Skunks

[judepardee]

I discovered a skunk in my coop 3 days ago. It had a small tunnel between pen and coop and may have been residing in that burrow for a while. My five not-yet-laying hens didn't seem perturbed. I think I have evicted it using these two techniques: (1) I ran a hose into the opening of the burrow on the run side, which quickly filled up and seeped into the earthen floors of both coop and pen, so it seemed there wasn't a tunnel to the outside. Also, the chicken residence is built inside a substantial concrete foundation, 12" wide and 3' deep, difficult to tunnel under. When I flooded his burrow, the skunk was curled up in a corner of the coop. (2) I ran an extension cord and turned on an "Ultrasonic Pest Repelling Device." The irritating sound roused the skunk, who ran from coop to pen and then back and forth in front of one mesh wall for awhile before it discovered the open door two feet away. Then it departed.

I have closed even the smallest openings in the coop construction and am hopeful that the skunk has decided to re-locate. This intruder was a striped skunk, which I have read is not the variety that can climb, but my chicken pen is covered with 1/2# square mesh.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Wow, you are awesome! Way to go there. It's a good thing he was not hungry when he got into your hen house.