BADGER TROUBLE

We haven't had duck or chicken eggs now for a while, and we have lost a few chickens, not a mark on them but they are dead in the morning. They haven got any disease or anything, so it was really confusing. I stood out in the garden 11.30pm with Shadow and heard a noise in the chickens, they never make a noise at night, so called Pete and put my wellies on with dressing gown!!! its a white dressing gown too, if anyone saw me they'd think it was a ghost!.....plus wellies????... Anyway...Pete came out and ran down with me behind..in case there was any big monster things!!!...At first we thought it was a rat, so as Pete got braced to open the house and get ready for the big rat to jump out, when a badger ran straight for him into his legs....luckily it was only a teenager one and didn't get too nasty, as they can get really vicious and attack you. It ran off to the corner of the hen area, so we blocked the hole it had made to stop it coming back in....It all made sense then, the chickens had been dyeing of fright and they had gone off the lay because of fear. So we have spent the last 24 hours blocking any holes that may be able to be used to try to keep the badger out. The are pretty things...covered in fleas but quite pretty....but they are very dangerous and if they did get in the hens they would rip them all apart, it would be terrible. SO eyes peeled and hopefully he wont return.