Today I had my first up close and personal bear encounter. At about 5pm I looked out our laundry room window, which faces the chicken coop, and there was a black bear inside the fence, with a chicken in his mouth. I said "Oh, SHOOT" and ran out the back door yelling. I shouted at him and he picked up his chicken and went toward the back of the chicken yard. I had to go around the fenced yard to get to the back and when I got there, he was already in the woods. I walked over that way to see where he was, and he had stopped (with my chicken!) about 30 yards into the woods. I shouted and waved and jumped up and down, and he just looked at me. I picked up a stick and threw it and he turned to leave but then turned back because he'd forgotten his dinner! I found a good sized rock, moved to my left a little where I could get a better view, and shouted and threw it at him. That got his attention and he turned and trotted down the hill.
Sheesh!
Luckily, he must have just gotten into the yard and killed the chicken when I saw him. The rest of the birds were still in the coop and some even out in the yard. I had left the big door open so fortunately he was not actually in the coop, which I'm sure he would have been before much more time had passed.
So, when my DH got home, I was already working on putting up the electric strand on the fence, which we should have done right after getting the fence up, but we didn't. We also reinforced the fencing with some extra posts, and had to replace one steel post that the bear had bent! We have one wire running at the top and one on stand-off insulators about half-way up.
It's got about 2000V on it now (3-mile range charger) - does anyone know if that is enough? Bears usually are pretty lazy and will go elsewhere if getting food isn't easy, but I'm thinking 5000V would be better....
Bear!
Wow, sorry about your chicken. I would freak out if I saw a bear in my chicken pen! I dont know anything about electric fences, but I'm sure someone will be along that does know.
It should be strong enough to zap him, but not strong enough to hurt a human. We have a deer ranch as a neighbor and I think they have 2000v or 3000v on theirs to keep the bears out. I used to know but the place has changed hands and the new owner doesn't live here like the previous one did, so I can't call and ask him.
GG
EGAD!
OH SHOOT, would have been a few different words from me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness we dont have bears in our area. I would have poo'ed myself.
oh shoot? i would have gotten a gun
I would have been shaking to much and probably shot myself.
If the shotgun had been handy, I would have gotten it, but it was still wrapped up and stuck in a closet from our move. I have gotten it out now though, and just need to clean it and make sure it's all good. Then load the clip with shells and put them both in a handy place....
It was strange - I wasn't afraid of it at all. Maybe I should have been. Mostly I was highly annoyed. Black bears rarely attack people though (unless you get between a momma and her cubs). Our neighbor has come out and shot over their heads when they come in his back yard, and his wife yelled at one one time to get out of our raspberry patch, which is between our houses, and right close to the road.
The people at the lower end of our road have chickens and they had two coops - one for broilers and one for their layers. A bear got into the broiler coop one time and decimated them. Left the layers completely alone. They got electric fencing after that, and now I think they have 6 foot chain link..... She said that after the bear attack, she turned onto our road one day and there was a bear just laying in the middle of the road, like a dog, relaxing.
nope u could call me history after that. nope i would have lost all control of bodily functions.
how crazy insane you werent scared because you were looking out for your chickens, instincts
Adrenalin will do that, I think. I couldn't tell you if I would have been scared or mad. Came across a bobcat a few years back myself. Wasn't scared at the time, more just trying to figure out if I was really seeing what I was seeing. After knowing it was really a bobcat, now still scared I run into another one - or something worse! Cougars & occasional bear are here too, although I haven't spotted one others have. Cougar warnings again at work, so that means another one spotted by some one.....They would just wipe out the flock I have left, even the peafowl, since these guys climb too. Would get them in the trees.
Keep that gun handy. The noise would definitely get his attention.
Oh, yes, it would. We haven't been bother lately with the bears. And, I am glad...
GG
Hubby told me last night, we do have bobcats and fox's. And someone told me a few weeks ago that a blank panther was spotted about 2 miles from my house. I was like no way and hubby said yes there has been alot of sightings of him around here. That is just great, I need a gun now, that I can shoot, his 22 rifle is just to long for me, I cant hold it and sight it in.
Just a really good thing you didn't think to be afraid til after the bear left! You're both far better off with him thinking he's the one who should be scared... them maternal instincts are somethin' though. I'd probably have chased the bear, THEN come back inside and poo'd myself. Gotta cover all your bases after all.
Tia- We used to live in Guthrie and definitely had the bobcats and foxes. They even had articles in the Oklahoman about how some were killed but they were 'out-of-town' bobcats because Oklahoma doesn't have bobcats... Locater collar put on in Nebraska or something. It went on to say that they range throughout that whole area but don't stay in Oklahoma. Almost ran over a fox on the interstate in downtown Tulsa once. Don't know that this is reassuring to you:0 (Never fear, it's not a LOCAL predator...)
Yea grown nut I hear ya, we do have them here, scary things. Foxes are pretty tho, we do have GP dogs that run the whole property so should be ok with that. Its just what sneaky little things that can get in and my poodle and mut are to small.
Their have been cougar sightings in NH over the years, but the official line is that they do not exist here. Yeah, right. People claim to have seen Eastern Grey Wolves too, though they can be confused with coyotes which are numerous, but one was confirmed in western MA I think. Bears are certainly plentiful. I think the average, IIRC from the state website, is about 0.5 bears per square mile. That's a lot of bears! They have a hunting season for them every year.
