visit from either fox/badger to my girls last night...near miss

[angelat]

hi all
something strange happened last night. i locked the girls away as normal last night and all was well. when i went to let them out this morning they were already out, so that means their slide along pop hole had somehow been opened and their run door which has a small bolt on it had also been opened and pushed back. the trellis fence that runs along by the coop had a massive hole that something had smashed through, i found small traces of white, light grey hair. they were really stressed and i couldnt believe the secure house i thought i had is not secure anymore. i am barricading them in tonight just in case whatever it was comes back. we do live in an area where foxes have been spotted but my neighbours said it could have been a badger as they think a fox would have had the chickens unless it couldnt get in the living area or it was disturbed in someway hence the hole in the trellis. neither of my neighbours heard any commotion. its a mystery? any ideas anyone.

[Nicos]

Gosh no...but I too would be really concerned

[veggiechicken]

Sounds like a badger, not that I'm an expert, but one pushes its way under my wire netting fence some nights. I don't have chooks now so its not a problem here.

[lettucegrow!]

Oh, what a worry.do badgers chew their way through stuff? Do they go for chooks? Hope alls well tonight. It's a battle keeping them safe , isn't it?

[jessmorris]

Have a look at the hair the aniaml left - badger hair is oval in cross section - if you roll it in your fingers you can feel that its wider in one dimension than the other (if you see what I mean). The colour will also change along its length - grey, white, black - not necessarily in that order! Badgers are big strong animals with big claws , thick skulls and powerful bodies - have a good look at the size of a sett and you'll see what I mean. That said, they're protected animals and I'm quite fond of them (but then they're not tunnelling into my chicken coop!)
I would try an electric fence, but they do turn hedgehogs inside out and eat them so I'm not sure even that will work...good luck!

[Feral007]

Poor chooks. Now my mind is boggling and I'm trying not to imagine what turning a hedgehog inside out is like.

[elizajay]

Poor chooks. Now my mind is boggling and I'm trying not to imagine what turning a hedgehog inside out is like.

Not as prickly as a rolled up hedgehog

[OverWyreGrower]

Badgers will eat chooks if given the chance... I know someone who found one of them sleeping in the chicken house, after gorging himself on her hens....

[petal]

Bet its a badger, we had one took a goose once- it smashed through a pen that was like fort knox!

[VirginVegGrower]

I feel slightly sick now at the thought of inside out hedgehogs and gorged out sleeping badgers

[petal]

yes, the inside out hedgehog image keeps popping up...

[chris]

Glad you didn't loose any. I'd wait up until late to have a look to find out what it definitely is. Odd how it'd be able to open bolts and a slide pophole though?

[petal]

could be a 2 legged predator? Didn't think of that.

[chris]

Any signs of an attempt last night?

[angelat]

update on mystery visitor!!

hi all
thanks for your replies. I think it could have been a badger as i found black, white and grey hair, some coarse, some fine attached to the trellis that it must have barged through. the bolt on the run is secure but if something was barging at it with force i dont think it would have had a problem opening it, the predator could then push its body at the door and open, as for the slide along pop hole, scrambling around against the slide mechanism and jumping up at the ramp could maybe have slid it open, if badgers are as strong as people say they are.
however, no more disturbance since then and i am literally bricking up the door to the run every night!! i am also in the process of searching for a new coop anyway as i have been shopping around lately anyway. i am so fanatical about their security i cant believe it happened.
as for the 2 legged predator i cant even go there on that one, it freaks me out thinking that someone would want to open my coop and let the girls out, what would be the logic? anway thanks again for replies and watch this space! x