Sheep lick buckets and badgers

[Bucks Boy]

Moving sheep to new grass keep with big badger set in the middle of the field. Any ideas how to keep badgers away from lick bucket. Was thinking of trying to make it free standing on a single stake.

 

[JSmith]

Dynamite

 

[Welderloon]

Phostoxin & a mini-digger

 

[Dry Rot]

Set it up a couple of weeks before the sheep arrive -- with a mini electric fence around it. Sheep in, fence off. Do they have the caution of a fox and the same ability to learn?

 

[BAF]

Are you in a cull zone?

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I've always been in an area with a high incidence of TB.
There have always been badgers about.
I've always used buckets and blocks on the ground.
I've only ever had a couple reactors/ inconclusive's.
I'm not sure how big a problem it is but it will difficult making them accessible to a sheep but not a badger.
I guess you could always take the lid off in the morning and put it back on before dark.

 

[delilah]

Never seen any evidence that badgers have been at the crystalyx, would imagine there would be shunted about tubs and teeth marks if they had a go, they aren't going to take dainty nibbles like a sheep does.

 

[Paddington]

I made a stand from a plastic oil barrel filled with water. Don't know how effective it was as I believe Defra give a height of 4ft to be badger proof and my sheep only have short legs.

 

[Skintagain]

Bolus

 

[matthew]

I've always been in an area with a high incidence of TB.
There have always been badgers about.
I've always used buckets and blocks on the ground.
I've only ever had a couple reactors/ inconclusive's.
I'm not sure how big a problem it is but it will difficult making them accessible to a sheep but not a badger.
I guess you could always take the lid off in the morning and put it back on before dark.

That's what we do. Lids on at night.

I made a stand from a plastic oil barrel filled with water. Don't know how effective it was as I believe Defra give a height of 4ft to be badger proof and my sheep only have short legs.

4' 3" to be totally accurate. Where those claws can get purchase, the rest will follow. We arn't farming giraffes - yet.

* Prof. Tim Roper filmed badgers getting into feed / mineral troughs many years ago. That was the height that they got to, and they didn't stand on each others shoulders to get there.

 

[Bury the Trash]

there are other more posistive more direct less wasteful and more accurate ways of keeping vits and mins levels right if needed.

 

[Skintagain]

there are other more posistive more direct less wasteful and more accurate ways of keeping vits and mins levels right if needed.

Last two words are very important.

If grass is rotated and let recover to proper length very little minerals are usually needed only on certain land with lockup and depleted soil

 

[steveR]

I made a stand from a plastic oil barrel filled with water. Don't know how effective it was as I believe Defra give a height of 4ft to be badger proof and my sheep only have short legs.

Yep. I bought one with a grant to top up a package to to the required minimum. 100 quid or so. None of the Dexter cows could use it and only a few of the taller commercial cows. Needed Holstein hatracks we reckoned to be able to reach in, especially as the content dropped.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Never seen any evidence that badgers have been at the crystalyx, would imagine there would be shunted about tubs and teeth marks if they had a go, they aren't going to take dainty nibbles like a sheep does.

Advice from the vet about TB prevention was try to have water troughs that badgers can’t contaminate the water for the cattle, so I would expect they would interfere with blocks too.

 

[steveR]

Advice from the vet about TB prevention was try to have water troughs that badgers can’t contaminate the water for the cattle, so I would expect they would interfere with blocks too.

The only ones that looked reasonable to me, are the troughs and tanks with a roller on the top edge, to stop Stripey getting up in the first place.

 

[matthew]

The only ones that looked reasonable to me, are the troughs and tanks with a roller on the top edge, to stop Stripey getting up in the first place.

Fine when shiny and new in the dry show room. Not so clever with salty saliva and feed crumbs.

 

[delilah]

Advice from the vet about TB prevention was try to have water troughs that badgers can’t contaminate the water for the cattle, so I would expect they would interfere with blocks too.

Anyone on here got evidence that badgers have had a go at their blocks ? Because we have sets all over our land and i'm fairly certain there's no badger jaws been at our blocks.

 

[som farmer]

we are in a cull zone, feed buckets blocks, never really seen any evidence to see they have been at them. Loose mins, they go for that.

not a lot you can do, if not in a zone. If you don't have a problem with TB, probably means yours are 'clean', and very territorial, and will drive 'sick' badgers out, that's a theory anyway.

what does worry me, just found 2 carcases of roe deer, not near a road either, been dead sometime.

 

[BAF]

To be honest I've never seen them on lick buckets either. Creep feeders though are a magnet for them!

 

[matthew]

To be honest I've never seen them on lick buckets either. Creep feeders though are a magnet for them!

Not ours.
They have a fold down flap which is closed at night. Two were done by a local fabricator, Bateman did the third.
Three hinges and a folded edge - job done.
Otherwise - MacDonalds for stripeys.