How did you keep from getting sprayed??Always, always, always close up the coops before it gets dark! I know this. I almost always do this. Tonight, however, I chatted with DH over a nice dinner, chatted over coffee, and ambled out without a flashlight at eight to collect eggs and count heads before shutting doors. One egg in the first tractor. "Thank you NN ladies." Tromp, tromp, tromp. Creaky hinge. "What's that? Is that you, Tommy? Whatcha doing in the nest box? Creaky hinge. Tromp, tromp, tromp. "Whatcha doing, Honey?" "I need a flashlight. I reached in to collect eggs from the big tractor and touched fur. Tommy may have become an egg thief." "Take your phone." Tromp, tromp, tromp, tromp. Click. Creaky hinge. "Holy Moly! Get out of that nest box!" Creaky hinge.
I found my empty live trap, propped it in the opening of the chicken tractor, and talked the skunk down out of the nest box. I raised the floor, secured it, and then used my classroom voice to convince the skunk to go into the live trap. Once inside, I released the trap door. I put tin against the coop, and under the trap, and then set a big iron mail box on the live trap. I got some bailing wire from the barn and secured the back of the trap. That should hold her until I get home from work tomorrow. This will be skunk number three in as many months. A big black one, bigger than our terrier, skulked around at the periphery of the yard light. He watched me trap his girl and then made a run for the north fence. I'll set another trap tomorrow to get him out of the cafeteria line. I took a video while I was moving the skunk into the live trap. It's taking forever to download. Maybe by tomorrow I can post a few clips of my skunk misadventures.
