How can I save my chickens from skunks?

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I forgot! Also, electric poultry netting (from Premier1supplies.com) or electric wire fencing, set up right, will keep ground predators out.
Mary

 

[Shadyfarms]

I am always surprised when people are recommending that the only solution is to trap/remove/kill. This is never a solution as more predators move in to take their place. If you are losing chickens, this is a problem with your coop set up. Add hardware cloth and ensure your coop is predator proof. Nothing else will solve your problem.

I live with coyotes/skunks/possums/raccoons and have never had an issue due to the fort knox of a coop I have.

 

[DaviJones]

I am always surprised when people are recommending that the only solution is to trap/remove/kill. This is never a solution as more predators move in to take their place. If you are losing chickens, this is a problem with your coop set up. Add hardware cloth and ensure your coop is predator proof. Nothing else will solve your problem.

I live with coyotes/skunks/possums/raccoons and have never had an issue due to the fort knox of a coop I have.

I agree that a predator proof coop is the best option, nothing beats that. But the skunks already know where the chicken coop is and could come back later when they're hungry and want a quick meal. Though the coop would be more secured this time, I personally dislike taking chances on my little turds' lives. In my opinion, OP's best option is to reinforce the coop and then eliminate the predators, by lethal or nonlethal means.

 

[Shadyfarms]

I agree that a predator proof coop is the best option, nothing beats that. But the skunks already know where the chicken coop is and could come back later when they're hungry and want a quick meal. Though the coop would be more secured this time, I personally dislike taking chances on my little turds' lives. In my opinion, OP's best option is to reinforce the coop and then eliminate the predators, by lethal or nonlethal means.

All predators know where your coop is. It is not secret, they can smell it from miles away. My coop is visited daily by coons as I can see their foot prints. They cannot get in though. No need for me to kill/remove them. Just build a proper coop and you no longer have to worry about these things.

 

[Lonesome Dough]

Yes a secure coop is necessary but you still need to remove the offending animals, one day your guard will be down. If you saw burglar/peeing Tom tracks in the mud and snow outside your house and heard the door knob rattle as they tried to get in would you just cower under the covers and hope they go away? Nope you would call the cops and have them hauled away, same goes for varmints call a professional wildlife operator if you can't handle it yourself.

 

[Folly's place]

Skunks are adorable little animals who happen to carry some awful diseases, like rabies. There's no way I'm comfortable having a group of them in my back yard! I can protect my chickens, sure, but I also want to decrease the number of skunks, opossums, and raccoons in my yard and barns.
Relocating them is illegal, except for very limited situations, so that leaves fencing, and trapping, and shooting them.
There's a skunk population explosion somewhere in the US now (south? Texas?) and that's the plan down there.
Mary

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I am not familiar with their services. But I have found that skunks are one of the easiest predators to trap.

Folly's place is correct about being able to use a tarp or blanket to slowly (and quietly) walk up to the trap to drape it over to remove a trap with a skunk. Skunks do not have great eyesight and if a person moves slowly, the skunk is more curious in what you are doing. Most live open traps that accommodate skunks have a solid door on the one end. I used to drape the cage with an old blanket. But unless someone else is dealing with the skunk, you still have to deal with it once you move it. I dispatch skunks point blank in the trap with no cover anymore...but most people are not crazy enough to do this...lol.

Skunks are fond of food left out for pets, spilled seeds and chicken feed etc. It is best to keep your yard completely clean of items that may attract predators. It is not realistic to expect not to constantly deal with predators. You may reduce the nuisance for a bit...but they will reproduce and refresh their numbers.

I will also note that just because you are seeing skunks, that doesn't mean it IS skunks killing your chickens. We see skunks all the time and I considered they had killed a couple of my cull roosters. I now know it was minks that moved in. I knew we had a predator but didn't know what predator. You won't see minks or weasels or most other deadly predators like raccoons, but they're there. Securing your coop is the most important action you can take. With chickens, there will always be predators.

If you are not comfortable with dealing with the trapping part, I would hire a service.

 

[Shadyfarms]

Again killing wildlife solves no problems. Kill a skunk, another one will move in. This line of thinking is outdated and ineffective. Humans are smarter than wildlife, adapt and build a proper coop. Learn to live with nature and you will have an easier time raising chickens.

 

[imnukensc]

If you have a secure coop and run and skunks are killing your chickens because you forgot to secure it properly, then skunks are not the problem.

 

[Chickassan]

I have to wonder why the skunks are coming, do you have loose feed out pet dishes or bird feeders? Skunks normally aren't active predators they prefer an easy meal. If you've seen one you've got 25 or more so they're eating something other than chickens.