young badger

[myraandjim]

went out to check the chicken coops for eggs this evening, opened the hatch of one and there sat a young badger in the nest box! Must admit I don't like badgers and don't want them around my poultry but it was quite cute, still trying to figure out how it got in there .

[ilove2patch]

A badger got into a friends chickens last week & was 'ejected' just in time. One poor hen was savaged & the rest are still in shock.

[stan3502]

We have a set in the back field and they don't bother us and we leave them in peace but then again I don't have chooks and they are well out of our way for day to day activities

[myraandjim]

so glad you said that - a few years ago a badger killed 7 of my tame ones, but nobody would believe me that a badger would do that, most people think they are nice cute little animals not ruthless killers. Must admit this one was quite sweet and not very old, but will have to scrub the coop out now as the stink of it is lingering. Fortunately I let all the birds out during the day to wander free and they just go back to the coops at night, otherwise it could have been nasty. I know there is a sett quite close to us so just hope that no others find their way into the garden.

[chickengrandma-2008]

These things are often quite cute, badgers, foxes, but they all need to eat and if they see an easy meal they'll take advantage.  You can't blame them.  But on the other side of the coin, if you're an animal that has no escape, such as a chicken in a run, you're at a great disadvantage.

They were all 'awwing' over an injured crow in a knitted nest on face book. Unfortunately hubby had to shoot one today because they were after these.

One day the badger wins and another day the duckling wins.

 

[stan3502]

Poor Dudley (the cat) was had by a fox as decided to have a poke around down the wrong hole , £400 later I think he learnt his lesson but by goodness I pity anything taking on a vixen protecting her cubs

[saasher2012]

Take it from me Badgers can & will kill anything that crosses their path if they are in the mood , they will kill lambs if they stumble across them & you can always tell it's a Badger as they eat them from the backside up. I wonder if your cub was after the eggs?

[rose2008-2008]

They can be vicsious things and can give a nasty bite with those ultra strong jaws!!!. Be careful. I bet it was a cutie if it was a babby awwwww. Ohhh Brock Badger.

[myraandjim]

yes, I would say it was almost certainly after the eggs, I don't mind them having the odd egg - the crows that are nesting in the pine trees come down and pinch one each day, and that's fair enough, we all have to eat! The thing with the badgers is the last attack was just wanton savagery, at least a fox takes the kill to eat, the badger just ripped my birds apart and left them (ate the heads). I realise that liveing in a rural setting we are going to have a few problems but sleeping in a nest box was a bit of a liberty!! I believe that we have no right to kill anything and sometimes think that the wildlife take advantage of this!

[saasher2012]

I hate to burst your bubble but the fox is one of the worst killers in a hen house it will kill everything & leave it there for you to find,
The Badger killed your chucks & bit the heads off cos they startled it ,it was a defensive rather than a food kill .or you disturbed it before it could eat it.
Animals will take what is easy to get at & kill & yes they take advantage but only because we haven't made our chucks fox & badger proof!.

[myraandjim]

I do understand about kills and need for food etc. was a hard lesson to learn when I first left the town and came here! The badger attack that we had a few years ago was plain savagery, it actually ripped the door off the coop to get to the birds, I think there was something strange about that particular badger as it was in the garden a few nights later and went out of it's way to go for my OH. A few weeks later it was dead on the road about 3/4 mile from our house which was sad but it wasn't the usual timid wild animal so I wondered if it was brain damaged or something. When I first came here I was amazed at how many are killed on the road, now I suspect that they are not all road kill. I hate to see anything killed (especially my chooks) and although we are on a minor road there seems to be so much that is hit by cars - the roe deer last year was heartbreaking. 

[saasher2012]

Yes in that case it probably was an old one turned away from the set or Ill or it could have been injured on the road , either way a Badger should never be approached they can cause serious injury to you or anything else it feels threatened by, the proof you've already experienced in it's strength in ripping the door open.
I'm afraid death & injury on the road is unavoidable nowadays it's something you just have to accept however unpleasant. Life & death go hand in hand in the countryside, enjoy it but do so with open eyes.

[aernethril]

alert - some may feel the next bit is worth skipping - will put it in the spoiler so you don't have to read anything gruesome if you don't feel like it.

Spoiler

I didn't realise until around a couple of years ago that badgers eat hedgehogs and apparently they do it by upending them in a dip in the ground, and ripping out the insides.

The noise is as awful as it could be as the poor hedgehogs are eaten alive.

[carolyorkie2010]

I wish I hadn't read the Spoiler! My own fault Never knew Badgers did that though, poor hogs.

[saasher2012]

Badgers are like Foxes opportunistic killers ,having said that the countryside would be a sadder place without them in it.
Mr Brock is a beautiful , shy, amusing, sight at night often heard before being seen because of his snuffling .

[bankhaunter]

Like it or not, nature red in tooth and claw.

[saasher2012]

Indeed & I'm reminded that our sweet mr fox also uses the same method to kill a hedge pig!.. & I don't hear anyone running to the defence of the rat when he becomes the Badger or Foxes next victim! lol.

[rose2008-2008]

Countryside animals are lovely. I really love to hear a Foxes Bark on a Winters Night,,a bit spooky but very atmospheric