Bear Proof Bird Feeder - Too Late In the Season for Concrete?

[BoylermanCT]

I want to build a bear proof bird feeder. We have a lot of black bears in the woods behind our property. I want a feeder tough enough that it can't be bent by a bear or knocked over or pulled out of the ground. I bought a 8' 2.5" threaded steel pipe, a 8' 2" threaded steel pipe and a connector joint that goes from 2.5" to 2". I will place a T at the top and 2' arms on either side of the pipe to hang the feeders from. I will refill the feeder by using a long pole with a hook to get the feeders down. I plan to dig down 3-4 feet and put in a 12" sonotube, put the 2.5" pipe in the center and fill it up with concrete.

I have this week off of work, and finally have time to do it. But is it too cold to do the concrete? Tonight it is going down to 29, tomorrow is 48/36, Tuesday is 53/35, Wednesday is 47/28, Thursday is 40/25, Friday is 42/24. No rain in forecast until Saturday. We have had 1 night at 32 so far, so the ground is nowhere near frozen. It was 55 yesterday, 42 today.



If I dig the hole tomorrow and do the concrete tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest, will it cure properly in this cool / cold weather? I'm thinking I may be OK since it is underground and the ground is warmer than the low temp each night. Looking for someone with concrete experience who can advise. Thanks!

 

[Jstpssng]

Cover it with Styrofoam to help keep the heat in. It will take longer to cure, but for your purposes it should be fine.
I once poured a slab in November, and finished the last pour just as the snowflakes started falling. The next morning it was covered with about 8" of snow which seemed to insulate it as after a couple of weeks it was hard. I started keeping it plowed off and parked on it all winter.
The following spring when things thawed out so did my slab, and that's when it finished curing.
Bears can be pretty tenacious in the spring time though, when they haven't eaten in 5 months. You might consider adding an electric fence to your plans.

 

[CalG]

Any cover will work to keep enough heat in. You don't need insulation at "near freezing" temps.

A tarp, plastic film, straw, black roofing paper etc. just cover the exposed surface. The exothermic process will supply it's own (sufficient) heat.

Stand water on top, if that ices solid , I was wrong...;-)

 

[Redlands Okie]

CalG has same idea I do

 

[Egon]

Consider running cable inside the pipe for raising/lowering the feeders.

 

[oosik]

I poured cement for a steel pole to support a satellite dish this time of year. Easy peasy - covered concrete with straw - about a foot deep and out about a foot beyond the pour onto the solid ground. It got down as low as 20F - the straw kept the concrete from freezing. Still out there in the side yard - a big 'ol bird house up on the pole now - old "C" band dish is long gone.

 

[Thomas]

That's good size bear in your pics,if I ..I would dig down least 4+ feet,come spring time frost coming out bear rocking on the feeder might give the feeder different look.
Also grease/anti size each thread in case you need to take a part.

 

[jfh28]

there are accelerators that you can add to the concrete mix to speed up the curing process.......I'm not crazy about using them as it will weaken the concrete a bit but in your case it's just a pole sitting in the ground.......personally I think you're fighting a losing battle as once a bear knows there is a source of food it will find a way to get it.....I think all your going to do is make it mad and you sure don't want a mad bear hanging around your place.......lol......we have the same problems with bears and what works is I wait for the hard freeze to set in usually by mid-december before I put out the bird feeders as by then the bears are hibernating.....I bring the feeders inside each night......I'll stop putting them out when it starts to warm up around end of march to mi-april as the bears will start to be moving around by then......a side benefit to doing this Is each morning I have a whole assortment of birds squawking and chirping waiting for me........lol......Jack

 

[BoylermanCT]

So I dug the hole down to 40", put in the sonotube and poured 300 lbs of concrete. I have the first piece of the bird feeder pole in the concrete being supported by 2x2's to keep it straight up. I checked my first pipe, and I have a 10 footer, not an 8 footer, so the feeders will be 2 feet higher than I initially reported. The bottom of the feeder will be at least 10 feet off the ground.



Its going to be sunny and 55 tomorrow and sunny and 49 on Wednesday and won't go below freezing until Thursday night. So hopefully the concrete will set during the next 3 days.

