Bears are opportunistic predators; if they come across an animal that isn’t too hard to kill, they’ll attack and consume it.
So, do bears attack chickens? Indeed they do. Even a cute little cub will sink its teeth into a chicken if given the opportunity.
If you’re a poultry farmer living in bear country, you’re therefore going to have to take steps to ensure your chickens are safe from these voracious hunters. After all, these birds are easy prey thanks to their relative slowness, poor flight capability, and lack of defensive measures against predatory assaults. Not to mention bears are smart and strong enough to break into flimsy enclosures!
Keep reading to know more about why bears attack chickens, and what you can do to prevent your flock from getting utterly destroyed by these ferocious beasts.
The Bear’s Eating Habits: Why Bears Attack Chickens
Before we discuss why a bear would attack chickens, we must first understand its eating habits.
Bears are omnivores – they eat both plants and animals. Below are some of the foods bears commonly feed on in the wild:
- Berries
- Fish
- Grass
- Insects (including larvae)
- Roots
- Succulent plants
Bears enjoy meat, so they also frequently consume larger creatures, such as:
- Deer
- Elk
- Moose
Because the adults of these wild animals are faster and more adept at defending themselves, bears prey on them less often, tending to go after their young, instead.
Why do bears attack chickens?
It’s obvious from the two lists above that bears don’t normally hunt down chickens. As we mentioned previously, however, these gigantic mammals are also opportunistic.
Therefore, while a bear won’t specifically seek domestic chickens as its primary food source, it will attack and devour any of these birds if:
- It’s hungry enough
- Its main food sources are unavailable or not easily accessible
- The chickens are easily accessible
Long story short, bears attack chickens to eat them. In fact, if the opportunity presents itself, bears will feast on any type of livestock, including sheep and goats.
This is why bear attacks on chickens and other types of livestock are more common during the winter months when their favorite edibles are scarce. Once the weather is warmer, bears focus on plentiful foods such as berries.
Are chickens always in danger from bears?
Sure, bears are fearsome creatures that can annihilate an entire peep of chickens within seconds. Thankfully, no, our feathered friends aren’t in constant danger of being mauled to death by these massive brutes.
Bears aren’t as aggressive as most people believe. They’re actually quite shy, tending to stay away from humans and human settlements. They don’t particularly enjoy exploring busy towns and usually only end up in such places by accident. As long as we stay away from these animals (especially when they’re hungry) and leave their dens and cubs alone, they pose little threat to us and our pets.
These giants are also solitary by nature. They don’t hunt in packs like wolves do, so you don’t have to worry about them working together to dismantle your fence.
Last but not least, bears are diurnal – they’re most active when the sun is still up. This means that if one does decide to attack your chickens, it will do so during the day when you’re still awake and capable of defending what’s yours.
Do chickens attract bears?
Keeping poultry can be attractive to predators. However, it’s not the chickens per se that are responsible for luring bears to your property but the various smells associated with them.
Bears have a sense of smell that’s even more powerful than a dog’s, allowing them to sniff out various scents from miles away. This means that if you don’t clean up after your poultry and leave their chicken feed, leftovers, and poop out in the open, a bear’s going to detect all those aromas and be drawn to your place as it searches for something to munch on. Even the stench of your poultry’s unclean bedding and your own garbage can encourage a bear to pay you a visit.
Of course, a shy bear won’t approach human civilization – unless it’s starving. A bear emboldened by desperation may force its way into your yard and attack your chicken coop. Fortunately, there are many ways you can keep your poultry safe from bear attacks. Which brings us to…
Tips on How to Keep Your Chickens Safe from Bears
To ensure the safety of your chickens, you should take steps to deter bear attacks. You can learn how to do this by checking out our quick guide below!
Clean your property
As stated in the previous section, bears have an incredible sense of smell. So if you don’t want one of these beasts coming to your place, eliminate any smells that it may find attractive.
First things first, keep your chickens’ coop clean. Get rid of their poop immediately and regularly remove their eggs. Don’t leave any leftover chicken feed out in the open and store their food in a barn, garage, or any other secure place that can conceal their scent from the bear’s sharp nose.
Also, regularly empty your trash and garbage cans and keep them enclosed. Similarly, keep your compost pile inside an enclosure that’s as far away as possible from your chickens.
Keep your yard and the rest of your property free of trash and debris. Anything that smells like food or has bits of food on it – such as a barbecue grill – should be cleaned thoroughly (consider using ammonia to mask the scent of meat), then locked inside a secure storage space.
In addition, don’t leave any pet food lying around.
Remove beehives
Bears adore honey and are thus attracted to beehives. For this reason, ensure there aren’t any beehives near your chickens or your property for that matter. With no beehives nearby, bears will have no reason to visit you, further reducing the risk of them discovering your poultry.
