beewhisper1
Precision Fit
As you may have guessed, I'm a beekeeper. Have been for 30+ years. It's getting harder to do. I fight new menaces every year or so. This year at one of my Apiary's..........
Got Bears?
- Thread starter beewhisper1
- Start date
That's a bummer.
We have bears come through every now and then, we see their tracks in the dust or the snow, but so far they've steered clear, except one, who made a mess of my wife's hummingbird feeders. Surprisingly it didn't come back. We know folks upcountry whose bears are much more determined and knock down fencing to get at chickens, tear doors off of sheds with edible things inside, etc. Determined bears can be hard to stop.
Our challenge was keeping chickens. We lost a lot to foxes and coyotes but mainly to bobcats. We started out letting the hens run in the fenced yard, but the bobcat(s) would come into the yard, even with two or three dogs around, and be gone before anyone knew what happened, leaving a trail of feathers and a flock of frightened, cackling hens. Now the hens are in a big pen with 10-foot fencing that gets real wobbly at the top, and so far that's deterred the bobcat.
We have bears come through every now and then, we see their tracks in the dust or the snow, but so far they've steered clear, except one, who made a mess of my wife's hummingbird feeders. Surprisingly it didn't come back. We know folks upcountry whose bears are much more determined and knock down fencing to get at chickens, tear doors off of sheds with edible things inside, etc. Determined bears can be hard to stop.
Our challenge was keeping chickens. We lost a lot to foxes and coyotes but mainly to bobcats. We started out letting the hens run in the fenced yard, but the bobcat(s) would come into the yard, even with two or three dogs around, and be gone before anyone knew what happened, leaving a trail of feathers and a flock of frightened, cackling hens. Now the hens are in a big pen with 10-foot fencing that gets real wobbly at the top, and so far that's deterred the bobcat.
rocket
Well Oiled
My chicken coop has a double row of concrete blocks around the perimeter. The fist row is buried. 4x4 post with 2x6 rafters and corrugated metal roofing. The it's enclosed in one layer of chicken wire and then a layer of sheep tight welded wire. So far nothing has gotten in. Before the metal roof I was loosing chickens to hawks, foxes and bears. The last bear died of severe lead poisoning. I called Fish and Game the next morning and had them come and haul him away. He was still half in the coup climbing over the fence with a Silky in his mouth when he died.
beewhisper1
Precision Fit
Fore warned is fore armed, or at least it's my take on these new challenges to beekeeping. I went to a meeting of our area's largest bee club to get a replacement queen, relay what happened and left a group of Beek's (Beekeeper lingo for Bee Keeper) who were previously just trying to figure out Honey Bees. Now we get to think of Bears like we used to think of Coyotes. Critters they had out west but we didn't have that many. Now they are every where. The difference, and danger, is that folks are making Bears used to humans enough to make them (folks) take chances that gets the dog killed and them bite up trying to defend from a 250+ lb. black bear. Gardeners to follow suit as well. So far, there is no Bear Hunting season in Ct. Just for fun. Look at a google on Bears invading houses for food in New England. That'll get you a little closer to my wanting to get rifled slugs for a 12 ga.
Chet
Voluntown, Ct.
Chet
Voluntown, Ct.
Not sure if that fence was electric, it has most of the parts to be one.
The levels which you set the heights can make a big difference, at the Farm over at my FIL's, he has some cattle, sheep, and had goats. You need to figure out what your trying to keep in or out and figure out your height of the lines.
Also add up all your wire so you account for the total length, since they are usually good for a few miles of wire that's not usually an issue, but good to check if you have a really small controller. But I doubt that's an issue with these anymore.
If a sheep can get it's head under a line and it hits the back of their head they lunge forward through the fence. For the cattle your trying to hit their nose so they move back. Also mark the line so they can see it every so often.
Setting it back aways might help as well.
Have a good set up, isolators, wires, good twists to your mend of two lines.
I've seen that rope/wider tape for horses but never talked to anyone who has experience with that stuff, but it looks popular around here.
