daj198 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 One of my hens was killed last month and I thought it was a neighbour's dog as I'd seen it in the garden before showing interest in the chickens (it was a terrier) and she had not been eaten- just biten on the neck. But today I've seen a badger in the garden, twice, and I wonder if it could have been a badger. Has anyone heard of badger attacks on hens? If so, how can I keep it out? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meezers Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Someone on another forum reported a badger breaking into their coop, they are so much stronger than foxes I suppose the usual mesh/wood constructions wouldn't stop them. I'm sure a badger would kill a chook if it had chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Lucky I have an eglu! Otherwise they might have all been killed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylay30 Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I was on a website a while ago. Sorry cant remember which one and he had a list of chickens that had been killed by badgers. In fact the number of badger kills was far higher than fox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2hec Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Hi, Sorry to hear about you losing your feathered friend. My friend recently had a badger kill her only remaining chicken (she still has ducks). Seems it's not uncommon. She wasn't even aware there was a badger in the vicinity - and it turned out to be living under her decking!! Reading the forum makes you realise just how difficult life can be for chooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Thanks guys. I never really thought of a badger as a threat- I've never seen one before now! We always seem to concentrate on foxes and forget that there are lots of other predators too. I heard of a chicken being attacked by a bird of prey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I've read that badgers steal the eggs...but they are powerful creatures with strong jaws so I can easily imagine that they might kill a chicken. There is some general info **here** about badgers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleur Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 badgers have killed my mother's chickens on several occasions, once even chewing its way into the henhouse to get at them. she is always fairly pleased to see a roadkill badger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I know im likely to get shot down in flames,but i fully support the proposed Badger cull which is currently being debated by DEFRA.Since being given legal protection in the early 70's-their numbers round here have dramatically increased,but the problem is they dont have a natural predator to control their number. and now i will duck for cover! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleur Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 i agree with you Stevie, they need to be culled to keep numbers under control, it's just like what happens with deer,but people arent up in arms about the deer cull! (maybe it's because the deer are eaten afterwards) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pudding hill Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Badgers also kill many lambs at this time of year. They decapitate them and leave the corpse in the field. I have lost three like that so far this spring. They have culled them extensively within a certain area of the west country as an experiment relating to bovine TB and a more extensive cull is being asked for. There has been a population explosion. Twenty years ago a road kill badger was a rare site and no they are seen with regularity. With excessive populations there is obviously a pressure on food resources.....hence they are feeding on chickens and lambs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Paula from Paula's Poultry in Jedburgh had a whole pen of chooks killed when a badger broke in. Yes they are a real threat alongside foxes and birds of prey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big H Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 I've lost a cock and three hens to a badger that now comes into our garden every night. It actually broke through a stock fence and smashed through the floor of the chicken coop. I have it on camera returning to take the remaining dead hen the following night. We live on Gowerin South Wales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
