Young Bear

[Capvin]

Shawn, I agree that there is no way that I would shoot a bear unless it had broken into my house and I was defending my families lives. I would never do it for a cicken even though we love them dearly. I shoot the racoons every time I see one but I am a believer in trying to deter the bear with an electric fence and so far that has worked. It has also been effective for coyote and bob cat.

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

The E fence will work, but I would advise against using any BAIT! You will attract more then you might want! Set the E-fence and monitor any more activity.

Chances are the bear is after food other then the actual chickens. Make sure all food sources are locked down, bears are amazingly strong. This time of year, juveniles are searching for food as they were run off by momma.

I get close to alot of these young bears and they are curious and at times can be agressive if they are hungry. I do believe shooting one, even for protecting livestock may be illegal here in WV, protecting yourself is another matter. Our wardens will find out if you shoot it, they live for it. I bear hunt so I have no personal gripe about killing a bear, but the SSS thing never seems to work out.

Hopefully the bear will move on and cause you no more issues, if it hangs around the area enjoy it! You can check out section 20-2-22a here for some more info and contact numbers if needed. http://www.legis.state.wv.us/WVCODE/Code.cfm?chap=20&art=2

 

[sourland]

The reason for bait on the fence is the fact that if the bear contacts the fence with it's body it is very unlikely to get a shock because of it's heavy coat. If this happens the bear will break the wire without getting shocked. The nose or mouth must contact the wire to ensure an education. Difinately do not throw out quantities of food as an attractant-- just a piece of bacon or two on the wire.

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

A bear leads with its nose and head.....ive seen them get zapped, they get the picture just fine

 

[sourland]

Quote:
O K.

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
The stupid bears are not a real issue, electric fence and other deterants work on those, it's the determined smart ones that will get you.
Up here we have a lot of bear and we do a lot of hunting but I hunt to fill the freezer and I don't like the taste of bear so unless he's destructive (they rarely leave the building the same way they come in) I'm happy with running them off. Another thing is , like roachs, the cleaner the surroundings, the better, nothing attracts a hungry bear like a greasy grill or a trash pile with old food.

You know they have a new line of air rifles that hit real hard(people hunt with them) and are quiet

Also if you go with electric fence, remember the better the ground(deep & wet), the hotter the spark and the more effective. I was reminded of this last year dealing with some huge hogs and a hard headed ram.

Please, if you get video of a bear nosing a hot fence, please post it, I lost my copies and they make great home videos. It looked like his feet were on fire and his butt was catching.

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
No expert, just a lot of bears and remote cabins. Remember the wetter the ground around the ground rod, the hotter the shock

And you get 10 points if you can make him do a backflip on contact

 

[WVchickens]

The video cam is set. Maybe tonight I will see that bear again. Sara and I saw some poops on the property on the way to the clif Sunday, he is around and healthy.

Someone said something about the bear only wanting food and not the actual chickens. The day he broke into the chicken run, I noticed when I hiked down to the coop ~ 6am that some scratch I dumped out previous day was cleaned up like someone had a vacuum cleaner after it! I thought to myself, WOW, they sure like that cracked corn stuff. The fog was so bad, I didn’t even notice that the fence was completely violated. I hiked back up to get some more scratch and only when dumping it out for a treat, I noticed the fence. I then poped into the truck, loaded with tools to repair the fence.

Shawn

 

[bryan99705]

Quote:
Hey shawn, Do you know how to tell if that's a black bear or a griz?

Black bears usually have a lot of vegetation and berries in their scat

Griz scat has a lot of those little hiker's bells Yea, I know...

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

A shotgun with bird shot works wonders.