penelope Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Hi there We have had a new badger set started up right behind my house in a little copse. A while ago something made a hole in my fence so i put a large heavy barrier in the way & there had been no signs of them coming back in to my garden. Last night at about 3am we were woken up my a fence pannel beibg ripped apart!! I was really thrilled to see a badger in my garden but horrified as well. They are really partial to eating hedgehogs and I no longer have visiting hogs to my feeding station in the garden. This is even more upsetting when they have been hand raised & poorly ones that I have returned to the wild. As a veterinary nurse I am on the register as a hedgehog care person but have had to refuse any more because of the badgers. My big problem is the worry of how safe my tortoise & young chickies will be. The tortoise has free run of the greenhouse where she lives with her lamps etc. The door is shut over night but if a badger can eat through a fence I am sure a bit of glass wont bother it. I love the thought of being able to badger watch from my window but not in my garden!! Has any one had a problem with badgers killing young chickens? Mine ( hatching has started today) will be in the brooder & then eventually in an eglu & run when they are old enough. I know they will be locked up at night but I just wondered if any one has had a problem with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckingmad Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 ooh, badgers! Love them, just not near my girls... badgers will kill chooks and chicks alike if they can get hold of them, I doubt they can bite through the weld mesh on an eglu run however not sure how badger-proof the eglu is... And want piccies of chicks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 I have a friend whose chickens were all killed by badgers. It was during a drought though when they were obviously short of food. Seeing the damage that a dog can make to a tortoise's shell they could hurt your tortoise although it is less likely that they will hurt him - depends how desperate they are though. They are so very strong they can blunder, dig and bite their way through many things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelope Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 I have decided to go out & buy some electric fencing to put along where the hole is. The reason i rescued the tortoise 21 years ago is that she had been dug up by a dog & chewed, it ate away most of her shell at the front to the bone & has taken 15 years for it to regrow & cover over. 1 chick has hatched & 2 more on the way & I am certainly not allowing the badger in my garden, even if I have to sit up all night babging a tea tray & throwing water bombs to make my garden very scarey & dangerous !! Electric fence seems to be the easier option! Back to baby watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester_H Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Good for you. I too have rehomed Hedgies - most ran off (which is fine) but a couple have stayed and eat food most nights - they're great little chaps!There are no badgers near me (which is good from this point of view) H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluckingmad Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 go, babies!! Have a wonderful mental image of you standing by the hole in the fence with a tea tray, ready to whack any badgers that stick their heads through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 go, babies!!Have a wonderful mental image of you standing by the hole in the fence with a tea tray, ready to whack any badgers that stick their heads through One bemused Brock And unimpressed neighbours I'd have thought We don't have badgers round here as far as I know, though I did see a young one had been hit about a mile away as the crow flies Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
