The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: HesterF on June 30, 2014, 04:13:19 pm
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We've a 'predator proof' run for the poultry but they also get locked into houses at night within the run. Last night three ducks refused to go to the bed so husband left them out and locked the rest in. This morning I was greeted by one thoroughly chewed body, one headless but otherwise untouched carcass and one had just completely disappeared without a feather in sight. Further investigation showed that the predator had spent a long time trying to find a way to dig in - working it's way round the fenceline without joy - but had eventually scaled up and over a 6ft high fence with a barbed wire overhang at the top. The biggest mystery was that the hairs caught on the barbed wire looked distinctly badger like - black and grey with maybe a rusty tip to them. Could a badger really climb that well? And particularly on the way back with a 3kg duck in its jaws? If it weren't for the hairs I would have assumed fox but some of the digging looked as thought the claws were bigger than a fox too and we know there is a badger that goes that way on his nightly route.
Fortunately this particular set of ducks was not hugely precious - two young drakes and a accidental cross breed duck - but I now worry that we have to look out by day too since whatever predator it was knows the best way in after hours of nocturnal trying and might be back by day. That would be less of a concern with a badger but I'm so sceptical a badger could climb that well.
H
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My neighbours have their veg beds in a deer proof cage ( previous occupants raised a lost fawn and kept it in the huge caged area) and have has badgers climb in to eat the sweet corn, so, I guess a badger could climb into a hen run, depending in the type of fence. The cage next door is made from heras panels so is quite sturdy.
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I'd say that it was a fox, and you just got some of his darker hairs, and white hairs, off tail etc. Although i've also had black foxes, white foxes and everything in between. Badgers don't climb in my experience at all.
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It did show a badger running up a tree trunk on Springwatch! Hanging on though ... kindda bear-like.
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It was just odd we got none of its ruddy fur and the digging claw marks were very strong claws. Couldn't see any footprints though. They too love our sweetcorn - which I'd planted in the middle of this run because that was the one place in the garden I thought would be safe from them.
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Could be a Badger then I guess. . . . quite an athletic, possibly ninja badger.
Can you put an electric fence around?
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I like that :thumbsup: Ninja he shall be called! Could do an electric fence but trying to avoid it - would no doubt forget to check the charge or something. Might need to look at netting the overhang too - barbed wire is clearly not enough.
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Can badgers scale a fence? You bet they can, and trees - albeit in a rather ungainly fashion!
There were some photographs in a newspaper of a badger that had mastered the art of climbing onto a bird table for a regular feed.
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2 thinks you need to no .On spring watch it proved that a badger can climb well and even better they can swim .There were 6 duck nests with young and a coots nest .The badger tor the nests apart and eate the young all nests was ransacked.