack - is this a bear?

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Scratches probably four feet off the ground, going higher where it got in. Will see if I can get a game camera and set it up to see if it comes back. Really not much else I can do, other than repair the hole... Will order an electric fence, hopefully it arrives before the bear returns. Then I just need to find some more chickens!
Im sorry to read about the recent attack from something.
Please,, Where are you located on this globe.
That info would be very helpful to add to your Profile.
Thank you.
 
Do you have wolverine or badgers that far down? I’m thinking of the dark hair and the claws. I know that they eat anything just about that they can get their hands on easily. I also know that they have a specific territory though. Don’t know if their range is that far south though.
 
None of the survivors seem bothered in the slightest... All moving around the coop, don't seem to have any injuries so I think they escaped without injury. Will look into who to speak to about wildlife services!
That almost makes me think of a predator that can snatch a grab while they are asleep. One that is very smart and very quiet. A bear is not quiet or smart when he goes about his attack. It just seems like your flock that has suffered that much loss would be a little more rattled but chickens and guineas are not really good buddies really right? From what I understand? I don’t know much about their bond you will have to help me out on this one. I have heard they don’t mix well. Other than that guineas sound the alarm calls for predators. ?
 
That almost makes me think of a predator that can snatch a grab while they are asleep. One that is very smart and very quiet. A bear is not quiet or smart when he goes about his attack. It just seems like your flock that has suffered that much loss would be a little more rattled but chickens and guineas are not really good buddies really right? From what I understand? I don’t know much about their bond you will have to help me out on this one. I have heard they don’t mix well. Other than that guineas sound the alarm calls for predators. ?
 
I ordered the predator eyes as well.

Also confirmed it's a bear (or multiple). I followed the trail of feathers into the woods, found various parts of birds and eventually half a guinea. Then I stood in bear scat (cleverly wearing my slippers...). About five feet further in, I saw one or more bears - looked like a cub or two and a mother. Mystery solved! Decided the best move was to back out, as I didn't really want to stare them down. Now, what to do about them...
You are da brave big Doggie for sho! Good Hinton’!
 
Thanks for these great suggestions. We'll put them somewhere safe tonight (think the shed will be the winner here) and once we have an electric fence up, hopefully that'll keep them away. I found the bears in the forest near the house where they seemed to be settling, so also need to think about how to keep them away from the children! Definitely black bears - all we have in our area, and actually the first time that I've seen one. I'm in the Hudson Valley, NY. There was half of a guinea left in the forest by the bears, near to where they're chilling, so assume they'll finish that off before coming back for more, and hope that they don't make it into the shed now!
Dang! It is maddening when they kill the poor birds and just leave parts of them everywhere and waste them and don’t at least eat them all. That is what is frustrating. At least other animals will mostly eat them all when they are hungry. I wish you the best against this army of bears. Sounds like they depleted your flock. I hope you can get it taken care of and your flock restored. Best of luck.
 
when you said ripped the coop roof open, that is what made me think yes it was what a bear would do and not another predator. We have a wild life path on our adjoining pasture, used by the bears, local big cats, they never bothered us. We just had a younger bear try to take a short cut instead of going around all our homestead fencing. He walked right past were all the birds and goats were out loose in the yard behind a gate, so am sure he was just trying to take a short cut back to the mountains behind us. The dogs got wind of him and had him in the barn for a bit before he got loose from them and out the window, then my Clydesdales ran him down the rest of the way until all the way off the pasture and on his way. Don't think he'll be back after the rundown that he got here.


have to say I was really impressed for the horses running the young bear down, then standing off at the bear once ran up the back pasture fence holding their ground until the bear was on it's way ..


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After reading the whole conversation, I see that it is bears, not sharks, that attacked your coop.

I noticed you mentioned you live in the Hudson Valley, NY. So do we. Last week people were reporting black bears walking down the main street of the town next to ours, where our daughter goes to school. Also, several people since I have moved here have mentioned bears walking in our town. Our property backs up to a 50+ acre wood. I know it is only a matter of time before we see them.

I have already seen coyotes, fishers, and hawks. Oddly, never seen or heard any raccoons this past year. That's usually the first real critter I notice when I move to a new area.

It seems like chickens are the neighborhood common pet here. I have several neighbors with them and have seen several groups free ranging elsewhere as I drive around.

Thank you for sharing your experience. In the new year we were planning to install some electric ourselves. We're planning to plant some fruit trees and bushes some day.
 
After reading the whole conversation, I see that it is bears, not sharks, that attacked your coop.

I noticed you mentioned you live in the Hudson Valley, NY. So do we. Last week people were reporting black bears walking down the main street of the town next to ours, where our daughter goes to school. Also, several people since I have moved here have mentioned bears walking in our town. Our property backs up to a 50+ acre wood. I know it is only a matter of time before we see them.

I have already seen coyotes, fishers, and hawks. Oddly, never seen or heard any raccoons this past year. That's usually the first real critter I notice when I move to a new area.

It seems like chickens are the neighborhood common pet here. I have several neighbors with them and have seen several groups free ranging elsewhere as I drive around.

Thank you for sharing your experience. In the new year we were planning to install some electric ourselves. We're planning to plant some fruit trees and bushes some day.
Where in the Hudson Valley are you? We're in Bloomington, between Kingston and New Paltz. I haven't yet seen coyotes or fishers, but know they're in the area, and saw our first raccoon nearby a couple of weeks back.

We put in some fruit trees in April and they were devastated by deer within a day. We tried fishing line around t-posts, which did nothing, deer repellent spray (also didn't work) and ended up surrounding each with hardware cloth, which seems to have done the trick. With the ease of putting in this electric fence, if I was doing it again, I would definitely go down that route! Not least because to actually access the trees with the hardware cloth in place is a real hassle.
 

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