This time the bear got inside the coop.

[NanaK]

In over 30 years of living here I've never seen a bear on our land. A good portion is wooded, so I don't really know what lives back there. Last week a black bear was spotted about 1 mile from me running through a farmer's field. Not unusual but I've never heard much about one breaking in a coop or home. Lot's of chicken coops around here. I hope they stay in the woods! I don't want to see one out back when I go out to secure the coop at night. All feeders are placed in a metal can at night inside the run. It is very well built but I know a bear could get in there if it wanted. I'm taking note of your hot wire placement and those hardware cloth bait holders. I like that idea. I hope I never have to use it.

I wouldn't want to attempt to kill a bear either. Being that close would be scary enough. I don't want to tangle with an injured one. Plus we have to share this world with a lot of critters. Bears are beautiful animals.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Bears are non vegetarian?

Uh... yeah. They'll eat berries, as well as bambi

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Glad all of your chickens are okay. Lots of chicken keepers in our area are likely to be in for a shock in the next few years. We have a new (rapidly growing) bear population in our state as of the last few years and they have officially spread to our county now. There’s game camera photos of a large male that has set up resistance about 2.5 miles from our house and just down hill from the town. I won’t be surprised if he shows up on Main Street one day. 7 years ago we had had no bear sightings in the county in at least 100 years. There was actually an article in the local paper in 2018 telling everyone to relax and that fish and wildlife said there had been no bear sightings in the county. I’m not sure it was a month later when someone hit one on one of the main roads.

 

[Sally PB]

@azygous, any updates?

 

[azygous]

@azygous, any updates?

I am thrilled to report the bear has not returned since that fateful day of the attack.

I am determined to keep the wire charged 24/7 regardless of getting shocked when I brush against it. Also, I expect the new window to come in sometime this week and I'll have that installed. The plywood over the broken window is not as secure as it should be, and I'll definitely breathe easier once the window is in.

 

[user651618]

All I have to say is that bear is pretty gangsta for eating a couple of 12ga less lethal rounds and walking off like a boss.

 

[Melissa93063]

Deep in the heart of Colorado black bear country, after fifteen years of keeping chickens, last night a bear finally got into my main coop. Pandemonium and elevated blood pressure ensued. The chickens were also traumatized, but despite not being able to find two hens in the aftermath, they did turn up safe, so no loss of life.

However, the damage to the coop is major, as only a four-hundred pound boar bear can accomplish. He broke out one window, probably by standing up and leaning against the sliding glass door of the coop and crawled inside to try and snatch the chickens that were already roosting as it was sunset. Glass everywhere, and the glaring open window had to be secured somehow.

But first, I had to deal with the bear. You didn't think he would take the hint and just disappear, did you? Oh, no. He was standing right there fifteen feet from me, supremely irritated I had interrupted his bedtime snack. I had grabbed my shotgun with rubber bear loads on my way out of the house, so I gave him a round square in the chest. What's supposed to happen is the hard rubber balls sting so much, the bear runs off to never ever return, but this bear barely registered discomfort. Instead, he merely turned and sauntered a few feet then turned and stared at me insolently. I took a step toward him to close the distance so I could give him another round. He turned and strolled away. We did this slow walk for the next ten minutes, him stopping periodically to snort and snuffle at me. He finally stopped again within range and I fired another direct hit at him. That finally got the message through to him along with all the cursing I was doing, and he finally decided to run from me.

Back at the ranch my poor chickens were in a state of shock. The coop was a shambles, everything broken and bent inside and a gaping opening outside. But my immediate concern was to try to get plywood fastened over the broken window before it got dark and before the bear came back, which in my vast experience with bears assaulting my infrastructure, they always do. So I phoned my nearest neighbor for help. He had a sheet of plywood the right size and we got it up just in time, because the bear returned shortly after my neighbor left. That's when I decided to call in the Big Gun - the state wildlife officer whom I've known for twenty-eight years. He camped outside for the next four hours in case the bear came back a fourth time. At this writing, I don't know what happened after I went to bed.

I do have hot wire around the coops and runs, but it was off last night when the bear broke the window. I had just stepped into the house, intending to go back out in a few minutes to do a final roosting check and left the juice off. This is very likely the same damned bear that broke into my house last summer, being the same color and size. For that reason, the officer plans to bring a bear trap out today to catch this outlaw.

This thread will have updates as the saga unfolds. Because of course this story ain't over.

Wow!!

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Any updates ?

 

[Byrd gal]

You are a bad @$$!!!!!!!
I would have had a heart attack seeing a bear in my coop. I did battle a squirrel a few weeks ago.☺

 

[azygous]

I'd rather deal with bears than squirrels. Squirrels are evil. Bears have way more integrity than squirrels. Squirrels are sneaky and arrogant. But, no bears around my place lately.

I've been leaving my hot wire on 24/7. From now until the last part of November, bears are fattening up for the winter and are after any food they can find. My guard doesn't get lowered until after Thanksgiving.