Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[chickflick]

That's beautiful... So cheerful!

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Whew. now that i've gotten my novel out, i have questions too: Does a skunk pose any danger to chickens? (Except "pooting" on them, lice/ mites/ worms, and the general egg eating? ( I just got done with my first round of ivomec treating for lice, so he's been probably treated too since he apparently ate a ton of eggs!)

I have a young skunk that's decided that the place to sleep at night is my nest boxes! I've been driven to leave my coop and run open to each other on account of the heat. The other night i came face to face with the little guy, and he seems friendly but is pooping in the nests and the egg spillage stinks in the heat. I don't want to shoot him if he's not a physical danger though, because it occured to me that while he's there the coons might NOT be? Or is that just wishful? At least one of the nests is closeable to keep him out if need be for passive measures. I always move easy and talk a lot to calm my birds when i approach, and we had a skunk before elsewhere on the property and never got sprayed then. so my only fear is the overzealous rooster.

Tonight i headed him off because the chickens seemed ravenous and nervous, though there was still a lot of pellets in the bowl. I think they were to scared to come down and eat, so they are locked in for the night sans their new friend.

 

[Folly's place]

Chicks! Chicks! Chicks!!! This week the eggs hatched; 16 baby Belgian d'uccles, under two broodies! Already have five two month olds, so lotsa choices this year for additions to my flock, Cute!!! Anyone looking for banties? Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Chicks! Chicks! Chicks!!! This week the eggs hatched; 16 baby Belgian d'uccles, under two broodies! Already have five two month olds, so lotsa choices this year for additions to my flock, Cute!!! Anyone looking for banties? Mary

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Awww! I have babies too so i can't but d'uccles are the cutest little bitty babies!

 

[Folly's place]

Fuzzy, skunks are adorable, BUT are happy to eats eggs, chickens, and chicken food, AND are a high risk species for carrying rabies. Your best bet is to lock the birds up in their predator- proof coop until you can catch the little guy in your live trap, and send him to the happy hunting ground. It's illegal to relocate them, and no favor to the skunk, or his new home. I've just had a young skunk visitor to my side yard, and have stopped all chicken feeding outside of their coop for the summer. Live traps are also set; all the coon, fox, and skunk babies are out now. Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Fuzzy, skunks are adorable, BUT are happy to eats eggs, chickens, and chicken food, AND are a high risk species for carrying rabies. Your best bet is to lock the birds up in their predator- proof coop until you can catch the little guy in your live trap, and send him to the happy hunting ground. It's illegal to relocate them, and no favor to the skunk, or his new home. I've just had a young skunk visitor to my side yard, and have stopped all chicken feeding outside of their coop for the summer. Live traps are also set; all the coon, fox, and skunk babies are out now. Mary

 

[Amy PT]

Fuzzy thank you for the reassurance and the suggestions for other treatment options.

 

[Trefoil]

Whew. now that i've gotten my novel out, i have questions too: Does a skunk pose any danger to chickens? (Except "pooting" on them, lice/ mites/ worms, and the general egg eating? ( I just got done with my first round of ivomec treating for lice, so he's been probably treated too since he apparently ate a ton of eggs!)

I have a young skunk that's decided that the place to sleep at night is my nest boxes! I've been driven to leave my coop and run open to each other on account of the heat. The other night i came face to face with the little guy, and he seems friendly but is pooping in the nests and the egg spillage stinks in the heat. I don't want to shoot him if he's not a physical danger though, because it occured to me that while he's there the coons might NOT be? Or is that just wishful? At least one of the nests is closeable to keep him out if need be for passive measures. I always move easy and talk a lot to calm my birds when i approach, and we had a skunk before elsewhere on the property and never got sprayed then. so my only fear is the overzealous rooster.

Tonight i headed him off because the chickens seemed ravenous and nervous, though there was still a lot of pellets in the bowl. I think they were to scared to come down and eat, so they are locked in for the night sans their new friend.

I would discourage the skunk from nesting with the chickens. Mothballs in the nest will work, but probably on the chickens as well. Is there any way you can skunk proof your coop & run? For one thing, if a skunk can get in, so can a coon. I've never had a problem with skunks eating chickens, but if they got hungry enough or found a disabled or dead one, they might. And if they encountered a coon, the smell lasts, and lasts, and lasts, and every time it rains, returns.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

One thing about a camper coop is it's metal; other thing is it's hot. One can never be sure but i think my only weak spots in the coop right now is the windows since they are screen. I'll have to get some hardware cloth. We cut a hole in the floor for a pop door, so i'll have to be sure on that one too. For tonight i have a huge cement brick on it. DH lent out his traps and never got them back; so the only option would be an out and out shooting in the event he sticks around. My neigbor has birds too and has also had egg losses, so........ for now he's eating eggs but looks like we need to have a discussion and decide about this. Drat i liked the little guy.

Run isn' t solid against much of anything, it's more of a deterrent. When it's cooler weather i only let birds out when i'm there and don't even use the run, i only have a small handful of birds and tons of space in there. They have plenty of cover and under the coop as well for hawk cover, which until now has been my only real issue.