Skunk!

[Foxhound lady]

So it appears we have a skunk who has decided that eggs and 6 wk babies are tasty.

With this oh so wonderful drought right now I'm not surprised that a skunk has appeared. Our creek is dried up and we have water buckets out in our back pasture for the deer and any animal who needs.

This morning I came across 2 wk old babies one with a hole through him and the other missing body parts, first thougt was coon or possum as we have had problems with them in the past. Stupid possum took out 3 birds in two nights with another dying 2 days later. But went out this evening and there he/she was snoping on the back line of the coops and a very cranky OEG rooster.

Our feed is in tightly secured trashcans, and I believe I have fixed the area where he/she decided to come through this morning, hopefully that will last until we can get the pen properly secured over the weekend.

but is there anyway I can get he/she to move along without resorting to a gun?

 

[skillswife]

Unfortunately there is little to do to get them to move on. A couple things are keep all the grass and weeds anywhere near the coop/run cut short short. And eliminate any areas where the little buggers can hide behind or under. But this time of year they will quite happily stay for some time if given any comfort, food, water or shelter.

 

[Foxhound lady]

Well it came by again last night when I did the 10pm check and one more of the babies is gone. It dug in under the buried wire on my Silkie pen crawled up through the hole between it and my baby pen. Spooked it enough that the cats ran after her, but the am it claimed the bits that it had missed last night by again crawling under the wire on a exposed corner.

What we did last night was move are remaining tin roofing pieces to the front of the coops so they were blocking the doors as soon as the depot is open concrete is getting poured.


BTW its a very pretty skunk

 

[mhwc56]

maybe you can electrify your fencing ?

 

[luvtheladies]

I had problems with skunks about 2 weeks ago. Being a hunter i can tell you don't shoot it you will be sorry. Here's what you need to do. Get a live trap. Bait it and catch the skunk. When you catch it stay calm and talk softly around it and it wont spray. Put a sheet over it and fill you a barrel with water. Gently carry the trap to the barrell of water and put trap,skunk and all in water till it drowns. Dispose of the skunk. If you do it right you wont have any problems. Trust me I have done this enough to know. I caught 3 skunks in 4 nights and have done this many times. Hope this helps.

 

[ozark_chickies]

Foxhound lady
Yesterday 8:47 pmSo it appears we have a skunk who has decided that eggs and 6 wk babies are tasty.

I wish you luck, and am sorry about your babbies.
We are having skunk troubles, too. I got up at 1:30am smelling skunk. Went out and checked all of the chickens, and never did see it. This has been an ongoing problem for us, we smell it but can't catch it. I feel it's just a mater of time before the little _________ finds it's way to my chickens. So far the bugger has ignored the live traps, so if I see it I will gladly shoot it, smell or not. One got into our moma hens a few weeks ago, and killed 9 chicks, and to me that stinks alot worse than a dead skunk.

luvtheladies
Today 7:00 amI had problems with skunks about 2 weeks ago. Being a hunter i can tell you don't shoot it you will be sorry. Here's what you need to do. Get a live trap. Bait it and catch the skunk. When you catch it stay calm and talk softly around it and it wont spray. Put a sheet over it and fill you a barrel with water. Gently carry the trap to the barrell of water and put trap,skunk and all in water till it drowns. Dispose of the skunk. If you do it right you wont have any problems. Trust me I have done this enough to know. I caught 3 skunks in 4 nights and have done this many times. Hope this helps.

What bait are you using? I've tried tuna,dry cat food, and canned cat food. So far I have caught coons, wild cats, the neighbors cat and small dog,and my cat, but no skunk.​

 

[luvtheladies]

Mostly I have used what the skunk didn't eat that was left of the chickens knowing they would come back for it. Also I have had good luck with sardines. Other than that I use the same baits you do.

 

[Foxhound lady]

Well pen bottom was redone Sat. morning We have horse wire on the bottom butted up to the sides of the pen, big cinder blocks at the corners and at the joins and a big fat layer of dirt on top (as in 3 inches higher then the other pens). Concreted the hole were she was coming in at which happens to be my Silkie pen.

This was the Sat morning BTW well fudge another baby down (6:15 am parts still in nest box) get the rest of the animals/humans fed. Go with tools and wire ready it 7:30 and the parts are now behind the nest box and a bigger hole was dug out at the corner. Start trying to figure out the other soft spots around the coop. Well Silkie door, Layer girls, hole in wire fixed.

what does the little beasty do well last night she dug into the corner of my layer pen which has wire 4 inches down past ground level and gets my almost 3 yr old EE who'd survived a possum attack by me coming out when it was about to bite into her wing.

So now the we have 18x6x2 inch cinder blocks buried down past the edge of the coop, horse wire that butts up all the way around held down with more cinder blocks and about 15 coke cans filled with gravel stationed at corners to hopefully wake-up at least the Rooster

Humm my have to get the live trap from work tomorrow

 

[ozark_chickies]

15 coke cans filled with gravel stationed at corners to hopefully wake-up at least the Rooster

I like this idea! Did you string the cans together, or leave seperate?​

 

[Ole rooster]

FHL........we have a little in common. I took out 2 possum in three nights. My dog is just about the best trap I could get. So far that's all he's found. I waiting on the coon.