[Badger]

Does anybody know if badgers are likely to pray on hens. We have seen several badgers around the garden area lately, and someone told us we had better keep an eye on the chooks. Could this be true ?.

Badger

[doganjo]

Yes, I think they would.  You may have to improve the security do your hen enclosure

[shetlandpaul]

big style. chicken wire will not be good enough.

[daddymatty82]

iv seen the damage when they ripped the back off a coop  and ate the whole lot so if you got badgers get security

[Snapper]

Second Daddymatty, we lost 5 Welsummers and some Light Sussex last year with the back of the pens ripped out.
It couldn't be a Fox due to all the damage and none of that distinctive smell.

We're told that some locals have seen Badgers in our area, so pretty certain that they must have been the culprits,.

[starcana]

Yep, foxes take the chickens away for supper, badgers actually savage them in situ. Very nasty and as people have said they rip the chicken house apart to get in. Not ours fortunately (electric netting) but our neighbours. Savaged all four, and left the carnage!

[jacob and Georgina]

we have a badger in our garden at the mo, not showed any interest in the chooks as of yet but was woken up last night when we heard the metal gate rattling, the gate is half covered with that green plastic coated wire to keep puppy in, shined a torch on him and he ran off, came down in the morning to find a great big hole and bite marks where he had chewed through the wire! never knew they could do so much damage, quite worrying really!!

[ambriel]

Yes indeed! Badgers will predate hens and with those powerful claws can make short-work of a hen coop.

[faith0504]

what is the best way to stop a badger then?? i worried about my ladies after reading this thread, i didnt realise badgers were so destructive, and determined, 

[daddymatty82]

a 3.5t van? a bullet? i have hit a badger once. i stopped got out walked to where i thought it was dead. nope it was alive only using front legs crawling towards me snarling and trying to get me so i jumped back in van and reversed over it job done

[shrekfeet]

badgers are highly protected. Check the law or keep your acts to yourself or you will be in deep trouble. You can hardly look at them these days without prosecution!

[shetlandpaul]

stilts would work

[ambriel]

stilts would work

Our henhouse is on 12" stilts. In addition to the safety factor it also gives them somewhere to shelter under from the rain.

[daddymatty82]

badgers are highly protected. Check the law or keep your acts to yourself or you will be in deep trouble. You can hardly look at them these days without prosecution!

will do next time i hit one il leave it to suffer a horrible death on more than one occasion iv seen them be put down with a bullit or a truck so will let the animal suffer if its in pain i dont want to get prosacuted

[shetlandpaul]

daddy don't do that. i think the poster got the impression that you would aim to run them down.