NY chicken lover!!!!

[Beer can]

@Aria skunks can and will kill chickens, though I never had a problem with them.
Had a skunk in the run one night a few yrs ago. I was up to it, back inside our house, back and forth debating whether or not it would spray if I got it between the eyes...luckily it decided to go back out the hole it made and disappear, found out later even a good head shot they will still spray.
Haven't seen one since, and I think it was just after their food, not sure.

 

[Aria]

Beer Can THANKS. My husband caught the Skunk. Don't know
and don't want to know...how he will get rid of it and he plans
to set the trap again. See what he gets.

I was the door opener...that DID NOT WORK. We should have checked.
A new door opener is coming Monday. We need to WATCH and be
more aware. We just NEVER had this problem. Now we have...we
realize ...we did NOT check. We are learning by our mistakes.
Regards, Aria

 

[Aria]

Metella, Thanks for your response. Will check your Farm. Aria

 

[Gramma Chick]

Thoughts are with those experiencing losses. I hope the weather cooperates for everyone to get more secure and/or trap the predators.

Anyone here successfully treat wry neck without breaking the bank? I have nutridrench for her and give a bit to her directly twice a day and have been hand feeding yogurt or tuna directly to her to give her the vitamin e and selenium that is recommended. She took a turn for the worse last night and hasn't been able to uncurl her neck. This morning she seems to be gasping for air. I've read it gets worse before it gets better but this is a drastic change for the worse and I don't want her to suffer. She's about 10 weeks old.

From my chicken Medicines file
WRY NECK - (Crooked Neck)
A bent neck can be a genetic condition or can be the result of a vitamin deficiency. When it is the result of a genetic condition, there is no treatment. Some breeds, such as silkies, are more prone to getting it genetically. Vitamin treatment is still worth a try. If the wry neck is a result of vitamin deficiency, the vitamin treatment should clear it up.
Vitamin E gel caps with Selenium - give the chicken the liquid from the gel caps. Make sure to get the kind with Selenium for proper absorption.
Polyvisol without iron - this is a liquid vitamin supplement labeled for infants. Get it at the drug store or some grocery stores. Can be used in addition to vitamin E when treating wry neck.
First week:
Twice a day
2.5 mg of prednisone
400 IU of vitamin E
Once a day
A piece of human vitamin B complex pill or a squirt of human liquid vitamins
Selenium (50 micrograms/day for half size juvenile for 3 days)
For the second week:
Once a day
2.5 mg of prednisone
400 IU of vitamin E
A piece of human vitamin B complex pill or a squirt of human liquid vitamins
Every other day
Selenium (50 micrograms/day for half size juvenile for 3 days)
For the following weeks:
Once a day
2.5 mg of prednisone
400 IU of vitamin E
A piece of human vitamin B complex pill or a squirt of human liquid vitamins
Every third day
Selenium (50 micrograms/day for half size juvenile for 3 days)
Do not abruptly stop prednisone, the swelling rebounds, decrease dose gradually.
Vitamin E recovery can be slow; continue the vitamin E for several weeks at least.

 

[Gramma Chick]

@Aria skunks can and will kill chickens, though I never had a problem with them.
Had a skunk in the run one night a few yrs ago. I was up to it, back inside our house, back and forth debating whether or not it would spray if I got it between the eyes...luckily it decided to go back out the hole it made and disappear, found out later even a good head shot they will still spray.
Haven't seen one since, and I think it was just after their food, not sure.
What did you use for bait ...?skunky was probably hungry ..I still think it was a fox ...
We have all forgotten to close the coop ...I left the nesting box partially open last night ..forgot to go out and close it

FROM Wikipedia -
Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material and changing their diets as the seasons change. They eat insects and larvae, earthworms, grubs, small rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles and eggs. They also commonly eat berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi and nuts.
In settled areas, skunks also seek garbage left by humans. Less often, skunks may be found acting as scavengers, eating bird and rodent carcasses left by cats or other animals. Pet owners, particularly those of cats, may experience a skunk finding its way into a garage or basement where pet food is kept. Skunks commonly dig holes in lawns in search of grubs and worms.
Skunks are one of the primary predators of the honeybee, relying on their thick fur to protect them from stings. The skunk scratches at the front of the beehive and eats the guard bees that come out to investigate. Mother skunks are known to teach this behavior to their young.

We have a skunk that wanders through our yard ...probably nightly ...
Ive seen him / her late afternoon and at pitch dark ...last night it tripped the motion detector lights on the shed coop ..
So I went out to see what it was ...
Little skunky had the chipmunk carcass that the cat left ..so it is the clean up crew for the cat .
I had been burying them ..but I think I will toss them in the back lot ..it can find them there
We also have a opossum once in a while ...look for food scraps in the yard at night
Neither seem interested in the chickens..at this time

 

[fireredcannon]

@Gramma Chick
You're getting Prednisone OTC?

 

[Sstewart]

I have a few roosters free to a good home. I cannot keep them.
One welsummer, one Cochin, one naked neck and one mottled gorgeous boy.
They are 7 weeks.
:cd

 

[Chicken girl 15]

I didn't know skunks were really interested in chickens - unless maybe in starvation mode.  Good to know.

Sorry for all the losses - my solution is a $20 baby monitor out near the coop under an overhang - I've gone out many times when I hear a ruckus and seen a few different things slink off ... My monitor has lasted almost 3 years now - of course - it is only helpful if you are home to run out shouting and shooting like a crazy fool .....

This next bit is homestead related - and I have NO expectations - but not sharing is not knowing if anyone wants to know.

I was invited to put my farm into a small contest - so if you want to support me - all it takes is a click (no registration or anything).

So thanks ahead of time to any of you who visit the site and give my farm a "click"

http://www.beekmanmortgagelifter.com/profile/phoenix-farm/68891/

I love your farm and even more so I love your reason for farming. I will be voting daily as will Jeanette and James.

 

[Beer can]

I have a few roosters free to a good home. I cannot keep them.
One welsummer, one Cochin, one naked neck and one mottled gorgeous boy.
They are 7 weeks.

If you had a dark cornish cockerel I'd take you up on that offer.
Why doesn't anyone around here have any dark or white, or white laced red cornish???
Does anyone in NY have some??

 

[Chicken girl 15]

I want to find a cornish breeding group. I would love to have a sustainable meat flock. All my attempts so far at a "table bird" have been a bit small. With 7 of us it takes 2 normal sized birds, it's taking 4 of the ones I grew out.