Bear Encounters
We’ve never had problems with bears before, but over the last little while a black bear decided to start hanging around our yard — and harassing my chickens.
Chickens, Ducks and Bear
The first night, Mr. Bear tore down the back fence and rummaged through the compost pile. Surprisingly, he didn’t really eat much — he mostly just looked through it. I was shocked he didn’t munch on the apple cores, beet peels, and other tempting scraps. The compost had been building up for weeks and was overflowing with what I’m sure smelled like a bear buffet.
Maybe this was because he had spent the last two nights eating apples at the neighbor’s house.
Normally, I throw a layer of dirt over the compost after dumping scraps, but I hadn’t had time to haul over a wheelbarrow of soil yet.
Note to self: next year, make sure the dirt pile is beside the compost.
I’m sure the smell of the compost is what brought him in, but once he was there, he discovered something even more interesting — chickens and ducks. I quickly learned that it was the chicken feed he was really after.
Mr. Bear tried to get into the coop by digging under the wire at the backside of the outer run, but he didn’t succeed. I think my husband did a pretty good job building a bear-resistant chicken coop.
Here are some pictures of the damage he did:
- Broke in by tearing off the latch
- Chewed the bungee cord off the door
- Tried hard to pull the wire fencing down
Despite all this, I was getting worried about my poor chickens. They say a bear will swipe at and kill any chickens in its way, but so far, ours had been very lucky.
Finding the way In
The next day, Mr. Bear came back — and being a smart bear, he simply tore the latch off the door to the pen and walked right in. While inside the run, he knocked over the large feeder and helped himself to dinner, all while the chickens and ducks stayed inside their house.
The following morning, I noticed what he had done. I was on my way to work, so I quickly found a bungee cord hanging by the coop and tied it around the door and fence to keep it closed. I was surprised to see that I still had eggs to collect. I would have thought those poor animals would have been terrified.
That night, Mr. Bear stayed away, but the next evening he tried again — pulling down on the fencing.
He didn’t pull it far enough to get in, but he made up for it the night after when he chewed through the bungee cord, ate what was left of the chicken feed, knocked over the water, and tipped the ramp used by the ducks and chickens to get into the house.
Once again, the chickens and ducks were unharmed — and once again, they produced eggs. I think I’ve got some pretty special birds.
In Hibernation Now?
By this point, I was getting pretty nervous about being outside with a bear hanging around, so I called the Conservation Officer. He came out to take a look and found some blood on the door, so Mr. Bear must have cut himself on the fence at some point.
The decision was made to bring in a trap and relocate him — but then it snowed, and Mr. Bear hasn’t been back since. Hopefully, he’s sleeping for the winter and won’t return in the spring.
I also learned that chicken feed is very high in protein and something bears absolutely love. I’m still surprised that he focused so much on getting into the pen to reach the feed can when, less than five feet away, there were three plastic garbage cans — one full of chicken scratch, one with laying pellets, and one with crumble.
According to the Conservation Officer, it was a busy year for bears. We saw signs everywhere at the off-grid property.
Happy Ducks and Chickens
A neighbor who lives a few miles away mentioned that he saw a grizzly bear. I’ve heard of the odd grizzly sighting in the area before, but they’re not usually around here — or at least, they weren’t.
While out hunting on Thanksgiving weekend, our daughter-in-law found what was left of a black bear just down beside our spring. Most likely, it was killed by a grizzly.
A pretty creepy reminder of just how wild this area really is.
Living in bear country means learning fast. We were lucky this time — very lucky. The chickens and ducks were unharmed, and the bear moved on before things ended badly. But it was a wake-up call about feed storage, fencing, and how quickly a curious bear can turn persistent.
Learn More
For information on bear-proofing your chicken coop, you may want to check out this post:
Bear Proofing the Chicken Coop
Disclosure: This content is for informational purposes only and reflects personal experience. Always evaluate safety and security solutions for your specific location. Some links may be affiliate links.
Updated Feb 2026
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