Can skunks harm chickens

[Citychicken12]

Hahaha, yes I use the terms" live and let live" and "Eco system". Like I said before, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Just because you don't agree with it does not mean you should try to belittle it. Oh and survival of the fittest ?...........well than, let's just kill it all. Hahahahahahaha

 

[Citychicken12]

Perhaps when there is nothing left you can find something else to complain about

 

[Citychicken12]

"Botulism, e-coli and anthrax have been part of the ecosystem for many years also. But, I don't want them intruding into my life either. "
I found this to be amusing. I never knew foxes, raccoons, skunks, and hawks were at THAT level. Screw using Anthrax as biological weapon for bio-terrorism, people should just load up all the predators they can and unleash those instead. Since they are such killers, they should be able to live up to the name.

 

[LarissaSlates98]

Was that to me?

 

[LarissaSlates98]

Was the Perhaps when there is nothing left you can find something to complain about to me?

 

[Citychicken12]

No, not at all.

 

[LarissaSlates98]

I feel like a child asking this but is that sarcasm? I know alot of sarcastic people

 

[Citychicken12]

Originally Posted by janinepeters

But to add to that, in reference to the OP's words quoted above, my understanding is that "survival of the fittest" refers to competition among individuals within a species, not between species. According to my research, destruction of other species degrades the very ecosystem on which one's own species depends. YMMV, but I think of the "fittest" humans as those who can feed themselves with minimal impact on other species, thereby protecting resources for their own progeny.

As far as "humane doctrine", it is not an animal's cuteness or cuddliness, but its capacity for suffering and enjoyment, which concerns me. From what I gather from animal studies, animals with larger brains and more complex nervous systems are more able to experience suffering, enjoyment, and other emotions. So I think much less about taking an ant's life than a coyote's life, for example. And when I do take another animal's life, I want it to be necessary for my own health and well-being. Yes, "health and well-being" is vague, and others might feel that killing to protect their chickens or even just for fun is necessary for their own well-being. But I have no interest in killing for fun, and since I find it cheaper, easier, more humane, and more environmentally friendly to simply prevent predator attacks, I personally consider lethal control a poor choice.

And yes, I have seen a few attacks on my chickens. No, it did not inspire any anger whatsoever towards the predator. What these incidents did inspire were a few changes in my management and set up, for better prevention. But I was a wildlife tracker before I began raising chickens, so I came into this with a lot of appreciation for, and knowledge of, the ways of the local wildlife. I knew more about predator behavior than chicken behavior, and already enjoyed the company of these "killers", just like I enjoy the company of other people, every one of whom is also a"killer".



No , I really was not aiming that at you. I was replying to another post on this thread. I took the above quote from a response I completely agree with. These are my beliefs as well when it comes to dealing with predators. I have seen way too many issues killing something off causes and believe in preventative measures instead of lethal ones. Don't get me wrong, I protect my chickens and make sure that I can keep access from predators at a minimum. I enjoy the company of said "killers" and live not too far from a birds of prey conservation.

 

[Ted n Ms]

Actually hawks will usually just break the chickens neck, so they die immediately, but other than that I agree bigoledude.

X 2

 

[Trefoil]

They say you learn something every day. My local hardware guy ( he's my predator expert) told me mink or weasels were the ones that just ate the blood.
If your wire is large enough for a coon to get its fingers through, they can kill poultry. I don't understand why the birds wouldn't stay away from the sides, but they don't seem to. I'm not as nice as Citychicken, when I screwed up and put young birds in a pen that wasn't coon proof, I was really mad, both at the coon and at myself. But I fixed the problem, which was the pen, not the coon. A lot of people seem to have good luck using electric fence around their coops & runs, but I free range during the day and my geese are always free. I'm afraid I would kill one of them.