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I Smell a Skunk...Broody hen, loose feathers, broken egg shells and a faint smell of skunk lingering in the air...We had a hen who became broody and put a total of 8 eggs underneath her. She chose to sit under some very old doors that were leaning against a wall of a very old building, formally known as the "hog b�rn". She sat and sat. Our daughters marked the calender 21 days from the time she began to sit in eager anticipation of the hatching of those eggs. Daily they gave her some grain and freshened her water. Until one morning, they ran inside to inform me that there were a bunch of loose feathers lying on the ground next to broody hen and there were a few broken eggs shells. Upon further inspection, I concluded we were dealing with a skunk (the odor gave it away).Bless little broody hen for sticking with her four remaining eggs. She must have put up a fight, for I know skunks are capable of killing chickens. We put up screens and boards to protect her while my husb�nd set a trap. The next day, the girls disappointingly announced that the rest of the eggs had been eaten, broody hen left her nest, and the trap had been ignored. My husband put a water hose into the hole that was on the opposite side of the hog barn. We know the skunk has been residing in this hole for we have noticed its lovely scent before. Prior to the broody hen incident, my husband set a trap many times tyring to trap the thing. However, we mistakenly thought the thing had left after many failed attempts at trapping it and the absense of its odor. This time with the hose on full blast in the skunk hole, my husb�nd stood with gun cocked ready to rid ourselves of the egg destroying varment. We waited and waited. Nothing. Plan B: he filled in the hole with dirt. So far, we have had no further egg robbing. We can hope and pray the thing has permently fertilized the ground or moved on to greener pastures. In Indiana, red-t�iled hawks and raccoons were the culprits we warred with as they made meals out of our chickens. Skunks are yet a different predator that we are learning about here in Minnesota. We learned they are capable of digging underneath fencing to get to your chickens and eggs. Oh well, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away... The Farmer's Wife 09:24 - 2006-May-26 - post comment
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Description Sharing our thoughts, events, ups and downs, as we restore a once profitable farm to its former greatness as a Christian agrarian family. Home User Profile Archives Friends Lighthouse Farm Our DVD's for homesteader's Homestead Series e-books Lighthouse Farm Podcasts No NAIS Recent Entries - Pig-headed or chicken-hearted???? - Health care - the way it used to be - The Egg Hog - Back in blogdom after chasing sheep - Ode to Winter 2007 - Chicken and Hog DVD's are now finished!! - Video clip of the birth of a piglet - News about Haitian friends!!!!! - Authentic AgricultureTM - Welcome! - A Peaceful Night in the Pasture - Big Sale at The Old Schoolhouse!! - Rendering Lard - Hog Butchering Time - John Ray - Founder of Biology - A Breath-taking Field Trip - Fat and Sassy - Real Men Eat Quiche - Green Tomato Recipes - Harvest - Two Cents Worth on Pinching Pennies... - Cockle burrs and stinging nettle a blessing? - Gourmet Meals At The Farm Table - Seeds Worth Saving - Sweet cartoon - Commercial rice supply has been contaminated - Spermicidal Corn - Agricultural Science Fiction Horror Flick or Truth? - SImple Entertainment - "Gardening is like a treasure hunt!" - Pigs don't stink - Diggin' For Gold!! - Rain - a Blessing or a Curse? - My Sheep Know My Voice - er - Chain Saw... - The Old Farm Dog - An Alarming Nightime Visitor - Farming Magazine - A Pig's Nest - Meager chicken harvest - Bacon + Garlic = Piglets? - A Rare July 4th Tribute to Farmers - Fencing in more pasture - Three months on our new place.... - Blood suckers in Minnesota :( - Miss Bacon and Rocky Mountain Oysters - Sheep without a shepherd - Haying with my man! - Mink solutions, anyone? - Goat meets pig... - I Smell a Skunk... - URGENT!! Please forward!!!! - Did Adam Smell Like That? - Minnesota!!!!! - Problem solved - God is good - The Rat Trap and One Happy Girl - New Podcast - Farm Restoration - The Beginning - An Honorable Gentleman Has Died - Why teach our children about agriculture? - Cheap, Safe Food??? - New NAIS links worth reading - Old Tractors Never Die - A Lawyer comments on Constitutional Rights and NAIS - Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks - Big Bellies and Big Bags - Hosting Haitians on the Homestead - Minnesota, Here We Come (after we sell our house) and "the Chip" - And God saw that it was good - Greetings |