Oh dear my friendly badger Betty has not been seen for about 2-3 weeks (although I put extra food down later at night and it has always been eaten by morning so I thought she was coming later) Anyway she turned up tonight at about 8.30 and looks as if she has been in the wars. I don't know if you will be able to see the picture but she has been injured across her head, if you look in the white stripe you will see what looks like a tear that goes up and across to the left, (like you would see if you ripped material - 2 sides of a square) Also more on her head and there are some behind her ear. Her ear looks tatty too. Poor thing although it does look as if it has healed up now.
You have no control over what life & people throw at you - but you have full control over how you deal with it!
I really don't know. His field drops down to a wood which he owns too. I know the badgers come from that direction but as the fields around here are used for sheep/cows and horses they are fenced off so I can't get access at all. Sounds a bit complicated but each field has a border of woods with some going into triangle shapes at the corners, our garden borders one triangle but it is very dense with brambles etc and that is where the badgers come from each night. If I thought he was I would certainly report him.
. He is not a nice man at all. A couple of friends who live locally know about him and are watching him too. A bit like neighbourhood watch for animals!!!
Cheryl
Poor Betty, I am glad she is back at your cafe again.
From the photo, it looks like a pretty standard badger fight injury to me, and it seems to be healing relatively ok. Late Feb/early March is classic badger fighting time, and they do seem to end up with injuries around the face, neck and ears from fights, so I think it's unlikely to be human inflicted - though I agree that chap does sound like a pretty vile specimen of humanity. The good news is that by about this time of year we should be almost at the end of the big fighting season.
I think the females actually go for it more than the males when they fight, but I've seen what look like some pretty horrible injuries on both my badgers. I always worry terribly about them, but they do seem to heal quite quickly. The worst injury for a badger to sustain is actually the loss of a tooth, because they depend on their teeth heavily during fights. For a male badger, especially, losing a fight badly can result in death - either directly from the fight, or indirectly because he is ostracised from the sett. That's why you're not supposed to feed them too much sugary stuff - but as I am sure Chez will testify, all badgers have a very sweet tooth! Mine get jam as a treat, but usually it's the old reliable peanuts.
Milk is fine for badgers. The only reason you are sometimes advised not to put it out is in case a hedgehog gets hold of it instead - but it doesn't sound as if Betty leaves much chance of that happening! Badgers can't see very well, but she probably does know what the milk bottle means because they are quite good at recognising black/white (for obvious reasons!!). The first time Miriam & Moses saw me in my zebra print pyjama bottoms, it freaked them out big time, poor things! Actually, the sight of me in my pyjamas is probably enough to freak anyone out...
BB
PS Chez, any new sightings of Madge?
Chez, the location of your house and garden sounds absolutely idylic ... lucky you. I hope you catch the man out doing something illegal - and that he gets his just desserts.
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
PS If anyone is interested in badgers, this is a really good website to check out:
http://www.badgerland.co.uk/main.html
Hi Chez, poor Betty does seem to have been in the wars but at least she is back with you now so maybe whatever the experience was it frightened her or made her nervous of venturing far from home for a while. I am glad she has returned though and I hope no more ills befall her.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Unknown said: I really don't know. His field drops down to a wood which he owns too. I know the badgers come from that direction but as the fields around here are used for sheep/cows and horses they are fenced off so I can't get access at all. Sounds a bit complicated but each field has a border of woods with some going into triangle shapes at the corners, our garden borders one triangle but it is very dense with brambles etc and that is where the badgers come from each night. If I thought he was I would certainly report him. He also has a poor little minature horse called 'Fear' and the poor thing is always so dirty and lonely. She comes up to the fence at the bottom for a carrot, and one of our dogs (a Cocker Spaniel called Bertie or Dirty Bertie when he has been in the mud!!) sits next to her for ages - I am sure they communicate somehow. He is not a nice man at all. A couple of friends who live locally know about him and are watching him too. A bit like neighbourhood watch for animals!!! Cheryl
He also has a poor little minature horse called 'Fear' and the poor thing is always so dirty and lonely. She comes up to the fence at the bottom for a carrot, and one of our dogs (a Cocker Spaniel called Bertie or Dirty Bertie when he has been in the mud!!) sits next to her for ages - I am sure they communicate somehow. He is not a nice man at all. A couple of friends who live locally know about him and are watching him too. A bit like neighbourhood watch for animals!!!
Hi Chez
Me heart did a flip when i read about your poor badger. I can't stand anything like that, I hope it was'nt caused by someone being cruel.
Last year my daughter saw some men with spades digging in a field by where she lives. They had dogs with them as well. She reported it to the RSPCA, a few days later she saw them again, this time she called the police who turned up pretty quickly and then the RSPCA turned up as well. Next thing the men were taken away by the police . It turns out they were badger baiters and the RSPCA had already been watching them. They were eventuallly prosecuted, but only getting a suspended sentence ! and not allowed to keep dogs for 5 years. I don't think that will stop them though.
Hope your badger recovers quickly and glad the poor horse has got you to look out for it.
What a wonderful world :))
Hi All
Well some bad news I'm afraid, Betty came tonight and she had a hugh red and very sore looking swollen lump under her chin on the right hand side. I was so worried I phoned a lady near us who ran a badger sanctury for over 20 years for advice. She told me to go to the vets and get some antibiotic powder on Monday and put it inside a honey butty for her. She told me not to give her milk more than once a week as it can give them the runs!! You live and learn!! She said that if she is still eating and managing to get around that it is best not to catch her and upset her but if things are looking worse in a couple of days then I should try to get her into a cage and take her to the vets. I felt so sorry for her, she has only just got over one lot of injuries and now this.
Watch this space, I will keep you informed!!
Sorry to hear about your badger this evening. If I was you I would try and get some antibiotic powder tomorrow. I'm sure some vets are open for a while on a Sunday, I would be too worried to wait until Monday. Sounds as if one of the cuts is infected and turned into an abcess.
If you are anything like me you must be really worried, keep us posted please. Hope he/she does get better.
Yes I had thought of that too, I think I will ring round tomorrow. Only problem is that we live in the country and there are not many vets around but I will try.
Unknown said: She said that if she is still eating and managing to get around that it is best not to catch her and upset her but if things are looking worse in a couple of days then I should try to get her into a cage and take her to the vets.
She said that if she is still eating and managing to get around that it is best not to catch her and upset her but if things are looking worse in a couple of days then I should try to get her into a cage and take her to the vets.
Hi Chez, I don't want to contradict the badger lady, but I wouldn't attempt to catch Betty if I were you, not if you value the bones in your arms anyway! If you think she needs catching and treating, I would contact your local badger group and get someone out who has all the gear and is used to cornering and dealing with a scared and fractious badger. Also, I know there is some concern in the badger fraternity that many vets aren't really trained to treat badgers, so the badger group will be able to take her to the right place and make sure she is given the right treatment.
You can find your local group via the Badger Trust: http://www.badger.org.uk/content/Groups.asp