Hi all, We are having some predator problems lately. Tonight I heard the hens making alarming noises, so I ran out and immediately smelled a skunk. I made lots of noise so as to not sneak up on him and get myself sprayed. Eventually I saw him in some bushes near the coop and he trotted along. My question is, do you think he was trying to get in the coop? I know skunks will go after eggs and maybe even baby chicks, but will they get in and cause harm to the hens themselves? Or do you think he was just looking around in the area and that caused to girls to freak out when they heard him?
This is all after a crazy last week, when we spent a week with stressed out hens barely sleeping a wink while he were having a fox problem. A red fox was trying to dig into the coop and we set a trap and were finally able to catch him after 4 long nights of him coming around and keeping the chickens on edge. Now that he's gone, I'm afraid the skunk has moved in. We live in a quiet neighborhood, but still right in a city, and have never had any predator problems before except the occasional dog barking at the run trying to get in.
This is all after a crazy last week, when we spent a week with stressed out hens barely sleeping a wink while he were having a fox problem. A red fox was trying to dig into the coop and we set a trap and were finally able to catch him after 4 long nights of him coming around and keeping the chickens on edge. Now that he's gone, I'm afraid the skunk has moved in. We live in a quiet neighborhood, but still right in a city, and have never had any predator problems before except the occasional dog barking at the run trying to get in.