Out-skunked

[ChickInDelight]

I finally discovered what is living beneath my coop, having caused no hen harm in many months. Mrs. Skunk.

I also have my chicks in a coop tractor in the chicken yard, and twas there I spied Mrs. Skunk at 4 am. She could fish a paw beneath the tractor and scoop out the babies (because they are not all heading upstairs/indoors at night).

My chicken yard is 5 acres of grass.

I was afraid to trap 'whatever lives under the coop' for fear it was Mrs. Skunk. What does one do with a live trap full of skunk?

I am tempted to let my dog 'take care of' Mrs. Skunk. What would you do?

 

[chiques chicks]

I'm told, although I've never done it!, that if you wrap a feed bag around a live trap so it is dark, and the trap isn't large enough for the skunk to raise its tail, you can trap them and not get sprayed. It will smell, but not spray.

Never heard how to get it out of the trap!

Do you really want your dog sprayed? That smell gets everywhere and list what seems like an eternity.

My theory on skunks? They eat grubs. I leave them alone in my little 5 acres.

 

[ChickInDelight]

We have lived amicably with Mrs. Skunk so far. I have never caught her inside the coop.

I may do nothing. The dog is quite clever at skunk elimination, but he does require the tomato / vinegar bath. I think I will buy some big tomato soup cans, and let nature take its course. If the dog catches the skunk out at night, I am not calling him off of it.

 

[chiques chicks]

You may want to consider putting the little ones to bed until they are out of skunk food size.

 

[123RedBeard]

A few ways to kill skunkie in the trap ... Most are "stinkie" ...

Shoot it ... Let it out of the trap, and then ... Shoot it! (Doesn't stink up trap as bad)

Place trap with skunk inside in a 55 gallon barrel of water ... After 10 minutes, no bubbles!

Place trap with skunk inside, an a large box, hook up a old vehicle, or lawn tractor exhaust to box, start engine walk away, come back after your coffee is gone ... Most newer vehicles burn too clean to produce the needed carbon monoxide ... A cold motor runs the "dirtiest" ...

There is a recipe somewhere here that includes hydrogen peroxide, dawn dish soap ________ that does a much better job than tomato juice . . .

 

[trudyg]

The skunk wash recipe is 1 quart bottle of peroxide + 1 tablespoon of dish liquid + 1 gallon of water. I usually put it in a spray bottle and 'spot' clean my dog. I lather him up (the sprayed spot), rinse, sniff, lather rinse repeat until the smell is very faint. My recommendation is first to determine that there are no babies under the coop (that would die and smell for a long time unless you get them out), Second, I wouldn't trap her at all. You saw her at 4 am, so sit out there with a 22 at 3:30. We usually kill ours as they are coming in after a night out, pre-dawn time frame. If you aren't a good shot, get someone who is. My DH usually manages to get them in the head, so the scent sac is intact and there's no smell. You'll be out of range if she sprays, but also make sure any spray wont get on the coop, house, or anyplace else where it would linger. Third, put up the chicks at night (maybe put a tote in there on the ground so she couldn't reach them or lay a piece of wire flat on the ground on the perimeter.) I don't care what they eat, I want them gone. If she has babies there, she & they will keep coming back and you'll have a problem. We had one that got in under our house and I could hear her rummaging around. We sat on the porch early one morning and got her as she was coming in. (trigger warning) you could see the babies moving in her after she was shot. Skunks are not an endangered species. They may eat grubs, but they are not beneficial if they are too close to my place.

 

[Folly's place]

x2! I have trapped skunks in the live trap, and here's what we do; Have an old tarp or something in front of your body as you approach the trap quietly. Toss the tarp over the trap, wrap it, and shoot the skunk away from the house. We didn't have a spraying event, but the tarp would have saved things if we had. Bury it deep! If your DNR is screening for rabies in your area, they might want to test yours. Find out first, because then you don't shoot it in the head, and the body must be chilled, not frozen. Yummy, huh? Because skunks are a high risk species for carrying and transmitting rabies, they don't get to live in my living area! Mary

 

[slingshotandLAR]

First things first, a skunk will kill every one of your chickens....

Next like others have said, live trap it. It shouldn't spray and go with a trap slow and cover it. Then it's in to a garbage can full of water or any big enough container to submerge the trap.

Sounds kinda cruel but dead is dead and dead with no stink is best.

If you leave it there, one day it will get your birds, plus I wouldn't wanting around the dog or the house