A blow for justice

A few weeks ago, as I was letting the girls out in the morning, I saw that their feeder had been ripped from its mountings. Never a good sign, but I was running on only one cup of coffee, so my reaction was muted. “Huh.”

Then I saw the large hole that had been torn in the side of their run. (This is hardware cloth, by the way. Not delicate stuff.) I called Anna over for a second pair of eyes, and as I was examining the damage, I heard her say, “Um… Look at that.”

I turned my head and was greeted by the sight of a still-steaming bear turd.

The bear took a huge crap in our coop.

IN. OUR. COOP.

The girls were fine, and the repair and cleanup didn’t take too long. But, sheesh… hard not to take it personally.

Needless to say, some coop defense soul-searching followed.

Here’s the thing: the coop has been up and running with tenants for about five years. Bears have probed the perimeter but never made it in—I’ve had to make small repairs a couple times. I’ve had this nagging feeling for a while that I should electrify the perimeter, that a determined ursine visitor could get in otherwise. But I never took the time to do it. Seeing that steaming bear turd inside the perimeter shamed me. Had my laziness endangered the girls?

And the bears have been crazy this year. A beekeeper buddy of mine who knows and talks with a lot of folks said the same thing. The black bear population is large, growing, and problematic.

So, it was time to get off my ass.

At this point I’ve had to set up several of these things, so it went fast once I returned from Tractor Supply with the gear. As Anna and I looked at it at the end of the day, I felt that familiar ambivalence settle over me. Dude. That was a ton of work. I hope it gets used. And, Dude. I hope the big bastards don’t come back.

Well… it didn’t take long. I’ll let the video do the talking. I’ll just say, justice was served.