skunks living under coop and stealing all the egs

[chickens really]

Moth balls work great....And as mentioned..Jack it up and get some fire crackers to toss under the coop...The skunk wont want to come back.....

I use moth balls in my barn to keep the mice out of my bins and and away from my horses tack....So far, not one mouse.....

 

[itsasmallfarm]

i would trap and kill, skunks are a major carrier of rabies and disease. so relocating is not the best interest for the rest of the wild life, having that said am not sure of your laws, where i live skunks are open season. again its up to you, about relocating or trap and kill, but in many places its illegal to relocate animals with out permission (from the DNR)

 

[Farmer Brian]

Mary, I too recommend you trap and euthanize the skunks (rabies vector species). There are a few ways to do this.
CO2 chamber ( a little investment but will always be on hand for anything that gets into a cage). Shooting w/.22 to head (not advised unless you are rural and don't mind the smell. Drowning - IF LEGAL in your state (just drop cage into barrel of water and walk away, skunk usually won't release essence). Or, IF LEGAL, inject with acetone ( syringe on a pole, skunks won't fight the needle like other animals and if placed in the heart/lung area will result in almost instant death, rarely spraying). Check your state laws.
I've caught and killed hundreds of skunks with CO2, it takes a few minutes but is quite humane to the animal. Good luck.

 

[Sublight]

Forgive me but im ignorant about skunks. If they burrow a tunnel underground and live there, and you want to get them out, then throw a water hose into the hole and turn it on. they will escape. If you want to kill them, then just put a screen over the hole, and run water into the hole anyway.

 

[1peace]

Hi !

For 3 years now we've had skunks living under the chicken coop and eating all our eggs. Our coop is made of wood and we've reinforced all the sides with metal strips but those skunks get in by chewing the wood underneath and squeezing in. We've caught several with a have-a -heart (the fattest most well fed skunks ever) and relocated them but this is getting tedious and different ones keep coming back.

I read somewhere, but of course can't find it now, that red lighting will keep them out of the coop. Has anyone tried this? Does anyone have any other suggestions? Our coop is big and we don't want to make a whole new one and truthfully no one wants to go under the coop to get them out of there.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Hi
Try soaking A rag in ammonia and put it in a bag with a few holes in it and slip it under the entrances and hopefully that will work for you
It won’t hurt them
And they leave hopefully

 

[McChooky]

Mary, I too recommend you trap and euthanize the skunks (rabies vector species). There are a few ways to do this.
CO2 chamber ( a little investment but will always be on hand for anything that gets into a cage). Shooting w/.22 to head (not advised unless you are rural and don't mind the smell. Drowning - IF LEGAL in your state (just drop cage into barrel of water and walk away, skunk usually won't release essence). Or, IF LEGAL, inject with acetone ( syringe on a pole, skunks won't fight the needle like other animals and if placed in the heart/lung area will result in almost instant death, rarely spraying). Check your state laws.
I've caught and killed hundreds of skunks with CO2, it takes a few minutes but is quite humane to the animal. Good luck.

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Hundreds?! I didn't know a person could trap so many skunks at one time!

 

[Geena]

Hundreds?! I didn't know a person could trap so many skunks at one time!

That's a LOT of skunks
but it seems he has a pest removal company, as per the link.

 

[McChooky]

That's a LOT of skunks
but it seems he has a pest removal company, as per the link.

Thank you! I'm glad to know they all didn't come from the same place! lol

 

[Farmer Brian]

Thank you! I'm glad to know they all didn't come from the same place! lol

Not from same place. That was a season's worth of skunks that were frozen. I thawed them and removed the essence with a syringe for sale.

 

[ashcons]

Ah, fresh eau de skunk.

To be a fly on the wall when you sell that freezer on Craigslist.