BLACK BEAR BROKE INTO CHICKEN COOP-PLS HELP

[tlcmurphy]

I keep thinking how fortunate it was for your family to see the bear before you interrupted it eating. I see that as Grace. The whole situation had to be so scary!
Light on and talk radio was a brilliant idea; I am tucking it away just in case.
Good luck with brother bear. The younger males have been kicked out of easy forage range by older, grumpier bears so the young boys have to range farther to get food. We had a black bear in my n'hood 6 weeks ago and I am 8 miles from downtown Atlanta. Crazy.

Seriously? I’m in Atlanta too, Brookhaven/Decatur. Where are you located?

 

[McChooky]

just thought u and everyone who helped me out last night know that i set up a light and talk radio for the night and slept in the kitchen lol. didn’t come back but the ranger came and set up the bear trap right in front of the chicken coop, i let them out for maybe 1 hour today and watched them like a hawk then put them away (they are not impressed with me lol) but hopefully that trap catches him soon as i just got a call today he ripped apart some peoples garbage then went and stalked the pigs at the farm down the road

In the 2023 hunting season 2, 830 black bears were harvested across the state of WV (151 were taken from here where I live)
I can't imagine eating one but I wouldn't mind having a a bear rug!Glad you outsmarted the bear and its harassing pigs instead of you!

 

[McChooky]

Opening the coop door would be a temporary solution for a bear. It would prevent your coop from being destroyed and also allow your chickens to escape. Any chickens locked in a coop along with a predator are screwed

A long term solution would be raising an LGDhe bear and looks at me want to stay out there

I 2nd that motion! Anytime something comes around at night my Basset hound lets me know and goes out . He stays outside all day with the chickens until they're locked up.I love this dog!

 

[FrostRanger]

In the 2023 hunting season 2, 830 black bears were harvested across the state of WV (151 were taken from here where I live)
I can't imagine eating one but I wouldn't mind having a a bear rug!Glad you outsmarted the bear and its harassing pigs instead of you!

I hear bear meat is actually pretty good. Never had it myself though

 

[McChooky]

I hear bear meat is actually pretty good. Never had it myself though

The list of animals I'll eat has grown shorter as I got older

 

[SourRoses]

@FrostRanger and others, I saw this video today from 2 months ago, north of Orlando and about an hour drive away from here.

 

[ChicNmom]

I can't imagine eating one but I wouldn't mind having a a bear rug!Glad you outsmarted the bear and its harassing pigs instead of you!

Bear meat is really good. Similar to beef with nice flavor. Not gamey at all. You have to cook it thoroughly. The other thing is bear fat. It make the best shortening for cookies! No flavor to it and the cookies stay perfectly chewy.


My neighbor hunts and usually give me some venison and bear if he gets one.

There are 3 local towns with problem bears destroying coops and killing chickens because stupid people were feeding them because they are cute. No one will be sad if they get turned into bear burgers.

 

[McChooky]

Bear meat is really good. Similar to beef with nice flavor. Not gamey at all. You have to cook it thoroughly. The other thing is bear fat. It make the best shortening for cookies! No flavor to it and the cookies stay perfectly chewy.


My neighbor hunts and usually give me some venison and bear if he gets one.

There are 3 local towns with problem bears destroying coops and killing chickens because stupid people were feeding them because they are cute. No one will be sad if they get turned into bear burgers.

Thank you! I'll keep that in mind if I get another offer for bear meat.

 

[catballou]

we’re not really in bear country! bears are so rare around here i had no idea we had them till today (i live on an island). i have automatic lights but no cameras im sleeping beside the window right infront of the coop. this is a photo of it for reference. i’m am now realizing my girl robin is missing she’s the white one in the photo. i don’t think it got her though, they all hide when i started banging pots. i’d assume if it came back tonight it would probably rip the door off

Do you happen ventilation in that shed? I'd rub peppermint oil all over the outside of the coop before nightfall. No animal likes peppermint smell.
And fix up the coop asap!

 

[countryladyNH]

After having a fox almost grab one of our hens in the middle of the day and me yelling and chasing it, hubby went to store when he got home and got a .22 rifle. This was years ago. We have lots of predators. Everyone is safe at night as the coops are like Ft. Knox and locked up tight. We had a very large bear come and upend bee hives and wander all over the yard, even to looking in the house windows at night. It was a nuisance bear. We were NOT having it, and one night at 3 AM when it came back yet again, hubby went out and shot it in the dark, and thankfully killed it. We were not going to wait for someone to try 'trapping it' or wonder if it was 'the' bear or not. We have electric fencing around the bees now, but the yard is not level or 'fence-able' and this is a country neighborhood, not a farm or 'acreage'. This bear was a danger for sure. We love our hens, ducks, and goose, and take our responsibilities seriously. We have since had to trap and shoot predators that were trying to get to our flock. It is just necessary sometimes. We have a game cam. We have motion alarms at night, but that is not enough to deter all predators all the time. I highly recommend you have a gun to shoot nuisance predators if it becomes necessary. Also, do NOT 'trap' wild animals and let them go miles away. They only then become someone else's problem, and that is just wrong.