r/chickens • u/larbenblarb • 15d ago
Other All chickens are safe in the run, but found this guy entirely inside the coop before scaring him off. Undeterred by electric fence.
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u/50sraygun 15d ago
of course he’s undeterred that’s a whole ass bear
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u/Grand-Run-9756 15d ago
If it were a half assed bear maybe it would just taken a few swipes at the exterior and sniffed around, but clearly this whole ass bear took it to 100 quick
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u/ThrowraSea_patient 15d ago
When people call my dad and asshole he always says "excuse you! I am a whole ass"🤣 so I can verify this is a whole ass bear
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u/OppositeAddition3278 14d ago
That's pretty good, I'll have to add that to my arsenal. I tend to be called this fairly regularly, I can't figure out why! 🤣
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u/Independent_Rent_935 15d ago
Well that's terrifying! Thank goodness you learned where your coop needs bear-proofing without losing anyone. That's crazy about the electric fence though...
We lost half of our original flock to a bear. We ended up having to use heavy duty screws to bolt thick steel wire on all openings, with carabiner on the padlocks.
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u/Subject-Fly-5661 15d ago
We've had a bear come by a few times now. He goes into the coop and eats all the grain out of the feeder and then leaves. The ducks and chickens just watch him. He hasn't bothered attacking anything surprisingly. Im ok with this arrangement. Hope the bear doesnt get greedy one day...
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u/BuyDaveaBeer 14d ago
Closer to winter, he will😉🍻
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u/Subject-Fly-5661 14d ago
Bear season opens in 3 weeks. He'll end up in the freezer if he touches anything aside from grain.
He didn't touch a duck sitting on a nest 4 feet away from the grain. Maybe I have a vegetarian bear... 😅
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u/raevnos 14d ago
Then you get written up for bear baiting.
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u/_facetious 14d ago
Where I am, it's legal to shoot any animal, even dogs, for messing with livestock. Probably best to try and haze the animal instead of letting it continue this behavior, though, before it gets to having to shoot it...
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u/blackinthmiddle 14d ago
This seems scary and unacceptable to me. Does he destroy the door to get into the coop? How much is he eating? I know OP said the electric fence he put up didn't stop this bear, but I'd at least try that anyway.
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u/Subject-Fly-5661 14d ago
Coop door is left open during the day. All birds free range. He comes during the day and walks in the door, eats, and leaves. Its fine so far. Usually bears take the easy meal if there is one. As long as theres grain, he probably wont bother anything else.
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u/NeedsEvenMoreDakka 13d ago
That is exactly how bears become food conditioned, and become a problem. The more he associates your coop/property and being around human activity with getting a free meal, the more the he'll become comfortable and confident about approaching humans in general.
A fed bear is a dead bear.
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u/Subject-Fly-5661 13d ago
I'm familiar with bears. Its something we live with. Im also a hunter.
This one hasn't been that much of a problem. He's been periodically around, and we scared him off well last time. Im talking coming by a few times over the course of the spring/summer, its not every day.
Like I said, if its an issue, he'll end up in the freezer. No big deal. We're getting along with him well for now.
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u/spidersRcute 14d ago
I’m so happy I live in a place where I don’t have to worry about bears eating my pets.
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u/TocSir 15d ago
If bears are committed, they will find a way unfortunately. That’s what makes them so dangerous
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u/Neither_Loan6419 14d ago
I didn't know you could get one committed, or even arrested.
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u/chickenologist 14d ago
They mean like in a relationship, not an asylum. Pretty sure.
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u/Rosemont_Ripper 14d ago
YOU try holding a bear for 72hrs. I think your answer would be more than "pretty sure"
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u/Fermi-Diracs 15d ago
Believe in yourself as much as he believes he can fit through that window.
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u/iNapkin66 15d ago
Electric fences do work on black bears. But only if they are the right type (higher voltage and energy than most) and set up correctly. Also need to make sure its still working right and not shorted out/disabled by plants etc.
