they smell so bad now...

[RECE*2C*]

i hope this is where im supposed put this ... OK, when i went to let the chickens out this morning i noticed a skunk smell it wasn't really bad just like a faint smell but when i let the chickens out i almost gagged from it

i couldn't even stay out there with them it was so bad and every time they would flat there wings or run it would get worse now that is all you smell around my house ... last night i locked them up pretty late like 1 or so but i didn't smell anything then.

 

[CMV]

Did your chickens get sprayed? If so, the smell is the least of your concerns. How did a skunk get in with them? Skunks are not overly ambitious, but they will kill and eat chickens if given an opportunity. You need to beef up your night time security.

 

[Miltonchix]

If its that strong............WATCH YOUR BACK! He either JUST sprayed or is very close by.
Best way to catch a skunk, from what I've been told, is a poisoned egg. Eggs are NOT safe around skunks.

 

[RECE*2C*]

i dont know if they got sprayed but it is nasty and i am almost sure that it was not in there with them there is no was for it to get in ...

trust me i was watching for it i am deathly afraid of them the night before i want out to lock the coop and a skunk was in the yard but on the opposite side of the coop ... needless to say i didn't stay out there and my boyfriend looked it that night.

 

[RECE*2C*]

Quote:
i don't know if i can kill animals where i live, i live in the city, can i get in trouble for that?

 

[mickistoy]

set a live trap with fresh popcorn for bait (hasnt let me down yet and no cats) there are several ways of dispatching it. most involve the use of a truck for transport. if you live trap it. get a tarp preferably a green/brown and walk up to the trap with just your eyes and above exposed (hanging down the front of you). when you get close throw it over the trap and let it set for a minute. at this point you can either

1) set it in a large container filled with water to drown it (yes water will stink).

2) load it into a truck and go somewhere to shoot it.

now sure where you are but in ohio it is illegal to release it due to "transfering your problem".

i would NOT recommend using car exhaust as it is not a pleasant method of "dispatching" an animal.

 

[RECE*2C*]

thanks everyone

 

[emvickrey]

Something I saw on Billy the Exterminator is Skunks are nocturnal. If you happen to see it wondering in daylight it could be sick so be very cautious when you trap it. Watch your fingers when picking the trap up. I would call animal control to find out the legal way to dispose of it. Who knows, they may do it for you. If your lucky.

 

[RECE*2C*]

i would call them but i don't know if i am allowed to have chickens where i live so i don't want to have to get rid of them ... but i might have to call now because i am on the computer and the garage is right next to it and i herd some thing in the garage so i looked out there and there was a bunch of skunks in the garbage and out side the door of it. i think there living in there because some thing gets in the garbage every tine we but it out there. my boy friend is being no help at all, he is sleeping because he has to work early, but all he said is the chickens will be fine and there nothing we can do right now.
but what if one did get in the coop last night and does again, but this time it kills them?

idk im just really upset so i don't know what to do and i cant sleep now but thanks for "listening" to me for a minute.
i hope my chickens are OK but i cant go out there right now, and i don't know what im going to do tomorrow

 

[emvickrey]

I was unfortunate one night to catch a coon in my coop. It hadn't done any damage besides to the coop getting in. My roo had gotten his girls out of the coop and into the run as far away from the coon as possible. Although it could have still killed them he at least tried. Anyway, I had noticed them out in the run late at night when I took the dog out to potty and went to get a flash light. Well, I found it sitting up in the rafters above where he broke in. If I had a gun I would have done the deed myself but I called the neighbor which happens to be my brother n law and he came over and did it for me. I just hate to kill anything and coons are such pretty creatures but it was a danger to my flock and it would have just came back. It had to go. Although I was scared to death, I was in the coop with it. So you may have to just face your fear and do what you have to. If you have a gun, go out and do what you have to to protect your flock. Or get some live traps and catch them and relocate far away so they don't come back.
Its all a part of having livestock, big or small.