A Smelly Surprise

One morning, I had just come in from feeding the animals and I happened to glance outside the window. Was something in our chicken coop? I looked a little closer and discovered a skunk was exploring the premises! Instinct kicked in and I thought, "how do I get that creature out?!" Then my rational thinking sunk in and I realized I was going to do absolutely nothing to try to coax that creature out. I was just hoping that our chickens survived. They did. Our eggs did not.

Jump ahead a few days later and we were out getting our garden "winterized." It was mid-June and we were expecting a few nights of hard frost. I was in the process of covering our watermelon plants when I heard some rustling and my daughter shouted, "Look out Mom!" Not ten feet from me was not one, but six skunks! A mama and her five kits. I gave them plenty of space!

At first glance, these little guys are kind cute but they cause so many problems. They can kill chickens, eat the eggs, destroy the garden, and make the kids nervous about playing outside. The day after this encounter, my four year old son had a run in with one of these guys in front of the chicken coop. He high tailed it into the house before the skunk had a chance to rise its tail. He was pretty shook up after that and wouldn't go outside by himself for awhile after that.

Sorry about the blurry picture but I didn't want to be close while taking these photos!

Maybe we need to get a dog? A farm isn't complete without a dog right? Maybe it would keep these critters at bay.