Badger proofing a shed

[Vader]

Makes me happy i live in the people's Republic of South Yorkshire on the urban fringe.
Lot of gangs of dog lads and caravan folk means no badgers. .

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Photos: How to badger-proof your farm - Farmers Weekly

Dairy and beef farmers in regions where bovine TB is prevalent in wildlife are adopting additional measures to protect their cattle from infection, by

www.fwi.co.uk

Surely most of those gate photos need the steel sheet on the outside or the badgers will climb the bars?

And item 7 says apply to the Environment Agency for a licence to move badgers when it should be Natural England.....

 

[matthew]

Also note that advice given to badger proof sheds and feed stores, was for 'permanently housed cattle'.

The pic is an aerial shot of badger tracks in snow. A very efficient sprinkler system of m.bovis in urine, as they potter about our grassland. Up to 30ml in each incontinent void, and up to 300,000 colony forming units of m.bovis in each 1ml.

So how many cfu does it take to infect a calf? Just 1. One. A single one.

 

[gatepost]

We have a shed with one open side, the feed barriers. How far up does the netting or whatever need to be to keep the APHA vets happy that it is badger proof?

APHA vets Happy ? Nah, min 50 mm gap from bottom of sheeted door to concrete floor, door bolt/latch holes filled in, smooth sides on walls up to something like 4ft if not higher, I still haven't managed to get a new shed to pass for an iso unit. Not sure if they have confused Newcastle supporters with mice.

 

[matthew]

^^^ Badgers are like mice in that their skulls are quite flat, and where that head can get, the rest slithers through. 50mm is 2" in old money, and a small stripey could manage that.

Years ago, Prof Tim Roper of Sussex uni filmed badgers getting into elevated feed troughs. A bit like a puissance in show jumping. But they didn't stand on each other's shoulders, and it was a lightweight (sick?) one with long hooked claws which hooked them over the edge and swung their ar$es in.

Job done - @ 4'6". Or about 137cm in new currency.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

^^^ Badgers are like mice in that their skulls are quite flat, and where that head can get, the rest slithers through. 50mm is 2" in old money, and a small stripey could manage that.

Years ago, Prof Tim Roper of Sussex uni filmed badgers getting into elevated feed troughs. A bit like a puissance in show jumping. But they didn't stand on each other's shoulders, and it was a lightweight (sick?) one with long hooked claws which hooked them over the edge and swung their ar$es in.

Job done - @ 4'6". Or about 137cm in new currency.

If they weren't disease vectors we'd have to marvel at their capabilities really!

 

[puppet]

This thread is like April Fool being asked to badger proof a livestock shed. If Animal Health feel there is such a risk from badgers then there should be traps in the sheds and any caught can be culled. Gradually the clever ones will stay away.
HSE says you should leave 18 inches under a shed gate to be able to roll away if attacked by cattle.
Take your pick.

 

[Scholsey]

This thread is like April Fool being asked to badger proof a livestock shed. If Animal Health feel there is such a risk from badgers then there should be traps in the sheds and any caught can be culled. Gradually the clever ones will stay away.
HSE says you should leave 18 inches under a shed gate to be able to roll away if attacked by cattle.
Take

The likely hood of getting a badger in a trap once it has a feed passage full of maize, soya or wheat in front of it is slim, would say its easier and cheaper to badger proof the whole yard or a block of fields with fences than individual sheds.

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

The likely hood of getting a badger in a trap once it has a feed passage full of maize, soya or wheat in front of it is slim, would say its easier and cheaper to badger proof the whole yard or a block of fields with fences than individual sheds.

When folk erect a badger fence, how did they stop stripey climbing over?

 

[steveR]

When folk erect a badger fence, how did they stop stripey climbing over?

https://www.b24.net/pow/pow5.png

Twin spandaus on top...

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Our local nature reserve has miles of electric fences to keep the Badgers out of the nesting areas, but most years they still get through.
They have the wires very close together, but only every other one is live and the other is earthed to get better effect. They also erect them in the ditches and water courses.
They still seem to be able to swim past these defenses and have been seen to swim over 50 metres to get to islands where the eggs are.

