Might move into bear country...how do ya'll manage?

[PioneerChicks]

We might be moving into bear country (black bears and a few grizzlies). How do you predator proof your coops for such a big predator?

What's more, we might run a summer camp ground on the property. We don't want the animals to attract bears to the camp. How desperate will they be to get chickens and rabbits that are locked up pretty securely? I will be cautious the chickens feeding scraps and their normal feed (hide it at night, clean up extras), but at night could we store their feed in an animal shed or would the smell attract bears? Will the rabbit food attract them too? We don't want to have to store food in the garage but we can if we have to.

We will have a couple dogs but they will be locked up at night. Would their smell deter the bear?

 

[cavemanrich]

Bears have very good sense of smell. They could locate things even if inside a shed. The only deterrent against bears is High Jules Electrified systems. I have seen coops with the wire spangled walls so if a bear sniffs, gets shocked. That is a good deterrent against Black Bears. Some of those can also be brown in color, but still black bear species. Grizzlies,,,, well those are extremely dangerous to encounter. I would avoid sleeping in a tent with grizzlies around. Motor homes, and travel trailers would be probably fine.
Banff national park camping is in bear country. The one campground is surrounded by electrified fencing.

There are other campsites that do not have such. Some peeps feel lucky, others encounter tragedies.

If you would be dealing with Black bears only,, You could get metal bear proof strong boxes, and have campers store their food, and also toiletries, including tooth paste in those containers. Not sure about grizzlies though.

Spoiler is a funni but partly true.

Spoiler: Only open if you have a sense of humor.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[cmom]

I also agree with a high voltage fence charger for the electric wires like in the picture above. You want a strong current to really hurt. A bear has thick fur and skin so it has to be powerful enough to hurt so the bear will get the message. Most predators first explore with their noses. Some people bait their wires to get the predators to touch the wires with their more sensitive parts like their nose, lips or tongue. I personally don't bait my wires but the predators know they are there. Also the wire you use must be strong enough. I wouldn't use aluminum wire but would use steel wire. Good luck...

This might help it isn't really about bears in particular but most predators.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-treatise-on-electric-fencing.1117877/

 

[annagoodspeed]

My neighbors have had chickens for 30 years and have never had problems with bears breaking into their coop, and they have bears in the yard regularly during fruit season. Not sure if chickens are tops on the list of food items. The beekeepers use a high voltage fence.
What is tops on their list is smelly garbage. Freeze anything meat or food related and don’t put it out until pickup day in warm weather.

 

[cmom]

I have never had any issues with bears either but have seen plenty of pictures of the damage a bear can do. Again good luck...

 

[PioneerChicks]

Thank you all for the advice on here! It might not go through and we might go somewhere else instead, but in most places we want to go there is at least a small chance of bears and other big predators. My family will discuss what to do and build a nice safe coop, probably with electric fencing.

 

[Dakota8472]

We might be moving into bear country (black bears and a few grizzlies). How do you predator proof your coops for such a big predator?

What's more, we might run a summer camp ground on the property. We don't want the animals to attract bears to the camp. How desperate will they be to get chickens and rabbits that are locked up pretty securely? I will be cautious the chickens feeding scraps and their normal feed (hide it at night, clean up extras), but at night could we store their feed in an animal shed or would the smell attract bears? Will the rabbit food attract them too? We don't want to have to store food in the garage but we can if we have to.

We will have a couple dogs but they will be locked up at night. Would their smell deter the bear?

How did this work out for you? I work at a camp ground and got me some chickens to eventually free range a few hours a day for the customers to see and enjoy. Im already expecting loses due to hawks etc. thats why i will be limiting the times of day and ours they will wonder around. how do u find they work with campers?

 

[PioneerChicks]

How did this work out for you? I work at a camp ground and got me some chickens to eventually free range a few hours a day for the customers to see and enjoy. Im already expecting loses due to hawks etc. thats why i will be limiting the times of day and ours they will wonder around. how do u find they work with campers?

It looks like we might not get this property, though we are looking to do something similar in the future.
I'd imagine that some people will love the chickens... and others not so much. From what I've seen with visitors to my backyard flock, Alectrobia (the fear of chickens) is real! Maybe you could separate them from the campers, so they only interact with the chickens if they want? We were thinking we would do some type of petting zoo.

 

[raingarden]

Alektorophobia

 

[Dakota8472]

It looks like we might not get this property, though we are looking to do something similar in the future.
I'd imagine that some people will love the chickens... and others not so much. From what I've seen with visitors to my backyard flock, Alectrobia (the fear of chickens) is real! Maybe you could separate them from the campers, so they only interact with the chickens if they want? We were thinking we would do some type of petting zoo.

I wouldnt mind the petting zoo idea. and i have thought of it a few times. I think at the point we are encouraging them to touch the chickens we are inviting a whole new layer of complexity. But let me know how your property and plan works out when u get it along and ill update you on our campground flock as it developes and figures its self out

kota