We live with skunks

[DonB]

It seems the skunks have giving us a break. We haven't been seeing them in the yard too much lately. Then, this morning I hear this crash into the back door. It's my wife. She was sitting out on the back porch having her coffee when a young skunk came around the corner and stepped right up on the porch with her. She said the skunk's eyes got as wide as hers when they met. She said she didn't know who was more afraid, the skunk or her but I cast my vote for my her. I bet that little skunk walked away shaking his head over meeting the crazy lady. Everybody learned a little bit and it was a pretty funny deal. Something we'll laugh about for a long time.

[DonB]

Our skunks are back. I don't know where they've been but this morning we had two of the very large white ones in the back yard and about eight of the younger ones having some kind of a party out in the front pasture.

[MissDolittle]

A skunk party? hehehee I just pictured that!!!

[Fluffytial]

Bet that was a cute party to watch. Skunks are rather cute the way they waddle around. Are yours spotted or striped skunks?

[DonB]

Sorry I haven't been back in a while.

Fluffytial, we have striped skunks. Some are conventionally colored and some are kinda like reverse image. White where a typical skunk is black and black where a typical skunk is white. I call them albino but they probably aren't.

Got a minor problem that is under control so far. I have a neighbor (I call him Fudd) who lives a quarter mile behind me. He's been getting a lot of skunk traffic the last few months. He's seen a skunk in his chicken house and in the adjacent shed. Around the time he saw the skunk, one of his chickens was killed and the head was eaten. Fudd was ready to get out his shootin' iron and start killing skunks but I got him settled down by telling him skunks don't kill chickens and it must have been a possum. Did I lie?

I had him set up a radio in the shed to play loud music with a lot of bass to keep the skunks away from the chicken area. This has worked. He reports no more skunks in there. In fact, he's watched them approach the chicken house but then turn away. They don't care for the music.

I just talked to him again and he found one of his best laying hens without a head this morning. Not good.

I need to know. Do skunks kill chickens? I don't think so but there's a lot I don't know. If they do, I guess I'll have to start trapping the skunks and hauling them off.

Thanks,
Don

[MissDolittle]

I don't have much time right now, just quickly want to share what I know.

Opossums do not hunt. While they probably will get into a chicken nest, they will not kill a chicken, only eat the eggs.

Skunks occasionally will kill a chicken AND have the eggs too. It's not the most common thing, since skunks really don't like to climb fences.

So if you ask me, neither of the 2 killed that chicken. Most likely it was a dog or a coon, fox, coyote, bird of prey, etc...or it died of natural causes and another animal ate the head after it died.

[jennismortal]

Skunks are slow-moving mammals and members of the weasel family, commonly identified by their jet-black fur with one or more white stripes running down their backs. One skunk species looks as though it is wearing a hood, with neck hair spread out into a ruff. Other skunks are spotted instead of striped. Humans are often frightened of skunks because of their ability to spray a foul and pungent skunk odor to defend against predators. A striped skunk will be about as big as a house cat.

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