We had a bear rip the entire bottom step off the deck, there was a bees nest under the step in the ground, unfortunately for the bear there was just more wood under the step, but she was really determined. Once the step when flying I scared her off.
But even with all that the cattle and horses just run through it when spooked or after something. They really don't give a darn at times.
It's been really dry here last few weeks that also reduces the fences potential.
The levels which you set the heights can make a big difference, at the Farm over at my FIL's, he has some cattle, sheep, and had goats. You need to figure out what your trying to keep in or out and figure out your height of the lines.
Also add up all your wire so you account for the total length, since they are usually good for a few miles of wire that's not usually an issue, but good to check if you have a really small controller. But I doubt that's an issue with these anymore.
If a sheep can get it's head under a line and it hits the back of their head they lunge forward through the fence. For the cattle your trying to hit their nose so they move back. Also mark the line so they can see it every so often.
Setting it back aways might help as well.
Have a good set up, isolators, wires, good twists to your mend of two lines.
I've seen that rope/wider tape for horses but never talked to anyone who has experience with that stuff, but it looks popular around here.
We had a bear rip the entire bottom step off the deck, there was a bees nest under the step in the ground, unfortunately for the bear there was just more wood under the step, but she was really determined. Once the step when flying I scared her off.
But even with all that the cattle and horses just run through it when spooked or after something. They really don't give a darn at times.
It's been really dry here last few weeks that also reduces the fences potential.
beewhisper1
Precision Fit
It's electric now. Here, we're advised to use barbed wire to penetrate the fur vs the high tension wire designed for a horse or cow etc that noses up to the the wire. Bait the wire with peanut butter or a piece of bacon so he/she can get a taste of what's running in that wire. Cover the ground around the outside of the fence with a mat of chicken wire wired to the ground . Goal being to enhance the ground, to a four footed walker. When I worked in Virginia, our company runs Nuk plants on the East Coast, I was using electric fencing like I mentioned above, didn't think I'd have the problem in New England! Hell, we're liberals!
Chet
Black bears: think 250 lb raccoons. We can't leave anything out and have to set out the dumpster just before pickup. We gave up getting any apples or cherries. Those critters don't even wait for them to get ripe these days. Not sure it would be worth the effort to try and raise bees here. But they're so cute---
Taken from the back door.
Taken from the back door.
The Peninsula where we live has the highest concentration of black bears in the lower 48 (at least according to the DFW folks). They're everywhere! We don't even put out any bird feeders. When I worked at the General Store here in the village an older Lady came & wanted suggestions to keep a young male bear away from her patio sliding door. Seems he kept trying to pull the door open at night. We took some heavy corrugated box material, stuck probably 200 2 1/2" roofing nails thru it and duct-taped another layer of cardboard over the nail heads to hold the nails in. Next day the Lady came back in the store & told me the young fellow stood on the nail pad and tried the door again, the nails didn't even phase him. I know from experience here that even electrified barbed wire doesn't deter them. I use s high powered 22 pellet gun to run them out of the yard..I keep a 12 gauge with buckshot & slugs as backup. Les
But I bet that you guys don't have wild hogs rooting up your yards and fields. At the turn of the previous century Montgomery County Texas had more bears than any county in the U.S. and we killed them all off and what do we get for our trouble - PIGS!
I know 2 things, bear and hog meat taste great on my smoker and I use honey in my Bourbon BBQ Sauce.
Terry, if you need any help with those hogs...I'd be happy to help.
Terry, if you need any help with those hogs...I'd be happy to help.
Mebbe we need to organize a "Willys" hunting expedition.
I'm ALL in x10. My new thermal is itching to help put meat in the freezer.
mickeykelley
Well Oiled
The hogs are such a problem here in Texas that you are allowed to hunt 24/7/365 including from helicopters and no license required on private land, as I understand it. we actually had an idiot next door ( they were only there for 18 months) that actually brought in feral hogs to bow hunt.
mickeykelley
Well Oiled
That is so sweet of you to give them a nicely manicured back yard to play in. You should consider ap
ay gym for them too.
ay gym for them too.