A Bear…

[DLA]

The game commission here in my state (Pennsylvania) takes a dim view of people just shooting bears even if they are on your property and bothering livestock etc, they usually expect you to attempt to scare it away with loud noises and such then call the police and/or game commission in many places. If you shoot a bear here out of season or without a license and the police/game commission finds out about it, then it's likely you could be fined. I think the reason for this is that if you wound and don't kill it then it becomes way more of a danger. It's often better to just scare it away with loud noises and take steps to not draw them in with food left out. We don't get to many around where I live, mostly juvenile bears that can often be mistaken for dogs or ones just passing thru. There's been a few incidents over the years but most try to avoid people in this part of the country.
This is specific to my state but it still contains a ton of good info about black bears that might benefit someone https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/BlackBear/Pages/LivingwithBlackBears.aspx

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

A neighbor told us that yesterday in the early afternoon a large black bear was seen crossing the road about a quarter mile or less from our house. We live in a decently wooded area interspersed with fields and a couple ponds (one of which is in the backyard). Do you think this bear would be tempted to pay us a visit?
The chickens and other poultry free range during the day and my coops are definitely not bear proof!

Yes bears will go after chickens and if they see, smell, or hear anything they will pay you a visit.

 

[early riser]

If you use dogs like I do you’ll also need to walk the perimeter daily to have them mark their territory. Master gardener told me this years ago to keep deer away but it works for everything

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

When we first bought our woodland property ~5 years ago, the black bears were used to coming & going as they pleased; the previous owners had given up on dealing with the gophers, bears, foxes, raccoons, etc. before they retired to Idaho. (They left the tragic remains of what had been a chicken yard, right up against the woods, with only chicken wire tacked to posts for fencing. HUGE holes torn in it, posts knocked sideways, so obviously their chicken-keeping didn't last long, poor birds.)

They also had a tenant in a dilapidated old mobile home at the back of the place who had no safe place to store his garbage can (no garage, etc.), so that was constantly being raided and trash strewn all over the woods. We spent a LOT of "quality time" combing the woods around the house and old MH picking up years'-worth of old, soggy bear trash. The bears were also accustomed to raiding garbage cans waiting at roadside on "trash day"mornings - even early daylight was no deterrent, as most of us out here live way back on long gravel driveways, not visible from the road. After cleaning up after THAT repeatedly, we experimented with drenching the garbage with ammonia or bleach. (Bears have an EXTREMELY good/sensitive sense of smell). A splash of household bleach in the trash has been the ticket - they no longer tip the trash bin while it waits for its Tuesday am pickup.

The bears also damage redwood and other large trees by slashing the bark off with their claws, marking territory and licking off the sweet sap, often girdling & killing the tree. We dealt with that by...peeing on the targeted trees ourselves, as the bears weren't impressed by our dogs' markings. (Easier for Hubs than me.) So far that seems to do the trick, but bears are smart and adaptable so time will tell.

 

[pvaldes]

If the coop is unsecure and you don't have a lot of chicken, you may consider moving temporarily them to a safer place by night, until you fix the coop. Chicken can be housed temporarily in a pet carrier left indoors at a locked garage for example.