Help! There is a skunk in my coop now!

[Folly's place]

Hope you got him! Let us know how it worked out.
Mary

 

[webbysmeme]

Skunks will definitely kill chickens. They are a member of the weasel family and are predators. We lost several chickens to skunks when I was a kid. They burrowed under the coop.

That's how this one got in. I found his hole today! It was under one of the roost. I do the deep litter so I didn't see it until I was cleaning the roost boards this morning. I put orange pills in it and then put cat litter in it. I can't find where he started digging outside the coop. I'll be out there in the morning moving bales of hay, I bet that's where it is. I sure hope I don't run into him!

 

[webbysmeme]

Try a live trap. I used canned cat food.

I don't have a trap. I've always just shot any thing that was a problem. I guess I will have to buy one for this skunk.

Well, so....what happened @webbysmeme ?

I found where he had dug in. Put orange peels and cat litter in it.now I have to move hay bales outside the coop. I think that's where he started digging! All my hens are fine. They smell pretty bad, he sprayed quiet a bit when I found him.

 

[webbysmeme]

Hope you got him! Let us know how it worked out.
Mary

Hi Mary, I found where he got in. He dug under the coop. Filled it with orange peels and cat litter. I'll be getting a live trap soon I guess. How do I avoid him spaying me when I catch him? Do you know?

 

[webbysmeme]

How did you avoid getting sprayed? With them in the trap? What did you do with them? Kill them or take them some place?

 

[webbysmeme]

Well, so....what happened @webbysmeme ?

Sorry for the late reply! I was outside all day enjoying this 55 temp!

 

[Folly's place]

What we've done is approach the live trap quietly, with a tarp held up in front of the person, and then drape the tarp over the trap. Carry it to a better location, next to the burial site, pull the tarp back slightly, shoot, and bury the poor guy. No spraying happened, although they smell bad anyway.
And fix the coop to eliminate any access points!
Mary

 

[webbysmeme]

What we've done is approach the live trap quietly, with a tarp held up in front of the person, and then drape the tarp over the trap. Carry it to a better location, next to the burial site, pull the tarp back slightly, shoot, and bury the poor guy. No spraying happened, although they smell bad anyway.
And fix the coop to eliminate any access points!
Mary

Well, with my luck I will get sprayed! Hopefully I can shoot him before I buy a trap! Sorry for the late reply earlier!!

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Good luck!

It would freak me out to have a skunk in my coop. Are the chickens in the coop right now?

 

[webbysmeme]

Good luck!

It would freak me out to have a skunk in my coop. Are the chickens in the coop right now?

Yep. I only have the one coop for my 14 hens. This summer I plan to add another.