There's a skunk sleeping in my coop?!

[robynt]

Okay, we have a small, temporary coop for our 3 chickens while my husband rebuilds our barn. The coop has no floor. I went out this morning to give the girls some food, and there is a skunk curled up, asleep, in a depression the girls made in the dirt floor. What do I do?? I don't have any chicks, so I'm hoping the full-grown hens are safe from the skunk, but will the skunk eat the chicken feed? Will the skunk eat the eggs before I can retrieve them from the nesting boxes? Most importantly - how to I get the skunk to leave the coop??
I've added a photo I took thru the side of the coop (we have a hinged side to get to the nest boxes). It's really a very cute little guy.. my daughter wants us to trap it and turn it into a pet... we're saying absolutely NOT!

Well, as of nightfall the skunk has left the coop of its own accord. I did my best to block up the couple of areas where it may have burrowed into the coop. No harm to the chickens, so crisis averted?

 

[THough1956]

I don't know the answer to any of your questions, but I would love to see a picture of this! I have seen dead skunks in the road but have never seen a live skunk. I know they will eat the eggs.

 

[CityChicker]

They will definitely eat eggs and I imagine they will eat some of the feed as well. I don't know that they will eat a full grown bird, but I am sure it is possible. To me, the most annoying thing about them is the spraying.

Finding them with your pets or even inside a building is not uncommon at all. They will even learn to enter houses through doggie doors. I don't think there is any way to get rid of them other than to trap them.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Try a hose with a sprayer gun so you can be at a bit of distance. I know it will get your coop wet but that was the way I got 2 skunks to leave our training field one night. They didn't like the water at all and took off running!

 

[Wateredgarden11]

Good Luck with this problem.
Hopefully someone will give you some helpful advice. Not sure what I would do if we found a skunk in our run or coop. We had a terrible problem with a skunk over this past winter..living under our deck and sunroom along with an opossum..they would fight under our sunroom and you just do not want to know what that smelled like. Our dog was hit by the spray and it was all around a miserable experience.

We have tried to seal up every available crack so we never go through this again. I sure hope the skunk leaves on its own so you can safely remove the eggs and seal the openings..Good Luck!

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
Yup. They don't like getting wet. I had one hiding in my barn behind a feed bin. I stood on the bin and started dumping buckets of water on him. Since I was above him he didn't spray me, and he got the heck out of there. Stand as far back as you can with a spray nozzle on a garden hose and blast away.

 

[citrusdreams]

Yes, it'll eat the chicken feed and the eggs before you can get to them.

I wouldn't go after it with a hose though, it might stink up your chicken coop.

I vote for trapping. Or call animal control and ask them to help you. If not, trap it and get rid of it. At least it's not tearing apart your chickens

It's just playing King of the Castle right now

 

[RasMama]

oh, a skunk may not eat the fully grown hens, but it can sure kill them. I lost 2 girls in one night to a skunk, ripped the head off one & ate a little of the breast of the other (if you're going to kill them, can't you at least eat them too? I hear they just like to drink the blood though). Whatever you have to do, get it out of the coop & make sure it doesn't come back!

 

[barred-rocks-rock]

he might attack them, but he will definitely eat the eggs. get him out, and just in case, by some tomato juice.

 

[Blackbird]

Its just a little baby kitty.