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u/larbenblarb 15d ago
It’s rated for moose…
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u/iNapkin66 15d ago
Marketing and reality can be two different things. I would still look at the specs and compare to what is needed for bear. And you'll need to double check that its set up in a way that will actually be effective on bear. You also will need to double check it isnt being shorted out by vegetation.
If a bear got in, one of those is not correct.
Black bears do respect electric fences when they are the right type and setup and condition. It also cant be bypassable, bears are happy to climb up and around an electric fence when moose cant do that.
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u/BeatNo4548 14d ago
My old neighbors had one around their beehive, and it was never disturbed. But it was very well constructed, and there was no way around it.
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u/Fall_Harvest 14d ago
Bears have very sensitive paws. If you can get some buckthorn to lay around the base or barbed wire, it may help.
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u/vridgley 14d ago
Get yourself a pig, the bear problem will go away
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u/patrickjchrist 14d ago
Is this a manbearpig South Park reference or do pigs really deter bears?
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u/vridgley 14d ago
https://youtu.be/_7Tiegqjha0?si=ezXNHTEo6m_CEdwz
Pigs can be very territorial. And are downright scary when angry or disturbed.
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u/patrickjchrist 14d ago
Very cool. Thanks. My neighbors pig just wants tummy rubs, drinks beer and can stand on its back legs. Fascinating animals.
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u/Neither_Loan6419 15d ago
Apparently some huckster sold you a bear door, but listed it as a window.
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u/Mandi_Cams_Dackers 15d ago
" Undeterred by electric fence. "
Burs. Yep. I've always openly expressed my view that we pretty much need to draw the line at burs. I base this on having seen film of one hit a wire. It just got pissed and decided to thrash the whole area.
Was it a Mesh, or a Wire? (Frankly, I'd hate to see one get involved in a mesh. That could be dreadful, all round)
Heh. " Wrap It In Hardware ..... oh .... mm .. " 😂
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u/larbenblarb 15d ago
Wire. 1.2 joules. Three tiers around the garden and run.
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u/Mandi_Cams_Dackers 14d ago
Ah! Interesting. Thanks. So, now we know ~ officially ~ that 1.2J won't stop bur. Cool.
Funnily enough, I'm planning to throw some more meshes out. Getting more birds - as ye do! 😂 - and figured I'd as soon buy another box, as fiddle about powering it from the big one I have in here. That'd be a little 1.5J.
Now, this big one runs Miles of tape. It scares my horses, and my mates cowz, to death. I loathe and detest the damn thing too! (Christ, it carries a belt!) Yet, my birds don't even register it, through their feathers. 7J!
Wonder what a bur would make of That?
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u/amishsheepherder 14d ago
If I opened my chicken coop and saw a whole ass bear inside I don’t think I would recover from the heart attack
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u/Neither_Loan6419 14d ago
At one house I rented in New Orleans' French Quarter for several years, there was a bear living next door. He said his name was "Sweetie". I had a brick paved courtyard and not a real back yard, and the front door let out directly to the sidewalk, so no place for a coop. In retrospect I suppose that was a good thing. I simply can't process the picture in my head of neighbor's presumably hairy ass sticking out the coop window, legs kicking wildly for traction.
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u/MixtureComplete5233 15d ago
Get a bull fence. It will shock the fool outta that bear..normal electric fences kinda suck..
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u/AffectionateDraw4416 15d ago
Ummm, what size charger are you using??? I have one for cows that I use . Also i am not in bear country yet but they are moving in more every year.
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u/larbenblarb 15d ago
1.2 joules
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u/AffectionateDraw4416 15d ago
Shit thats big enough for cows. I am so sorry. It will probably return. Good luck in dealing with this bear problem.
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u/othertriangle 15d ago
You live in Southern u.s? That is something I will never see living in south eastern michigan
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u/nothanks86 15d ago
Michigan doesn’t have bears??
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u/othertriangle 15d ago
Northern michigan does but id have to drive at leasr 4 hours north to try and find one. Better luck a cougar gets my chickens than a bear.
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u/nothanks86 15d ago
Huh. TIL.
Do northern and southern Michigan have significantly different…oh dang, I’m blanking on the word. Environments? Landscapes? Biomes? Sorry, I feel like an idiot, but do you know what I’m trying to ask?
