Backyard Bear – photo by goingslo
There are an estimated 900,000 black bears living in the wild throughout North America (USA+Canada). There is additionally an estimated 1,000 grizzly bears in the lower 48 states and 30,000 more of these massive creatures in Alaska. Many of these majestic creatures live in wilderness that edges cities and towns. Bears of all types love easy food — such as chicken feed and chickens!
Bear & Bird Coop – photo by OnceAndFutureLaura
Living in and around bear country can be a challenge to those who want to keep backyard chickens. Bears are intelligent animals with a strong sense of smell. Being highly adaptable animals, bears are always searching for easy meals – such as garbage and pet food. With the distinct rise in popularity of keeping backyard chickens, there is also an increased number of human and bear contacts.
Jessy Coltrane and Porcupine
Bear can and will go after simple prey like chickens in a backyard chicken coop. These bear/chicken encounters usually occur in early springtime when bears’ nature food sources are not yet fully available, or in late Fall when bears are trying to pack on as many pounds for their long, winter hibernation. As a result, there has been a sharp increase in the number of bears being relocated or killed because of their attractions to chickens.
Wildlife Specialist, Dr. Jessy Coltrane of the Alaska State Department of Fish and Game, joins me on today’s episode of the Urban Chicken Podcast to discuss how to successfully raise chickens in bear country. Jessy shares with the us why chickens are so attractive to bears and how to properly set up an electrified coop to protect your hens and also the tempted bears. We also consider the sad ramifications upon the bear population caused by chicken keepers who do not take the necessary precautions to keep bears out of their coops.
This week in the Chicken News segment, I discuss a recent shooting of a 6 foot monitor lizard on the loose in Connecticut that was terrorizing some backyard chickens. The giant, exotic lizard had been sited several times since July of this year. However it wasn’t until this past Sunday that local police finally made contact with this menacing animal which is illegal in the State of Connecticut. Ledyard Police Officers were dispatched to the home of a woman this past weekend when she reported that an “alligator” was attacking her backyard hens. Police shot and killed the huge reptile which is native to Indonesia because of the danger it posed to them, as well as other humans and animals in the area.
In the Sally’s Sidenotes segment, I share a news story out of Zambia, where a Chinese conglomerate-owned copper mine is polluting the air and killing the chickens on nearby farms. The story reminds me of my experience in the Comoros Islands as a Peace Corps volunteer and seeing how globalization can lead to abuses and degradation to the local people and animals.
CHICKEN NEWS:
- WTNH News 8 – Menacing giant lizard in CT tried to kill chickens VIDEO
- Washington Post – Monitor Lizard terrorizing CT town and chickens ARTICLE
- Norwich Bulletin – Police shoot dangerous lizard on the loose ARTICLE
MAIN SEGMENT:
- KTVA News 11 – How to Keep Bears Away from Chicken Coops? VIDEO
- Anchorage Daily News – Chicken Coops Irresistable to Bears ARTICLE
- Alaska Dispatch – Backyard Hens too Dangerous in Bear Country? ARTICLE
- Auburn Journal – Shots Fired at Three Bears Raiding Coop in CA ARTICLE
- KRQE News 15 – Bear eats Backyard Chickens in New Mexico VIDEO
- High Country News – Bears coming too close to Colorado chickens ARTICLE
- Missoulian – Bear problems with backyard chickens in Montana ARTICLE
- Public News Service – Bear and backyard chicken troubles in WY ARTICLE
- NY Times – Grizzly Bears’ Taste for Chickens = Collision Course ARTICLE
- Independent Record – Coops Need Extra Care in Bear Country ARTICLE
- On Pasture – A Cautionary Tale of Pastured Poultry in Bear Country ARTICLE
- Pawnation – Grizzly Bear facts and statistics LINK
- Bear Smart Society – Black bear facts and statistics LINK
- American Bear Association – More Bear Facts LINK
- Bear Proofing Electric Fencing Kit –UDAP BEF Bear Shock Electric Fence
- Storey Book on electric fence protection for your animals –Electric Fencing: How to Choose, Build, and Maintain the Best Fence for Your Plants and Animals. A Storey Basics Title
- Bear Spray (to protect you and to help avoid shooting bears) –UDAP 12HP Bear Spray
SALLY’S SIDENOTES:
- Zambia Daily Mail – Pollution is choking chickens to death in Zambia ARTICLE
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