albob Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 sounds a strange comment but,as i was out shooting last night and i spotted something small in the woods and as i was trying to id it,a badger a bit further up got on it`s hind legs and was scanning the area i was lamping. i thought it was a young badger but,it turns out it was a very small rabbit and the rabbit made off to the right with the badger searching for it(it seemed that way to me) and then i lost track of the rabbit,as it was small. then i seen the badger sort of pounce,as if to actually catch something and it did it a few times but,i could not see the rabbit,although the badger seemed to be going in the direction that the rabbit went in. i then next see the badger go more to my right and then the rabbit appeared lower down than the badger and made it`s way to the left and away from the badger(or the danger). the rabbit went out of sight to the left and the badger came to the left but,seemed as though it lost track and turned to the right and wandered off. was this badger actually hunting,as i know they dig out young rabbitsbut,never seen one hunt? al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooter Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Badgers will dig out rabbit warrens and eat the young when they feel inclined. It was on autumn watch last year, filmed with infrared cameras. They also eat hedge hogs when ever they get chance, so they must hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albob Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Badgers will dig out rabbit warrens and eat the young when they feel inclined.It was on autumn watch last year, filmed with infrared cameras. They also eat hedge hogs when ever they get chance, so they must hunt. that was how i find out about the badgers digging out young and never looked at badgers any other way. not something i have seen but,as badgers seem to be seen more,i think we notice things more. mother nature never ceases to amase me. al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magman Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 They will hunt and eat any bird on the ground ******** had 30 of me pheasants last year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albob Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 not been close enough to find out. never knew badgers were this bad,besides the tb thing. learnt something from the above posts. you must not be happy with the pheasants taken. thanks al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MM Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 Do badgers hunt? which do they use? .22 or .177? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 It's time they started a cull. Too many of them around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albob Posted March 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 (edited) Do badgers hunt? which do they use? .22 or .177? i think their gob is a 60 cal.. dazza,i heard they was doing or thinking of a cull in wales. al Edited March 22, 2010 by albob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhw100 Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 hi chaps we was out lamping at one of my mates farms in warwickshire last feb and i shot a rabbit with me airgun and just as i was squeezing the trigger on a 2nd one a badger came running out of the bushes and tried to bite it! then continued to chase it and then it came running back for the dead one until we scared it off-crazy man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drut Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 They will hunt and eat any bird on the ground ******** had 30 of me pheasants last year Yes they certainly do,sometimes(rare) they also take lambs & also deer fawns,their only limitation seems to be speed.Personally I can also add that they can growl like a scrapyard dog if you unwittingly surprise them in weed beds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegasus bridge Posted March 22, 2010 Report Share Posted March 22, 2010 i think their gob is a 60 cal.. dazza,i heard they was doing or thinking of a cull in wales. al the welsh assembly have approved it - but its going to a 'judicial review' thanks to some tree huggers, being lead by Brian May! http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010...-cull-challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 Hi, You can usually tell if it's a badger that has eaten a rabbit. The remains look similar to a peeled (and eaten) banana. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albob Posted March 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 the welsh assembly have approved it - but its going to a 'judicial review' thanks to some tree huggers, being lead by Brian May! http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010...-cull-challenge i thought they would have some trouble doing that. i have never heard so many complaints about badgers,until recently. al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted March 23, 2010 Report Share Posted March 23, 2010 It's time they started a cull. Too many of them around. totally agree with that, I hate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 as stated badgers do hunt and are terriffic runners very capable of getting to a high speed .we used to lose a lot of lambs on the farm to them they will also attack a ewe giveing birth not a pretty sight most times you see a lone lamb you will find his face chewd badger work . the ewe then rejects him as sickask any sheep farmer of his plight with a badger . a well known big sheep farmer west of me has a shepherd and dog sleep out in bivi's in the feild at lambing time because of these endangerd creatures they will take . ducklings poults hens rabbit young and old young piglets ground birds etc this is the reason they got the name rogue badger . they should be back on the list for culling they do as much damage as the fox if not more . i caught one in a live trap in the heart of wimbledon town set for a fox and he was doing bluddy well big strong and bold rereleased unharmed i might add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lord_seagrave Posted March 29, 2010 Report Share Posted March 29, 2010 As a townie I have to say that I love the sight of badgers on the rare occasions I see them. But, then again, I don't encounter their less fluffy side, so my opinion is hardly a balanced