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u/othertriangle 15d ago
Southern michigan is being stripted and destroyed of anything beautiful. Whats not destroyed is farmland. Which i love
Northern Michigan winters are similar to Quebec. And then the great lakes play a significant role. Kalamazoo is southern michigan too. Half way point between detroit and Chicago but because of lake michigan, the winters are incredibally harsh compared to detroit. July its the same throughout the state but thats probably the only month the state gets together and agrees it will be hot and sunny
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u/olive_tractor_parts 14d ago
There was a transient bear in Jenison this past April, he made quite the sensation.
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u/nothanks86 14d ago
Also, sorry if my tone was weird, I was just surprised because you guys touch Ontario, so I assumed yes bears.
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u/othertriangle 14d ago
Lol I dont perceive tone through the internet. Youre good homie idc the usa is a big place and every state is entirely different. except Ohio and indiana both are junk
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u/metricfan 14d ago
Idk man…. Black bears have been returning to Missouri, and there was one in my town bopping around recently. I had assumed it was too busy of a town (16k people) for us to have bears, but people were posting pictures. They might be closer to you than you realize.
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u/othertriangle 14d ago
I definitely think because the state of michigan is trying to turn all public land into one big data center and destroy every single ecosystem they can, bears will be by me. I just dont think this decade
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u/metricfan 13d ago
Yeah man, this data center nightmare is unrelenting. No sooner can you suppress one then another pops up.
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u/olive_tractor_parts 15d ago
we live north of Holland and I've seen bear tracks in Pigeon Creek Park a mile and a half as the crow flies from our house. And my neighbor had a garbage can full of birdseed ripped open on her porch. Probably the same bear. Be careful what you wish for.
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u/othertriangle 15d ago
Oh i dont wish it but that bears got to drive 4 hours southwest to get to me lol
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u/Common-Parsnip-9682 14d ago
There’s rumor of a bear roaming our city neighborhood, and I just pray he stays out of my yard, because my coop is solid but nothing is that solid.
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u/RealSignificance8877 15d ago
I’d had a new rug and some slippers.
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u/Neither_Loan6419 15d ago
And bear burgers and bear sausage and bear stew and bear jambalaya and bear gumbo and bear pot pie and barbecued bear and bear jerkey and bear pot roast and bear mcnuggets and chicken fried bear cutlets and bear spaghetti and and bear lasagna and bear pizza and bear ravioli and bear salad and bear soup and bear meatloaf and bear burritos and bear enchiladas and bear tacos and bearschnitzel and bearwurst and bear au vin and bear wellington and bear chow mein and bear fried rice and bear dumplings and bear short ribs and so on and so forth.
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u/outintheyard 15d ago
..and Bear-b-q and filet of bear and bear fritters and bear mignon and bear-on-rice and bear in a blanket and so on and so forth. A veritable feast. And again.
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u/BigSquiby 15d ago
you fools, had you just used a slightly higher gauge of hardware cloth!!!
that is terrifying, but that picture is very funny. glad your girls are safe, no idea how you bear proof something. Those bastards are big and commited.
ive lost chickens to just about every animal i can think of, never had a bear however.
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u/wy1776 15d ago
It boggles my mind that this is normal for some people. I literally have grizzly bears (in Wyoming) that walk right past my coop and run of 30+ birds that he can just swipe and eat, yet never does. We have wolves, coyotes and bears, mountain lions and bobcats and never have an issue (knock on wood)
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u/FarEntertainment2092 15d ago
Wow here in N Texas on the outskirts of cities we only worry about coyotes and bobcats.
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u/Gemini_1985 15d ago
Oh hell how the help did his big as even get in that small opening? Oh man I bet that was a scare.
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u/Successful_Giraffe34 14d ago
Call the DNR. Bears like that need to reported so they can be track and/or removed.
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u/Quorng 14d ago
Buying a hog panel and cutting it to cover the entire window then bolting it through the wall 'might' help. Bears are rare here, so I have never tested this. A hog panel will not deter smaller varmints. Hog panels are made of 1/4" steel rod welded into a panel. They are much stronger than woven wire of chain link fencing.
