Two black bears found the chicken coop

[Sunshine Flock]

I'm outside city limits, by the way.

Fish and Wildlife said we're required to electrify. Only as a last ditch option will they issue a permit to kill the bears. But that's not what we're wanting to do.

I don't want those bears killed. I'm not naive, though. Someone will kill them eventually.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I’m so sorry that you are dealing with this...... Best of luck protecting your flock!

 

[Animalfisherwoman]

OP, if you are where people can hunt bear in season, I'd advise that you take a bear tag out, just in case. Also consider getting or fostering larger dogs. Bears usually avoid them.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

A neighbor told me that friends of theirs hired a trapper to relocate some bears. It's legal and humane. They used a large cage and baited it just like you would when you're trapping feral cats.

He's going to find out more about it. But someone said (here or elsewhere, don't recall) that bears have been known to travel 50 miles back to their home turf.

 

[ThracianHorse]

I don't know who told you trapping and relocating a bear is humane, but it isn't. First off, you're trapping that animal, and dumping it someplace else. Very likely into some other bears territory that isn't going to take kindly to sharing with an intruder, especially if it's another male bear. If it had worms, was ill, or had some other transmissible disease, guess what? Now you've possibly introduced a problem to the other animals in the area it was released to. A bear will quite often rapidly return to it's home. Sometimes covering hundreds of miles in a matter of days, especially if the food there was especially great.

I lived in the redding area for a number of years, and I know of problem bears who were trapped. You know what happened to them? They either returned in two days from where they'd been dumped, or they decided that raiding the human food sources near where they were dumped was great idea, and got killed when an irate farmer discovered them destroying livestock or other property. I know where they were dumping the bears, and the people living in the area who had to deal with the problem bears weren't thrilled at inheriting someone elses problem. Fish and Game (Scuse me. Fish and Wildlife. *eyeroll*) is lazy, and seems to rely on this exact situation. They do it mostly to appease the public operating under the illusion the bear gets to live happy and free. Sorry for soap-boxing the issue, but it's an area I'm very familiar with, and an issue near and dear to my heart.

The only way to deal with problem bears is to hurt them so bad they don't want to chance it again, or to kill them. The absolute best way to avoid problem bears is not allowing situations where they can discover ways to become a problem.It is perfectly legal to hunt black bear in California. Frankly for me, it was far more reliable to find bear than deer (I think it tastes better, too.) YOu made it clear you don't want to hurt the bears, I get it. A bear tag is merely a legal means to an end, if and only if push came to shove, sparing you any fish and game trouble. And possibly yummies to line your freezer with, since you don't waste game.

That said. I am very sorry about your job situation. Is there a possibility of moving your chickens to a relatives place or a friend until you can deal with the fencing situation? It isn't ideal I know, but would be a lot safer since the bears have already torn up one coop nearby. Might I ask what your husband does for a living? I still have some friends and family in the area. I can ask them about jobs they know of.

 

[New2Chicks97]

A neighbor told me that friends of theirs hired a trapper to relocate some bears. It's legal and humane. They used a large cage and baited it just like you would when you're trapping feral cats.

He's going to find out more about it. But someone said (here or elsewhere, don't recall) that bears have been known to travel 50 miles back to their home turf.

My guess is that by the time you pay someone to trap the bears you will have spent the same amount of money that you would have on an electric fence. And the electric fence will be reliable while relocating them via trapping may just result in the bears coming back.

 

[llombardo]

Take a picture of the area that requires electric fencing. Maybe we can brainstorm to piece it together.

If there is wood--the insulators are like $10 for 25 of them and then posts in the ground aren't needed.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...nail-on-5-in-extender-insulators?cm_vc=-10005

 

[Sunshine Flock]

We're not hiring anyone to trap bears. But we're curious and would like to learn more. Who wouldn't.

The ammonia soaked cloths hung a few feet out from the coop has been effective. The bears sniffed them and quickly left. We also poured a bottle of cayenne pepper on the ground under the line of cloths.

Cayenne by itself is powerful.

We're expecting the bears to come back, so we need to electrify the coop. Things don't happen magically overnight when you're strapped for cash and have a lot on your plate.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

... We're expecting the bears to come back, so we need to electrify the coop....

When you electrify your coop be sure to give your bears a proper demonstration on the powers of an electric fence. Take a few strips of cured bacon and soak these strips in a strong solution of salt water. Now take the bacon and wrap it around the hot wires being sure to avoid any ground sources. You may now turn on the electric fence. When a bear comes around he will either sniff the cured bacon or try to eat it off the hot wire and remember that SALT is an excellent conductor of electricity. Since a bears mouth and nose is wet he will get a real shock from your fence. Enough of a shock that he or she will give your property, or at least your chicken coop a wide berth in the future.