Should I even bother?

[KendyF]

One more post for you.. This is a link..

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pa...humans/119-how-dangerous-are-black-bears.html

 

[grnmntnchick]

Thanks, that does help I "reported a Black Bear Incident" online, but with the holiday I doubt the nuisance bear phone number will do me much good before Monday. Tomorrow I'll go out and clean EVERYTHING off the porch. I don't have any food or garbage out there just some gardening stuff, but after tomorrow there will be nothing but furniture!!!!

 

[Talonstorm]

Slug bait is sweet. Unless it is the kid safe/pet safe kind, be very careful with it. A lot of animals will eat it and it is poisonous.

 

[grnmntnchick]

It is the safe kind. I didn't know it was sweet, but that makes sense! I plan on looking at everything on the porch with a much different eye. Then I'm making an "unwelcome mat" to stop his access to the porch all together. I would rather teach him this isn't a good place to be then kill him... he's just being a bear. Although my sisters boyfriend, who's a hunter, said he would take care of it for me. It's so much easier to be rational in the light of day. But this has decided me, as much as I want chickens it's just not a good idea right now.

 

[6of6chicks]

It is the safe kind. I didn't know it was sweet, but that makes sense! I plan on looking at everything on the porch with a much different eye. Then I'm making an "unwelcome mat" to stop his access to the porch all together. I would rather teach him this isn't a good place to be then kill him... he's just being a bear. Although my sisters boyfriend, who's a hunter, said he would take care of it for me. It's so much easier to be rational in the light of day. But this has decided me, as much as I want chickens it's just not a good idea right now.

I'm so sorry to hear that! I don't have bears here, but I've got just about everything else on the list. It can be frustrating and scary, that's for sure. My *nemesis* is snakes, copperheads in particular. And I worry about the chickens attracting more of them into the yard, too.

Maybe before you totally give up on chickens, do you have a shed or barn that you can use to test out the electric fencing? Since the bear is already roaming your property, it's not like you would be attracting a new one. But rig up the fencing and bait it (someone said bacon, I think?) - and see how the bear reacts. Maybe seeing the bear get zapped & run away (and seeing that he DOESN'T destroy the barn) - that might give you some peace of mind? It's just a thought. Sorry if it's a stupid one - it just makes me sad to see you give up on chickens. I wasn't sure I wanted them either and now they are a wonderful part of my life.

 

[Mobilelyn]

We have all those animals as well and our coop even survived a bear attack. There are many ways to thwart any predators. The only thing I can't do is allow them to free range without supervision.

 

[6of6chicks]

We have all those animals as well and our coop even survived a bear attack. There are many ways to thwart any predators. The only thing I can't do is allow them to free range without supervision.

My jaw dropped when I saw this picture. That's one of the most gorgeous coops I have ever seen! You should seriously make a coop page. I mean, WOW!

 

[Mobilelyn]

My jaw dropped when I saw this picture. That's one of the most gorgeous coops I have ever seen! You should seriously make a coop page. I mean, WOW!

Thanks! It's prefabbed LOL I wish we were handy enough to build something. I have so may great ideas & ZERO capability to implement them

One of the features of this coop is that there is a 4" piece of wood around the inner perimeter from the wire. Too long for an animal with skinny arms to reach in & grab. I put them in at night though: just as a precaution.

 

[aart]

I would not let the list of predators stop you. I have coyotes, bobcat, bears, raccoons, possums, hawks, and I definitely recommend electric net fencing. I have 48" high fence set up around the chicken yard, and I have not had a single loss since the fence went up. My fence checks out at 8000 volts (0.5 joule model) and animals don't mess with it.

If you have a run, secure it very well. I have a dual layer fence on my run. The outer layer is 2"x4" field fencing and the inner layer is 1/2" hardware wire. This, combined with the electric fence all around keep predators at bay. In fact, three weeks ago I had a bear pass by the chicken coop and start scratching on the house! I think he figured the coop was too well protected, but the house not as much!

Good luck and post pictures!

Could you tell us:
What brand and model charger you are using?
How specifically you've got it grounded?
and
What brand/and model tester you are using to test the voltage on the netting itself?

 

[aart]

Thanks, that does help I "reported a Black Bear Incident" online, but with the holiday I doubt the nuisance bear phone number will do me much good before Monday. Tomorrow I'll go out and clean EVERYTHING off the porch. I don't have any food or garbage out there just some gardening stuff, but after tomorrow there will be nothing but furniture!!!!

I'd call anyway asap, holiday or not....someone may be monitoring at least an answering system for messages if not directly answering calls.
It sounds like it's pretty comfortable with people and no one can (even almost) guarantee it won't try to breach the house, there are many incidences of bears getting into buildings and cars.