Skunk spray...toxic to chickens??

[Bizzybirdy]

Well I have two chickens in a pen by my front door and they were just sprayed by a skunk. They don't appear to be feeling well, but then the smell is making ME pretty sick also

. Will they be ok? I feel so bad for them.

I tried to shoot the thing but it kept running/charging at me...never had one do that. They usually run away. This one was a crazy loon, scared me so much I couldn't get a good aim at him, had to keep back pedalling. Maybe he was rabid?

Got rid of my chicken killing dog and now have possums and skunks running amok again. Oh, well. At least no more chickens were killed.

 

[gsim]

Sounds like it has rabies. Trap and shoot until you see no more. Tomato juice only thing I have heard of to help kill odor of skunk. You may have to segregate those two to keep the smell from overwhelming the others in the coop overnight. I am serious.

 

[thumbless]

Tomato juice does work for this, used it on my car once when that skunk jumped under my tire.

 

[CMV]

* 1 quart 3 percent hydrogen peroxide
* 1/4 cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
* 1 teaspoon liquid soap or dish detergent
* Mix these together and bathe ("shampoo" in or rub down) the spray victim thoroughly.
* Be sure to use this mixture immediately after it is created, as it is unstable.
* Rinse with tap water afterward, and repeat if necessary.
* For spray in the eyes, flush with water as soon as possible.

My coop was sprayed last fall along with my pup. It didn't seem to phase the chickens much, but I had to open the sprayed door each time I had to collect eggs. It reeked for about a month. The above recipe should help alleviate the stench. That animal sounds way too aggressive not to be ill.

Good luck.

 

[mdbokc]

Agree, rabid very probable, especially if out in the daytime.

 

[MissJenny]

If this happened shortly before your post chances are slim that this skunk is rabid. It had just sprayed, therefore had no spray left -- charging at you was his way of trying to intimidate you into retreating. They have few predators -- a desparate hawk will eat a skunk, but that's about it. It wanted you to retreat far enough for it to beat it's own hasty retreat.

Some of the home solutions work to cut skunk odor is that it has a high oil factor -- the acidity in tomato juice and peroxide/baking soda go a long way to cut the oil that binds the skunk stench to whatever it hit. Something else that works is vinegar which is easy to use in a spray bottle. If you are planning to wash your affected hens cut the vinegar with warm water, two cups to a gallon and add a teaspoon of Dawn dish detergent.

Good Luck,
Jenny

 

[pedro24]

i hope that the spray has not got in to there
eyes because they can go blind if in there
long enough

 

[Bizzybirdy]

It had just sprayed, therefore had no spray left -- charging at you was his way of trying to intimidate you into retreating.

Hmmmmmm...ok. I never had actually turn around and really run right at me like this one did, and several times. He did succeed in scaring me back enough that he could escape. I just had visions of him biting me in the leg and having to get rabies shots...not a pleasant thought. The others I have encountered had never sprayed, nor attacked.

My roos in the hutch are looking better today. They do not go into the coop yet. I, on the other hand, had to visit a friend in a nursing home and explain to everyone all day WHY I smelled like a SKUNK.

Thanks for all the remedies...I will try one or two on ME and my front door. lol​

 

[TarzantheChickenMan]

what time of day was it skunk are start being active in the afternoon some times
I got skunk hunting at about 5pm just riding around in the fields on his farm stop shoot skunks
the charging attitude is normal bluffing behavior skunks can only spray once or twice real big so they try to conserve it
if it already sprayed it may have known it was out of stink juice

 

[Luvducks]

Quote:
This DOES work. I used this recipe on my dog last summer and he was able to sleep in bed with us and we did not smell skunk. Honest.
Rescuers use Dawn dish washing liquid on ducks and birds after an oil spill, Good luck