The bird feeder is inside a 4' high fence, and we won't put out any feeders until the winter hits, so hopefully the bears will be hibernating by then. I pull the feeders in every night as I don't want to attract bears. If a bear decides to climb the outer fence, I will consider adding a hot wire to the top of the chain link fence. FYI, the pics I posted of the bear climbing the fence is a 30" fence for our dogs. The 4' fence was not in when those pics were taken.

Thanks fort everyone's help on my concrete question.

 

[atsah]

Here is a quick solution, take the bird feeders in and let the birds eat what they should eat and what they have eaten for thousands of years and survived in doing so. Wild animals don't need humans that's for sure..

I have several bears a week that come through my place, if I had any kind of feed out there it would be a nightmare..

 

[Diggin It]

I pull the feeders in every night as I don't want to attract bears.

My FTFs don't exactly have the greatest table manners, so it seems like half the seed ends up on the ground where the rabbits, raccoons and whatever else have at it. Unless you plan on taking a shop-vac out there every night, there will be lots available for the creatures of the night

 

[BoylermanCT]

I know what you mean about the mess. I used to hang feeders from the roof eaves over the bilco doors. Made a mess and had seed shells on the stairs underneath the closed doors.

When the snow is here the feeders get hundred of birds a day plus the squirrels. I enjoy seeing the different species of birds. I've become a causal bird watcher, tracking all of the different types of birds that stop by.

 

[Pawatch]

I had a 2" heavy duty piece of top rail in the ground 2.5 feet for a bird feeder. Few years ago a bear come through and bent it right over. "Bird feeder got destroyed"
Then the bear got startled and it bolted right through 6' high solid PVC fence.

 

[aczlan]

My FTFs don't exactly have the greatest table manners, so it seems like half the seed ends up on the ground where the rabbits, raccoons and whatever else have at it. Unless you plan on taking a shop-vac out there every night, there will be lots available for the creatures of the night

One thing I heard was to not use mixed seeds, just use a single variety in each feeder, that way the birds will be less likely to throw the ones they dont want on the ground.

Aaron Z

 

[jfh28]

we attract a wide variety of winter birds and I find that the feed that is thrown on the ground by the picky birds is readily eaten by the ground eater birds that happily hang around under the feeders......and whatever is left at the end of the day is scarfed up by the squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits overnight.......very rarely is there anything on the ground when I rehang the feeders in the morning......I use a mix seed and also hang a no-melt suet block for the woodpeckers.......Jack

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I use a mixture of sunflower seed and chicken scratch in about a two or three to one ratio. I have a squirrel baffle on my feeder, so the squirrels get what falls on the ground, and we don't have bears so that's not a problem. The raccoons can get past t he baffle, but that's not a problem either. Between the turkeys and doves, the ground gets pretty well cleaned up. We get all kinds of birds, and it's never been a nuisance. My neighbor, however, is another story. She puts shelled corn on the ground and that attracts...believe it or not...Mallards, Canadian Geese, Crows, Turkeys...and worst of all...deer...who also like to graze on my tomatoes, Purple Hull Peas, sweet potato vines, flowers, etc.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I found out my bird feeder pole is also a well pump puller. My well died Thursday and I needed a pipe with handle to hook into the pitman connector to pull the pump out. My 6’ top section of the bird feeder pole screwed right in and was long enough to reach down 5’ to the well pipe. Two birds with one stone.

Replaced the well pump and threw the circuit breaker and nothing. Should have tested the wire. 240 v at the top, 0 at the bottom. Will replace 210 ft of 12 gauge wire tomorrow.

 

[mscheeer772]

here's my dads bear proof bird feeder. Spent 10-12 hrs making it.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

View attachment 576567View attachment 576568

here's my dads bear proof bird feeder. Spent 10-12 hrs making it.

Maybe "Bear Resistant" would be a better term?

 

[BoylermanCT]

Now that the well has been fixed, and I no longer need the well puller tool, I had time to mount it on the base pole and finish the bird feeder today. Should be ready for winter. The wooden pole leaning up against the feeder pole is 8' long and has a hook on the end so I can get to the feeders.