I was telling my neighbor about the bear and she said "he didn't act like he was scared, did he?" She was right, and it's a little worrying that they are so nonchalant about people. Everyone is careful around here with bird feeders (take them down at night or don't feed birds at all from spring to December) and most people know to keep their garbage locked up, but the bears are just really used to people and don't seem to care much if you try to chase them off.
OHHHHHHHHHHH i am getting the willies just thinking about that. Bear not scared.
When we lived in upstate NY they told us that the coyotes that had moved in after the wolves were driven out, were much bigger than the western coyote. The theory was they may have come by way of Canada and had hybridized with the Grey Wolf.
I am terrified of running into bears--they were saying that the black bears living in the suburbs of Pennsylvania have been selected for non-aggressiveness. Right!
That is where I heard about yelling at them with bullhorns, shooting them with bean bags, and chasing them with dogs--all designed so they wouldn't get too comfortable with people. They were denning in the crawl spaces of people's homes and using the insulation to make comfy beds.
This message was edited Jul 27, 2008 6:39 PM
I guess we're lucky then, Catscan. All of our bears stay out in the woods and swamps. Well, I guess almost all of them. We did have one den in an old trailer parked on the land next door to us a few years ago. We didn't know it was there until they got the old trailer off the property. That was when they found that it had been used for a bear den. Ours are still scared of us and run whenever they hear or see us. Of course we do have hunting seasons for them every fall.
GG
Never lived near bears (that I know of anyway) but have seen grey wolves in Indy and here in rural Kentucky. Was told there are no wolves here it was just a big dog. (Built like Balto only 4' at the shoulder -what breed could that be?!) We drove by a grey wolf puppy farm N of Oklahoma City one day and used to see ads for wolf pups in the paper when we lived there. I s'pose a healthy woodland needs carnivores but I couldn't see any sense in raising 'em for pets. If they're importing them(bears) to PA should we at least be thankful they're selecting NICE bears? What's next?!
This message was edited Jul 27, 2008 6:44 PM
I had friends in upstate NY who had a pet Timber Wolf--they had a picture of it up in their store. I asked how they licensed it and they said they listed it as a German Shepherd Dog and no one knew the difference. It was good with them, but would stalk children it didn't know who visited their house and they had to chain their fridge shut to keep it out. I also met a woman at Berkeley who had a smaller 9 year old female wolf who was quite tame--but they just don't behave like dogs. Too edgy and nervous to do well around a lot of people.
The biggest problem are apparently the dog/wolf hybrids--they are very nervous, but not as wary as true wolves.
My great great grandfather wandered around Tennessee and Kentucky with a pet wolf. We even have a picture of him sitting in a chair with the wolf seated beside him. It was smaller than a timber wolf and I wonder if it was the now (supposedly) extinct southern red wolf?
I've heard they can tell colors now from shades in the old pictures. Would be great if true to find out. Cool story too. But those pet and cross stories are why I simply can't believe there are no wolves around. It seems (judgementally speaking) that very few of the decisions to keep wild animals as pets are intelligent and well thought out. Putting that together with how many pets are thrown out here in the boonies to fend for themselves and...
There are sanctuaries for wolf/dog hybrids. They have a very rough life. And you are right, Grownut--it is a terrible idea to keep most wild animals as pets--but I bet a lot of the reported big cat sightings are escaped exotics. They said a lot got loose after Katrina.
When my ancestor did it, I think they were more traveling companions--there were not many people and the animal could just be what it was. Now it is completely different. I remember when I was teen in Texas someone in our neighborhood of duplexes and townhouses had a young chimpanzee. Knowing what I know now--there could hardly be a worse idea. Dangerous to both man and animal.
We have so many wonderful domestic animals--I think I am going to stick to them!
Amen!
About wolf/wolf hybrids. We have a neighbor of the Militia variety who has either full-bred wolves or wolf hybrids. Since he doesn't allow very many people on his property (including the Sheriff), I don't know for sure nor do I know how many. I do know that there is a pack of Timber Wolves in the far N.W. Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Even DNR is saying that.
GG
The funny thing is, apparently people think that wolves will be the perfect attack animal--but they aren't at all. I was reading that because the human has to establish himself as the leader, if someone comes into your house and attacks you, the wolf will be out the window before you can yell for help--they don't defend--you as the leader are suppose to do that. They work together to hunt, not attack defensively. Plus they are very skittish and nervous. They might fight other wolves over territory, but if they attack you it is for food or out of fear--not fun. Dogs are far, far more reliable. German Shepherds can be trained to attack out of a combination of desiring to please their leader and predatory instinct. And the protective instinct in dogs like GPs and Akbash is actually an intensification through domestication of the maternal instinct. LPD guard what they love. I love dogs!
I do too, but do not have one and don't plan on getting another one for a long, long time if ever again.
GG
Aw that's sad--but I can understand it, granny. I have 5 dogs right now--and it is too many. My dad who is 85 doesn't want any pets so he can travel without worrying--but he loved dogs while we had them. Right now it would cost me $1000 a year just to board my dogs for the two weeks a year I am out of the country. So I had to get married instead!
Catscan, ROFLMAO!!
We did have a beagle until April 28th. Apparently she was diabetic and we never thought about that being her problem. When we got her, we had a devil of a time housebreaking her, plus she used to rub her butt on the floor and we thought it was anal gland problems, had them taken out but that didn't stop her from rubbing, she drank water all the time, plus she had eye problems. She finally went blind, and because it was so much of a problem for her, we made the decision to put her down. She was only six years old. Because of that and because we want to be free to travel if we want to (yeah, right), we have decided not to get another dog.
GG