Mind those fruits!
Bears eat a lot of berries and other fruits, so if there are some on your property, they may end up luring these creatures to your home.
If you have any fruit trees, pick the fruits and store them somewhere secure as soon as you can. Don’t let them drop to the ground and rot.
Scare bears away
One of the best ways to discourage bear visits is to scare these animals away.
Install some motion-sensitive lights in your yard. These will startle bears the moment they come too close to your property, encouraging them to back off.
Of course, you can also scare bears away by making loud noises yourself. For example, you can bang two trash can lids together or scream into a bullhorn until the bear moves away. Just make sure you’re in a safe, secure place as you do this; never, ever approach a bear or stay in a position that it can access. So if you’re going to make some noise, do so from inside your house or on a rooftop.
Install an electric fence
Bears may be big and strong, but that doesn’t mean they’re immune to electric shocks. For this reason, one of the best ways to prevent bear attacks is by installing an electric fence around the chicken coop. One touch is all it takes to make any predator realize it’s better off staying away from your poultry.
Don’t worry, an electric fence won’t kill a bear or even a human. When properly constructed, all it will do is startle the bear and make it experience mild discomfort – both of which are enough to discourage it from attacking your chickens.
Tips on How to Survive a Bear Attack
Let’s say you’re in your yard minding your own business when a bear suddenly appears and climbs over your fence. How do you protect your chickens from a bear attack? Scratch that – how do you protect yourself?
As difficult as it is to believe, you can survive a bear attack. Read on to find out how!
1. Go inside your house and call for help
If you’re close enough to a door that will let you inside your house or any other building, use it as soon as possible, then lock it behind you. Stay inside the building so that there’s a barrier between you and the bear. Close and lock other doors and windows the bear could climb into.
While you’re safe and secure, call your local animal control and/or authorities. Listen to whatever they tell you, and leave the rest up to them.
2. Use bear pepper spray
Is the door leading into your house too far? Then it may not be a good idea to run (more on this further below) to it. Therefore, your best option is to stand your ground and use bear pepper spray.
If you live in a region that’s home to bears, make sure you always have bear pepper spray on your person. This is your first line of defense against these creatures.
EPA-approved bear pepper spray is designed to stop an aggressive bear. Aim for the charging or attacking creature’s face, then spray away. While the bear is incapacitated, make a hasty retreat into your house or any other secure place.
If you don’t have pepper spray, you’ll have to employ survival techniques, which brings us to:
3. Use the correct defensive strategies
Successfully defending yourself from a bear attack entails using the correct survival strategy – and the strategy you employ depends on the bear species that’s attacking you.
Brown/grizzly bear:
Is a brown or grizzly bear attacking you? Don’t flee, as it’ll just give chase. Instead, drop to the ground, curl up in a fetal position, and use both hands to cover the back of your neck. Alternatively, you can lie on your stomach while spreading your legs wide and also clasping both hands behind your neck. The bear will try turning you over, but these positions will prevent them from succeeding.
Eventually, the bear will lose interest and go away. Only once the bear is no longer in sight should you rise to your feet and escape.
Black bear:
Running away from a charging or attacking black bear is a bad idea, but so is playing dead. What you should do instead is to find somewhere to hide, such as a car or a building. Don’t climb a tree as black bears are great climbers.
Is no hiding place available? Then stand your ground while making a racket; this will make you appear threatening, which can convince the beast back off and leave you alone.
4. Fight back if the bear wants to eat you
A bear that wants to devour you will stalk you and try to break into your hiding place. It won’t leave you alone if you play dead, and it’ll definitely give chase if you flee.
The only thing you can do is stand and fight with everything you’ve got. Try to find any object you can use as a weapon and focus your strikes on the bear’s snout, eyes, and face. Heck, pick up some chickens and eggs and throw them at the bear if you have to. Do your best to dodge its claws, as a single strike can be deadly. And of course, never, ever let it bite you, as bears have a ridiculously powerful bite that can easily crush bones and rend flesh.
Showing a bear that you’re willing to fight to the death can convince it to give up and retreat. Once it’s gone, find somewhere safe and secure to hide, then call the authorities.
Conclusion
Bears attack chickens to consume them. However, it’s rare for a bear to go out of its way to prey on chickens, as these birds aren’t their primary food source. This creature will only kill and devour chickens if its favorite foods are unavailable or inaccessible, its starvation is making it desperate, and/or the chickens are readily available.
With that said, you should take measures to prevent bears from attacking your poultry. So keep your property as clean as possible, remove any beehives and fruits within the vicinity, and use bear deterrents such as motion-sensing lights and an electric fence.
Lastly, familiarize yourself with the various ways you can fend off an aggressive bear. This will increase your chances of surviving in the event a bear decides to attack you rather than your chickens.