[Ian Findlay]

Hi Mary.

I would love to have my chickens and badgers live in harmony, I'm actually quite chuffed to have a badger in my garden but if it's that's caused the havoc I need to sort it somehow! I just need to get absolute confirmation of what I am sure is the culprit and then maybe invest in electric fencing round the chickens and hopefully I can enjoy both animals!

Ian

[Mickle]

Hello Ian
I've no idea how to post videos in here maybe Joyful can help.

I have honestly never heard of Badgers attacking fowl and I had a Badger sett within 150 yds of 3 release pens with over 5000 birds in them, these pens had entrance tunnels to enable Pheasant poults to gain access back  into the pen (should they wish to)after flying out and it would have been a piece of cake for a badger to gain entry if it had wanted,
There was always evidence of them close by digging Bluebell bulbs etc but never more than that.
Just shows how rare this behaviour is.
Definitely keep us posted please
Mick

[ANHBUC]

Sorry you lost some of your hens to a predator Ian.  It is an interesting post.  Which area do you live and is it an area that will have a hosepipe ban due to the lack of rain?  This might explain the unusual behavour of the badger.

[Tony H]

Hi iv never herd of badgers attacing chucks either but its the same as foxes they are getting more used to us and ar loosing a lot of there natural fear  because we feed them and unfortuanatly we are all paying the price its the same as the mink that were all releiced in the name of cruelty they are now desimating our wildlife, im not saying that mink farms were right but should have been handled differently, I have someone down the road who feeds foxes and we have noticed that they are getting bigger and walk around duing the day without a care in the world 

[Ian Findlay]

Hi folks. Thanks for the comments. I live about a mile from the Moray Firth coast and the Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve where upwards of 50 000 geese and quite a few thousand swans spend winter. It's about half way between Peterhead and Fraserburgh. There is no hosepipe ban here, I think the last one was in 1976!

I haven't had time to watch the video I took last night but it appears I had no visitors!! Typical!! I cleared everything away from round the henhouse and run last night and filled in the old rat holes. There has been no new disturbance. I'll keep trying though and maybe try to stay awake through the night tomorrow night to see if I can get absolute proof of what seems an extremely rare event.

Thanks again for your interest, I'll keep you posted.

Ian

[joyfull]

if you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will find that it isn't usual but certainly can happen:-

http://www.badgerland.co.uk/animals/food/deadmeat.html

[ANHBUC]

if you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will find that it isn't usual but certainly can happen:-

http://www.badgerland.co.uk/animals/food/deadmeat.html

Very interesting link joyfull.  Good job we don't have badgers as our old cat has and probably never will back down from anything!   

[Ian Findlay]

Thanks for the link Joyfull, it's very interesting. I'll be reinforcing all I can and supplementing with electric fencing I think.

[Ian Findlay]

Update

I've been told by a local farmer that it is likely the badger has been visiting me for a while but has never bothered the chickens before as they were off the ground and out of easy reach of him/her.  Also, the hens I had originally are probably too big for it to go for.  However, the three new ones being small bantams would be more at risk and with two of them roosting on the floor too good to be true for it.  Badgers are opportunistic and he/she took it!  Up to now, the badger has probably been taking the hen food (corn and layers pellets) which makes sense as occasionally the feed hopped inside the hen house has been tipped over and the grain scattered.  The droppings were full of corn husks!

My job for this weekend will be to reinforce the walls of the hen house and secure the doors and pop hole more as once brock has a taste for chicken it is more likely to be on the lookout for more and can rip less sturdy houses badly to get in (as the link Joyfull put on advised also).

[Ian Findlay]

9.45pm tonight. Our dogs started barking and on going to check, there was a badger literally at my back door!! It was not fazed at all and stood looking at me while the dogs, 2 collies, cowered behind me. I tried to grab my phone to get a photo but it ambled off into a darker part of the garden. The dogs ran out, sniffed around and came right back in!! There was no evidence of it trying to get at the chickens but I definitely think I have the culprit!!

[Tony H]

unfortuanatly thers not alot you can do about badgers because they are  protectrd  many farmers around here are at wits end with them, many have lost land as they build there dens and they are also protected and the poor farmer cant even operate his machinery near them 

[Mickle]

Probably waiting for you to put the household waste out 

For all you wannabe country folk

Badgers:-
They live in SETTS
They are referred to as Boar,Sow,cubs and their colony is known as a clan.

Foxes
Live in Dens
Are referred to as Dog,Vixen, Kit/kittens, cub or pup
Collectively know as Vermin
Latin name ERADICATUS ASAP

Here endeth the lesson from
Grumpius painerus inthe  arserus

[Ian Findlay]

Oops Mick, grumpy this morning!! Haha. I've always lived either in the country or in very small villages. I had rarely even seen a badger cross the road before this one started coming to my garden!! It was a huge surprise to find I possibly had one to glimpsing it jumping the garden wall to it standing on my back doorstep all in the space of 5 days!!! It probably was looking for food as sometimes I put fruit and veg for the compost bin in a metal bucket and leave it outside for emptying next day. It's not been touched before. At least it did not harm the chickens last night!!

[Mickle]

Hello Ian
I am still not convinced you have the killer in that Badger, these things have the necessary equipment to get through most fences including weld-mesh, it does sound as though he has been visiting quite frequently and has probably seen you a few times.
Be a pal and put some peanuts and peanut butter sandwiches out for him, they much prefer that to chicken.

Unless that is it has been visiting the local Thai restaurant and has developed a taste for Satay sauce that accompanies you know what quite well

[Ian Findlay]

Haha Mick. I will try to strike a balance, but satay and you know what.....no way, I love that!! Hate peanut butter though so he/she might just get some sometime!! Lol. Now that I think my chickens are safer from Brock, Foxy, Minky, or even Mr/Mrs Otter, I need to turn my attention to my tatties and other veg I'm planting this year for the first time here!! It never ends!! Ah well, variety is the spice of life so they say!! Had a few vinos tonight (in case I'm not making much sense!!!!!)