There's a skunk sleeping in my coop?!

[Bizzybirdy]

I had a family of skunks here last year...3 adorable babies and their parents. They ate alongside the cats and ate any eggs not laid in the henhouse, which kept my yard cleaned up. They were no problem except they will eat newborn chicks if the mamma is not nearby. Have never had one eat or attack a grown hen.

My neighbor eventually shot them all over a period of time because he was paranoid about rabies but I really enjoyed my skunks. They never sprayed me or my cats and I even petted one while it was eating (accidently)....looked just like one of the kitties. I did back up very slowly though!

 

[ginbart]

I have a skunk coming around about 2am. It wakes me up from the smell. They are cute. We had a family member that had one as a pet.

 

[Lady_Cluck]

I smell a skunk right now.

There is a family of them living under the pine trees at the edge of the property. The coyotes scare them and then they stink up the air for the whole night. :-(

 

[nnbreeder]

But it makes the Coyotes go away which is a good thing.

 

[Lady_Cluck]

True!!!

 

[nursejenny]

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?

I have a skunk that comes and sleeps in my coop as well! Very cute youngster! It digs under the 2x4 base of the chicken run and explores a bit then goes into the actual coop/house and goes to sleep. I keep blocking the holes it digs, but it just digs a new one. I got home late from work tonight and went to make sure everyone came home to roost (they free range all day) and was safe and to close the coop door. I reblocked the new hole I found with bricks and rocks. When I checked on the chickies later the skunk was in the coop and it was searching for a way out... I had accidentally blocked it in! Poor thing. I opened the run door a bit and locked it in place enough to let the skunk out if it so chose. When I checked again later it was curled up in the layer coop asleep. I think it feels safe in the coop. The chickens choose to roost in the higher up tree branches I've placed in their run and they don't seem to mind their guest. Had a young opposum in there one night. Maybe I will just leave a small skunk hole as I worry a fox will somehow get by the slightly cracked open coop door some day. The visitors are always gone when I let the chickies out in morning, and so far they haven't pilfered an egg! But the chicken who lays in the run area lays on the roof of their house in the run - perhaps visitors haven't figured out how to get up there yet! The rest of the chickies lay their eggs outside the coop in the morning in THEIR chosen designated area on a junk table under my balcony behind the house. I love my crazy chickens! And I am a bit partial to the wildlife they run with and tolerate on the property.