one. However, I'd certainly be interested in eating badger if was legal to control them again. :unsure: I seem to be forever reading about "badger ham", which I don't think is a euphemism... LS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wambamboo Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Out lamping a few years back ,after Charlie. We used a cd player with a call on it . After lamping an empty field at the bottom of a small valley .We heard what could only be described as a horse or bullock charging at us . We switched the lamp on just in time to catch old brocker sending the caller flying. I don`t know until this day who **** itself more him or us ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badshot Posted May 10, 2010 Report Share Posted May 10, 2010 Not sure I would say badgers hunt, but they definitely forage and if they come across a sheep or anything else for that matter which is mislaid ( stuck on it's back ) while foraging they will engage in eating it alive. I had a sheep the other day which had a small entry wound next to it's udder and had it's guts pulled out, it was dead when I found it. Two years ago I had a ewe which had half it's udder eaten off, it survived that with a bit of stitching but just imagine what it went through. I look forward to the day when there is a bit of common sense in the management of the countryside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackthorn Posted May 11, 2010 Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 Out lamping a few years back ,after Charlie. We used a cd player with a call on it . After lamping an empty field at the bottom of a small valley .We heard what could only be described as a horse or bullock charging at us . We switched the lamp on just in time to catch old brocker sending the caller flying. I don`t know until this day who **** itself more him or us ? had a mate shooting on his own who had the wind put up him by Brock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlistairB Posted May 11, 2010 Report Share Posted May 11, 2010 One of my labs came across a badger under a bush after dark, i guess she thought it was one of my mates collies, cost a lot to have her put back together again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackpowder Posted May 12, 2010 Report Share Posted May 12, 2010 However, I'd certainly be interested in eating badger if was legal to control them again. I seem to be forever reading about "badger ham", which I don't think is a euphemism... LS Badger - boar and sow I am sure I can remember a guy called Brian Plummer, I think he run a terrier rat pack and wrote in Shooting Times, writing about curing and eating badger hams. Bon appetite LS. Blackpowder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safetyfirst Posted May 12, 2010 Report Share Posted May 12, 2010 They will hunt and eat any bird on the ground ******** had 30 of me pheasants last year Bet the badger thinks "****er keeps shooting my pheasants" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted May 12, 2010 Report Share Posted May 12, 2010 It's time they started a cull. Too many of them around. Cars cull quite a lot of them.Infact on the A14 near Thrapston viaduct in Northants i often see around half dozen stiffs on side of road.The highways agency crews clear the corpses up one day then few days later there are more again. I hit one once many years ago and it destroyed the front of my car.I'd compare it to driving into a brickwall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon master Posted May 12, 2010 Report Share Posted May 12, 2010 (edited) They will hunt and eat any bird on the ground ******** had 30 of me pheasants last year Do you strap your birds to the floor then?? I'm not disputing all of the stories here but some are a little..errrmmmm far fetched. Ive filmed badgers for years and although i have seen them dig out wasps, rabbits, spikeys and other small rodents i have never seen them take able birds or sheep!! I'm not saying it's never happened but its very rare. Just a quick point on the above, this season my pheasant pen was less than 20 yards from a 15 hole set with cubs and although i recorded badgers approaching the pen not one entered through the 3ft x 3ft hole where 100 ex layers were all ground roosting. They eat worms 99% of the time so lets make sure the young guns amoungst us dont get the impression that Badgers are the new Fox. They are a problem for cattle farmers if they have TB and I'm sure they take the odd still birth lamb but they dont hunt like a fox would, the reason this badger was raised on his hind legs kidda was to get a lock onto your scent, it wasnt scanning the area with its eyes as a hunting animal would because they cant see ****!! Lets not give them all a bad name as in alot of areas they cause no trouble!! or are we turning into Americans with a thirst to kill every known animal that walks the land?? Edited May 12, 2010 by pigeon master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albob Posted May 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2010 (edited) the reason this badger was raised on his hind legs kidda was to get a lock onto your scent, it wasnt scanning the area with its eyes as a hunting animal would because they cant see ****!! no doubting you and all ideas help in understanding this sight. this was on a still night and could it have not been trying to scent the young rabbit and not me? i have seen many badgers on this shoot and never,ever seen one do this,strange how it happened when the rabbit was about. been close to their set and they have never done the up on hind leg/scenting thing,so i`m still out with the jury on this one. got close to one,that was sat on it`s butt.cleaning its self and not bothered about me. they usually take to their heels when they suss something is up but,not on their hind legs to work me out. i was about 15ft away,stood upright and in the open and some skyline behind me and the badger was in a clearing on a banking with a clear view of me. the speed they run at when spooked is amazing and their eyesight cannot be that bad,as they ran where intended and never bumped into anything in the panic.i know the next statment will be,they know their ground well but,their is no way of confirming this fact on this particular place. al Edited May 12, 2010 by albob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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