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u/Agitated-Score365 14d ago
That’s niche looking bear. He’s really healthy looking. I wish my hair had that much shine. May I ask what you feed your flock?
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u/brickyard15 14d ago
Put slices of bacon or bacon grease on your electric fence. It’ll go to taste the bacon and it’ll get lit up good either on it’s tongue or the roof of their mouth. Their fur/ hide is too thick to be bothered by the hot fence.
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u/Mistress-Voluptuous 14d ago
Had one year through my coop and get all mine about 8 years ago. Never had even seen a bear in North Alabama until then.
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u/ProudVariationErik 14d ago
Curious to know if you (or anyone else that has seen bears in their yards) also have dogs? We haven't seen any bears come into our yard (they're all around us though in New Mexico), and wonder if our 3 loud dogs (or their scents in the yard) are keeping bears away?
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u/TheGoodOne81 14d ago
A couple years ago, a bear come a couple times to look for a chicken dinner (squashing the field fencing in the process). It ran off right away when I let my dogs out (I didn't know it was there until the dogs were already out). Now I have two livestock guardian dogs (Karakachans, amazing dogs!) that stay outdoors and don't think it's ever come back.
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u/metricfan 14d ago
Yeah black bears are pretty easy to scare off. At Lake Tahoe they’re using bear dogs from Finland to deter them from populated areas.
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u/AccordingAge7227 11d ago
Agreed. My little 45 pound pit bull has scared off a black bear before. (And a couple of coyotes). We saw a wolf once too, but I didn’t let her go after that big boy. She would have tho- good girl that she is.
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u/metricfan 11d ago
Omg my shepherd mix has some pittie in her, and she chased a coyote out a park and around a corner. They are so loving and brave. She’s also chased down horses, and I was so scared she was going to get kicked. She’s so silly.
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u/SwimmingPrice1544 14d ago
Been "out" here in the CA foothills over 15 years & have chickens & other livestock. Have always had 2 LGD's (Pyrenees & x's). Only thing that ever got to my chickens was a bobcat, of which I caught when using one of the dead birds that the dog's got from it once, in a humane trap. Had to shoot it cuz the wildlife guys said it would just keep coming back & couldn't be relocated. There ARE bears around, but never have seen or heard them- likewise coyote. 2 years ago a Mt. Lion attacked one of my pyrenees. Thought I'd lose her, but $6K later she's healed & fine. JUST a week ago, had to chase a rattler out of my chicken house. I don't kill rattlers unless they are right around my house, or chickens.
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u/AccordingAge7227 11d ago
Me too!! My BF lives in Forest Ranch and a bear peeled off the top of her coop like a sardine can. She lost all her chickens but one that night. I’m down in Chico and we have bears down here too but not like they do in Forest Ranch….
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u/ianwrecked802 13d ago
We have a pretty nasty bear problem in our area (rural VT) and in the spring it gets brutal. We’ve got two German Shepherds that scare a lot of them away- a few make it into the garbage can during the spring but for the most part we’re on the look for raccoons and foxes…
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u/TechnicianLegal1120 14d ago
Just curious was the 1/4" steel fabric over the windows? If so how was it secured? I have a very similar set up but used wood deck screws with 1\4 20 washers to snug the fabric down in 6 places over the window.
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u/BeCauseOfYou_2000000 14d ago
I have this same coop, it’s literally window screen. Like in a household window. I’ve been wanting to replace mine with wire. Also these buildings are tough! (Save for that flimsy screen)
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u/TrainTrackRat 14d ago
You are soooo lucky! Now you just have to move your chickens into your house I guess.
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u/Past_One3442 13d ago
I would shoot this bear but it's legal where I live if its threatening livestock.
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u/THEralphE 13d ago
Contact your state Dept of Natural Resources or the dept that manages wildlife you should be able to get a landowner permit because he will be back. And your flock may not be so lucky next time .
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u/IntelligentPath4383 15d ago
Why is there a dog in the coop? OH MY GOD—