Amazing how hungry wildlife shows up in droves when you have chickens. I've never willingly killed anything in my life, with the exception of spiders and creepy crawlies. I'm a vegetarian. I shot a skunk tonight that's been hanging around my yard since the girls moved outside. I feel horrible but I'd rather practice preventative medicine. It didn't stink until I poked it with the shovel to make sure it was dead (never thought I'd actually shoot something on my first try). Now I can't sleep - both due to the smell and psychological reasons.
Hang in there. If you are going to keep chickens you are duty bound to protect them from predators. Sleep well knowing you did your job.
I am sorry you are having a hard time dealing with what happened... It is very hard any time you take a life.. just try to remeber that you were protecting your own and that has to take prioritie... Sadly some folks may get on here and give you a hard time but you do what you have to do to protect your loved ones,...
I sort of felt the same way after we killed an entire family of raccoons last week, but when I remember seeing them on top of our favorite chicken and remember how badly they mutilated her (we had to shoot her to put her out of her misery) I don't feel quite so bad. It was easier for me to justify what we did after seeing the damage they caused. I hope you can realize that you did what you had to do to protect your girls.
I can't help with your conscience, because it is what makes you human. I can help some with the stink though. My garden gate got blasted last week by a skunk, post mortem. http://home.earthlink.net/~skunkremedy/home/sk00001.htm Replace "your pet" with "yourself, your clothing, your patio, your shovel, your front door, etc." The Skunk Remedy Recipe In a plastic bucket, mix well the following ingredients: 1 quart of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide 1/4 cup of baking soda 1 to 2 teaspoons liquid soap for very large pets one quart of tepid tap water may be added to enable complete coverage. Wash pet promptly and thoroughly, work the solution deep into the fur. Let your nose guide you, leave the solution on about 5 minutes or until the odor is gone. Some heavily oiled areas may require a "rinse and repeat" washing. Skunks usually aim for the face, but try to keep the solution out of the eyes - it stings. If you have any cuts on your hands you might want to wear latex gloves for the same reason. After treatment, thoroughly rinse your pet with tepid tap water. Pour the spent solution down the drain with running water. NEVER, ever, store mixed solution in a closed bottle, sprayer,etc. Pressure will build up until the container bursts. This can cause severe injury.
As someone who has hunted animals almost my whole life, your remorse shows a healthy respect for the animals around us. If one takes undo pleasure in just the killing of animals it is just that killing, but if you respect the animals and understand that sometimes you must take the life of an animal to protect many other animals then welcome yourself to nature management. We are stewards of this world and her animals.
Thank you guys for all your support. It really means a lot to me that this community is supportive. I did want to follow up and at least say the story had a somewhat funny ending... at least to me. A little bit of background: I'm divorced, live alone. I have a boyfriend who is amazing and wonderful and all that jazz (he truly deserves so much better than me, but that's another story). He also, consequently, abhors nothing more than the smell of a discharged skunk. When the skunk first started stalking around here I asked him if I should shoot it. He said no because it's smelly, etc. Well after scaring the skunk off a few times I realized the situation wasn't going to get better. I saw the skunk last night and figured I could have it all taken care of (if I could even manage to hit it) and he would never be the wiser. Well I shot the skunk, much to my amazement, and then I start contemplating what I'm going to do with the carcass (beginner's mistake, I know). I know for sure I don't want the carcass hanging around in my yard and I don't want it in my car. So I double bag it in trashbags and leave it in my driveway. I figured at work I'll ask my boss to leave work a little early, go home, strap the thing to the roof of my car and take it to the dump. And no one would be the wiser (except maybe the dump master). Well I'm at work this morning and I don't know what made me do it (I usually work at work) but I text my boyfriend to see how he's doing (he's been on late shifts recently). He texts me back saying that he's great and is on his way to the dump. My heart starts pumping faster. I text back asking if he swung by and picked up my trash too. He says yes. I text back, trying to be nonchalant asking him if he happened to also grab the black bag in my driveway. I get a text back "if you mean the bag with the stinky dead skunk, yes I got it." CRAP. We've NEVER been to the dump other than on a weekend, and of all the days... I don't know why I find that so amusing... PS Fels Naptha soap worked GREAT for the smell in my clothes... or else the 6th time washing was a charm.
Two things: 1) If you didn't feel sad that you had to (and you did have to) kill the skunk, I would worry about you. 2) Your boyfriend is a keeper, for sure! And that reminds me of the time I talked my husband into petting some baby skunks and he got sprayed while I did not, but that's a story for a different day.
