Feeling Bad

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! I'm so sorry for your loss, and what you've had to deal with.

 

[Crazy Chicken Keeper]

I have killed a lot of rats as predators and never felt bad but skunks are cute, so I get it. I personally would have eaten it to see what it would taste like, sorry you had to shoot it I've always wondered why skunks were so nice-looking but so dangerous to chickens.

Oh, and .

 

[RoyalChick]

So sorry. As others have said, that you feel bad just shows you are human and have a heart.
Welcome to BYC - you have come to the right place to find people who understand the heartbreak involved with caring for chickens.

 

[muddy75]

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC, Matthew. You did what you had to and I applaud you for protecting your flock. Its okay to feel sad for the skunk but the flock is your responsibility and you took care of them.
I agree that 19 guage, 1/2" hardware cloth is best for securing your coop & run. I assume you have a roof or wire top on the entire structure?

 

[sourland]

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi again, Matthew!

So sorry how you're feeling, but that shows you have a soft heart for all animals. You did what you had to, though, for the sake of the weaker ones, which are your property.

We've had to shoot a skunk and a raccoon, and up in the air to scare away bears.

To get rid of the smell, here's what we used.

1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide (a fresh bottle works best)
¼ cup of baking soda
1–2 teaspoons of Dawn dish soap (original scent is best.)

Get the chickens out of the coop, scrub this solution everywhere, rinse and dry. Probably have to do it one more time.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[McChooky]

I just went outback to my chicken coop to do a nightly check in my flock and there was a skunk in the coop posing a threat to my flock and I had to exterminate the skunk this will be my first time I've ever had to do somthing like this, why do I feel so bad for protecting my chickens I know I had to exterminate the skunk or he would of came back or killed all my chickens but I fell so bad for shooting the skunk its killing me inside thinking about the skunk and he was just acting from instinct but I had to protect my hens and roosters has anyone felt like this after doing somthing like this to protect there flock?

Skunks absolutely kill birds and eat eggs. You did the right thing.Was it pleasant? No! Perhaps you can improve the security of your coop and never have to kill another one.Be blessed!

 

[McChooky]

Thanks so much I needed your kind words I thought I did somthing wrong but it had to be done to protect my girls just going to make sure tommorow i do some upgrades to the coop to make sure it doesn't happen again it's a nice coop and idk how he got in but im going to double up on wire on the coop, no wire was broke or anything so idk how he got in but im going to reinforce the whole coop.

Sometimes they dig underneath the sides.Perhaps you missed the tiny hole? Fallen leaves can make it difficult to detect.A 2"-3" hole isn't very noticeable.If you don't have an apron around the sides I advise you to make one out of hw cloth.