I have a very safe pen (hardware cloth a foot into the ground and three feet above ground) and coop. My hens do free range during daylight hours but only when we are close by to monitor the hawks.
The other night I went out just after dark to close the trap door that separates the pen from the coop (hens are secure whether the door is up or down but I feel better if I close it at night) and I heard a lot of rustling on the deck about ten feet from the coop. It was a family of skunks - must have been a mama and her half-grown brood as they stayed very close together and moved as a unit.
The next day we noticed that something has burrowed under the deck and must be living there - probably the skunks? But we haven't had any noticeable problems with them as far as the chickens go. I guess their schedules don't coincide as the skunks are nocturnal and the chickens don't go outside until 7 am or so and are always tucked in by sundown.
I read that skunks are primarily interested in eggs, which are laid well inside the coop and are collected daily so no way for them to get at those. But I do have two bantams, one a rather intellectually-handicapped Silkie, so I am wondering if the skunks present a threat.
Any thoughts?
The other night I went out just after dark to close the trap door that separates the pen from the coop (hens are secure whether the door is up or down but I feel better if I close it at night) and I heard a lot of rustling on the deck about ten feet from the coop. It was a family of skunks - must have been a mama and her half-grown brood as they stayed very close together and moved as a unit.
The next day we noticed that something has burrowed under the deck and must be living there - probably the skunks? But we haven't had any noticeable problems with them as far as the chickens go. I guess their schedules don't coincide as the skunks are nocturnal and the chickens don't go outside until 7 am or so and are always tucked in by sundown.
I read that skunks are primarily interested in eggs, which are laid well inside the coop and are collected daily so no way for them to get at those. But I do have two bantams, one a rather intellectually-handicapped Silkie, so I am wondering if the skunks present a threat.
Any thoughts?