The Poultry Keeper

Old Man of the 80's · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 308 Location: Wittering, UK

How can we legally get rid of/deter them.

They are lovely creatures I know, and they aren't doing anything wrong, just what they do naturally.

We've got at least one on the allotments and last night was my turn to lose chickens to it.

A few carrots and spuds people can deal with losing, but in the past six months or so, it's broken into 4 different runs and had six chickens along with at least two pet rabbits.

It is a badger as it's been seen eating the remains of a chicken on someones front lawn, and when it gets in, it just takes one (or in my case last night, two).

We are applying to DEFRA to have the set moved, but we probably won't get an answer before the Olympics, so any tips on how to keep them away will be greatly appreciated.

Itsybitsy · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 1443 Location: Leicestershire

Electric fence? round the chicken huts. I don't know if it would work or not, but you're welcome to borrow some of mine to try.

Itsybitsy

Old Man of the 80's · Joined: 22 Apr 2006 Posts: 308 Location: Wittering, UK

Hmmm, not a bad idea. I might have a good think about that. Chickens are being reduced at the moment to make way for a few ducks early next year. They're going to be treated to proper weld mesh fencing so nothing will get through this time!

Bradders · Joined: 13 Aug 2007 Posts: 970 Location: Cambridgeshire

Hi Old man of the 80s
I know there lovely creatures and all that but because of he flaming badgers one of ou cows has done down with TB. Sad

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1721 Location: Clawddnewydd

Yeah and I've got a dead ewe with her insides ripped out this morning courtesy of our resident badgers Evil or Very Mad

CP · Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 11:04 am Post subject:

Badger wouldn't have killed the ewe though, would it? Confused

I realise they'd scavenge the dead meat but to actually kill something the size of a sheep....! Shocked

Bradders · Joined: 13 Aug 2007 Posts: 970 Location: Cambridgeshire

Hi Bronskibeat
A fox could have killed the ewe and a badger could have ripped it's guts out not very nice Crying or Very sad

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1721 Location: Clawddnewydd

I think the ewe had already died when she was eaten. I had moved the barren ewes on to the field with the set in it last evening and sometimes this will provoke a sudden death in the sheep Rolling Eyes

However, a badger attacked a good show lamb last year and took her ear off whilst trying to pull her through the gate of the paddock. It didnt manage to get her through the gate so turned its attention to a pair of cade Kerry lambs asleep under a tree. It killed one of them and there was a trail of blood, wool and flesh across the field and you could quite clearly see where the lamb had struggled before it died. These were not small lambs, but lambs of 4 months old. I know it was a badger because Dad scared it off when he was letting the chickens out of their run. I had fed the show sheep and lambs and done my morning check on all the sheep at 9am and all was well. Dad was letting the chickens out at 10am on his way around the fields with the dogs when he saw the badger with the lamb. I would be blimmin unlucky to have had a fox attack my sheep and it be followed around by a badger in the space of under an hour in broad daylight on a Saturday morning...... We have a set on the farm and in it are red and white, yes red badgers, instead of the usual black and white ones. One was killed on the road not so long ago and everyone was talking about the colour of it. We often see them out and about during the day and they come into the polytunnel fields at night. This lambing time, one got into the top polytunnel and freaked the ewes out so much that they burst out the back of the tunnel shredding the plastic gates Twisted Evil

I love to see the badgers but they are a ****** nuisance. The gamekeepers next door do night shoots for foxes and they said they regularly see the red badgers on our land. They come in to the garden as well and that really hacks the dogs off and they chase them round and round the yards until I manage to call them off. Last thing I want is a dog injured by a badger (or the badger injured!!) Its the price we pay for living in the country along side these animals and although it is awful to lose stock in that way, I suppose it is nature and have to accept it. As I said, I do like badgers but I know they are a real problem in parts of the country, especially with TB. We are lucky in that ours are clean and if they were to go, we may well end up with TB carriers which would cause misery in the area as apart from us, everyone else are dairy farmers around here.

Spana · Joined: 30 Apr 2005 Posts: 2240 Location: North Cornwall

Sparklepeeps · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1960 Location: Cheshire

Red Badgers! Shocked

I have done a google search, as I dint know anything about RED badgers. Are these red badgers? Or have they just been rolling around in red mud?

or

two thirds down the page of this link

What part of Cheshire are you in?

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1721 Location: Clawddnewydd

Hi sparklepeeps,

I'm near Crewe and they are a reddish and white, I assume they are a recessive or "albino" type. The reddish colour is in place of the black stripes but it is not as clear as the black stripes. Only the tips of the fur are red so it gives a sort of sable effect. I couldnt believe what I was seeing when I first saw them (and it makes me feel better knowing others have seen them too and it wasnt that extra glass of wine after all Wink

) Its actually quite pretty really, when I'm not furious with the mess they make in the fields etc Rolling Eyes

I couldnt see the first couple of pictures but could see the link and no, mine are a lot paler than that. The main part of their coat is much paler than normal and the black is replaced by a reddy coloured tip to the fur. Think of the red panda as opposed to the usual black and white one but these badgers are much paler than the red panda. i thought that it was just the sandy soil colouring but when one was run over it definately had reddy stripes Cool

Sparklepeeps · Joined: 17 Jan 2007 Posts: 1960 Location: Cheshire

Wow, I would love to see that they sound so intriging!

bronskibeat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 1721 Location: Clawddnewydd

If I manage to see the little b****** out and about during the day and one is there and I have my camera, I'll endevour to get you a picture Wink

After all, I've got nothing else to do now I'm stuck here with my sheep Rolling Eyes

Duckie · Joined: 24 Sep 2007 Posts: 201

well it probably isn't any help to anyone loosing birds or sheep to them, but I read somewhere that if a badger is digging up your garden then if you grate smelly soap in its favourite bits it will stop it. Tried it a week ago and we have no new scrapes, although the garden stinks of carbolic now Rolling Eyes

I'm not sure if it was the soap of just that its suddenly turned quite wintry here and they might have slowed down naturally. Its cheap enough to be worth a try though if its just a small area you have a problem with, and perhaps soap around a run would deter them? They rely so much on smell I guess its really unpleasant for them.

CP · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:30 am Post subject:

If it's the smell they hate you could try other things too.

How about moth balls, or Jeyes fluid?

I wonder if this is a tried & tested anti-badger thing - has anyone done it before & had results? Confused