I had a recent run in with Craig Bennett who is the relatively new CEO of all the wildlife trusts. He was of the opinion that all we need is far greater natural areas and then the Badgers won't be an issue! When I asked him to explain how this would work he declined and was of the opinion that farming practices and pesticides are the root of all evil for wildlife. I was not impressed by his attitude!!!
I am told that he appears to be taking the wildlife trusts on to a more aggressive stance on wildlife.

 

[Scholsey]

I hear a rumour there are a awful lot of hedgehogs getting around Devon Cornwall Somerset and Gloucestershire, I have no idea why……….

 

[jerseycowsman]

It’s going to be in calf heifers in the shed on just grass silage. So hopefully no reason for the badger to be that determined

 

[jerseycowsman]

I hear a rumour there are a awful lot of hedgehogs getting around Devon Cornwall Somerset and Gloucestershire, I have no idea why……….

I’ve seen 3 hedgehogs his year, the first since I was a kid. Unfortunately they were flat on the road, but still a good sign!

 

[Vader]

Our local nature reserve has miles of electric fences to keep the Badgers out of the nesting areas, but most years they still get through.
They have the wires very close together, but only every other one is live and the other is earthed to get better effect. They also erect them in the ditches and water courses.
They still seem to be able to swim past these defenses and have been seen to swim over 50 metres to get to islands where the eggs are.

I had a recent run in with Craig Bennett who is the relatively new CEO of all the wildlife trusts. He was of the opinion that all we need is far greater natural areas and then the Badgers won't be an issue! When I asked him to explain how this would work he declined and was of the opinion that farming practices and pesticides are the root of all evil for wildlife. I was not impressed by his attitude!!!
I am told that he appears to be taking the wildlife trusts on to a more aggressive stance on wildlife.

Another stroker follower of the cult of Packham

 

[matthew]

Our local nature reserve has miles of electric fences to keep the Badgers out of the nesting areas, but most years they still get through.
They have the wires very close together, but only every other one is live and the other is earthed to get better effect. They also erect them in the ditches and water courses.
They still seem to be able to swim past these defenses and have been seen to swim over 50 metres to get to islands where the eggs are.

I had a recent run in with Craig Bennett who is the relatively new CEO of all the wildlife trusts. He was of the opinion that all we need is far greater natural areas and then the Badgers won't be an issue! When I asked him to explain how this would work he declined and was of the opinion that farming practices and pesticides are the root of all evil for wildlife. I was not impressed by his attitude!!!
I am told that he appears to be taking the wildlife trusts on to a more aggressive stance on wildlife.

Breast stroke, or doggie paddle?

 

[Case290]

Old thread but I’m going to have a go at an afu ..
cattle sheds completely blocked round the out side 2m high so that’s good do I also need the electric fence around the out side or just across at the feed passage & bedded access gates ? . I think the muck pad also needs to be elec fenced off but that’s possible.

 

[matthew]

Every entrance needs clearance of no more than 2/3 inches. Badgers have wide shallow heads and get under most access doors.
Uprights need to be smooth and shiny with no claw holds. Otherwise they will scramble up.
In other words, cattle need to be in a hermetically sealed Berluddy box.

Ditto, feed stores, or you’ll end up carting infection into the cattle.

And not just the gaps under a gate. Look at this:

Nothing if not persistent

We are grateful to the South West TB advisory group, for sight of a video clip, taken at Bicton college, of their attempts to exclude bad...

bovinetb.blogspot.com

 

[mo!]

Old thread but I’m going to have a go at an afu ..
cattle sheds completely blocked round the out side 2m high so that’s good do I also need the electric fence around the out side or just across at the feed passage & bedded access gates ? . I think the muck pad also needs to be elec fenced off but that’s possible.

Muck will need to be fenced for 3 weeks. It should be fence or smooth sheeting. Shouldn't need both. Mesh is permitted on large gates for safety. We had our boundary walked every year, though with avian flu the APHA have been too busy to inspect.

 

[Mad For Muck]

My understanding is that netting is no use as they just climb it or tear it open. It needs to be smooth concrete or sheet steel to at least 5 feet with no gaps over 100mm.

Hardly practical in many cases!

I recently read of a farm in Oxfordshire that had erected a badger proof fence around the whole farm to avoid re-infection. Probably legal but bloody expensive and fundamentally damaging to local ecology imho.

We have done the same & has been worth doing to the point we’re just looking to do another block of land. It was/is expensive but the cost of going down with tb can also be as expensive.