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Chelmsford man finds bear near coop

Chickens, duck were breakfast for predator

Bernie Ready began raising chickens at just 6 years old, when his father gave him his first one as a pet. His hobby has grown over the past 60-odd years and now includes a fenced-in coop, a multitude of the birds, and a desire to stay in his Chelmsford home so he can still raise chickens.

But after he woke to a gruesome scene in his backyard at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Ready’s chicken-raising days could be coming to an abrupt end.

“I went out in the morning, and I opened the door, and there were three chickens dead, three chickens and a duck,” said Ready, 69, who raises an occasional duck. “The door to the coop had been ripped right off its hinges. . . . I turned around, and there was a bear 40 feet away from me.”

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The bear, believed to be a black bear, has become a common sight around the town and surrounding areas, said Chelmsford police Sergeant Frank Goode.

“At this point, people are pretty much used to it,” Goode said. “It’s been all over this area. . . . [Ready] is very upset, but for the most part, people aren’t really fazed by it.”

Goode said he was not sure whether the bear was alone or if there were more.

Deputy Police Chief James Spinney said the bear was seen again Thursday on Delwood Road, so either there are several nearby or “this guy is all over the place.”

But both Goode and Spinney said residents are only a little concerned because the animals tend to stay in the woods and bordering backyards and had never approached people or killed pets before Wednesday.

Ready disagreed.

“I think they’re dangerous animals, and people always tend to be on the side of the bear,” Ready said, adding that police told him he might have been in trouble if he had tried to shoot the creature. “But let’s be real, they belong in national forests somewhere, not in [Chelmsford].”

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For some Chelmsford parents, like 37-year-old Ameena Langford, the bear poses a threat.

“It is concerning,” said Langford, who has not seen the bear but said it has been spotted on her street, where she is raising a 10-year-old and a 6-year-old. “You never know with wild animals what they’re going to do. . . . With small children, you don’t want to take any chances.”

Langford said her younger children (she also has a 19-year-old) are not allowed outside without parental supervision. Neither is her small dog.

“We don’t tell them why,” she said. “I don’t want to scare them.”

Still, Langford said she is, as Ready might put it, on the bear’s side.

“My theory is, this is their land,” she said, referring to the town’s relative newness. “They’re just looking for food. It’s not their fault, it’s just instinct.”

For his part, Ready has since taken the rest of his chickens to a friend’s in Westford for safekeeping, but said he does not know what is next.

“We’re kind of devastated, heartbroken,’’ Ready said, speaking for himself and his wife, Carol. “This is a great flock of chickens,” Ready said.

He added: “I’m out of the chicken business now. I’ve secured my yard against a fox, a raccoon . . . but you just can’t secure against a bear.”

All that remains of Bernie Ready’s chickens.Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff

Kiera Blessing can be reached at kiera.blessing@globe.com.

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