I’m having internet problems…hopefully they can be fixed by Tuesday. That’s the date to have it fixed anyway. I can randomly blog, but I can’t send emails. It’s driving me crazy.
Anyway, I lost a chicken last night to a nasty skunk!!!! I heard the chickens hollaring around three o’clock in the morning…off I ran to the hen house, filpped on the red light and there the nasty thing was ———–Right in the process of chomping down on one of my hens!
Made me so mad I threw a stick at him. (I didn’t want sprayed) Then I ran in and got Terry and he came with the gun. By that time I was back out in the hen house, the other hens flew outside or into the run. Quick count told me I was missing one. Which meant the nasty bugger got one hen already.
How he got it would have to be dealt with in the morning, in the meantime the problem was to get the darn thing OUT of the hen house.
We could have shot it in there, but then the skunk spray would distroy the hen house and I didn’t want to have to rebuild a hen house.
So long story short…the skunk got away!
I only lost one chicken, I have a damaged hen, but I think she is going to recover, and I’ve set a trap for the skunk. He will be back… they always do when they know there is easy pick’n for food.
Which reminds me, a neighbor who lives a few miles from us on the Plateau lost 3 goats to a bear one night, the bear returned the next night and got three more. The government man gave them permission to shoot the bear if it returns. (Yes you have to ask permission.) He returned, the bear hide left with the government men, the rest of him was buried with a backhoe on the property.
A ride on the Uncompahgre Plateau showed us that the nasty pine beetle has made it’s way into our woods The Ponderosa and Yellow Pines are dying off just like the lodge pole pines from here to Denver.
I hope you can see all the little holes in the bark, that is where the beetle bores into the tree. I wonder what it’s going to take for something to finally be done to save the pines? It takes years and years and years for a tree to get this big.
I guess I had better stop now, this post is really rather negative.
Sorry,
Linda
Life on a Colorado Farm 
I didn´t know the pine beetle came this far south. I know it from living in BC, where most of the forests are infected with this little bugger!
Sorry you lost a hen and I hope you catch that skunk.
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The beetle infestation is just heart breaking. Here in the East it is the ash trees that are going because of the emerald ash borer and it is happening so fast it is scary.
Sorry about your hens. This has been a rough year for poultry and predators.
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Sorry about the loss of your hen. Wire on your floor, walls and ceiling help to make a secure home for hens, otherwise varmits WILL get in.
I am a former Animal Control Officer and the fastest way to catch a skunk and NOT get sprayed is to lift it up by its tail and drop it into a bucket or barrel.
They can NOT spray if ALL 4 of their feet are NOT on the ground.
Saved me many trips to the laundry with that trick. Janis
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So sorry you lost a chicken Linda. And the trees being lost to beetles is not good. Very sad in fact. Hope that someone can come up with a remidy to get rid of them soon.
I have been slowly catching up on your blog! Like the look you have now. Hope your internet gets fixed soon – but you don’t have to worry about writing me back! You have lots of other folks to write to – and you are a busy woman!
So glad to catch back up with you – take care of yourself,
Heidi
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Hi Linda
Well that accounts for the no e-mails! Tuesday can’t come quick enough.
I am fascinated about the “spray” issue? I think I know what you mean but why
would you have to build a new chook run????
I found an interesting article yesterday in the paper re: bees! You recently wrote up
a report on them around your place. If I can find the article I’ll post it on your “bee” blog and
send you and others a copy. It is something that I am sure most of us are completely unaware
of – especially people from the Northern Hemisphere.
Yes, the skunk will return – hope you get a good shot into it!
Cheers
Colin (HB)
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Sorry about your hen. I know I will have to figure out how to keep the skunks away when chicken time finally comes, since we have them traipsing through our yard at night. Hope your internet gets fixed soon!
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I hate skunks! We shot one in the hen house once and the smell stayed a while but the hens never quit laying. Pine Beetles are doing horrible damage here in Canad too. It’s just sad 😦
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A skunk in the hen house. That is bad in so many ways. So sorry he got one of your babies. Hope you can trap the beggar and send him off to skunk pergatory. I would like to hear if you try Janis’ idea. It makes sense, but would take some strong nerves.
As for pine borers. We roasted a lot of ours in the Yellowstone fire of 1988. But by then they had done their damage and left behind miles and miles of dead dry forest. Borers have even taken out a lot of trees here in town. We had to remove one of our big birches two years ago no thanks to those beetles.
Good luck with getting all your internet back.
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Gosh some nasty critters around you. The tree borer sounds really bad news. Hope you can keep Mr Skunk out of the hen house.
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I’m sad about it all. Especially the pine beetles. You can take measures to secure your chickens….but not your trees.
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HI,I LOVE YOUR BLOG! I WAS RAISED IN GRAND JUNCTION SO I REALLY ENJOY YOUR PICTURES THEY REMIND ME OF HOME SO MUCH.I LIVE IN EAST TEXAS NOW AND ITS REALLY THE SOUTH SO ITS A LOT DIFFERENT! I WILL BE WATCHING FOR MORE STORIES FROM HOME.
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Oh Linda —- We have skunks around here –and we don’t like to upset them either… Don’t want that horrible smell anywhere near here. Sorry about your chicken (and hen). Hope the hen will be okay. Sorry the skunk got away –but hopefully, if he returns –you will capture/kill him… Awe–nasty skunks…. Not a critter to mess with!!!!
Sorry to hear also about the bear getting your neighbor’s goats. Glad they killed that bear… This ‘nature’ stuff is a hard life for you all –and for the critters..
Sorry to hear that the Pine Beetle has gotten to you. We’ve had alot of trouble with it in the Smokies. AND–we’ve lost tons of Hemlocks due to some kind of critter… Sad!!!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy
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Katherine and I wondered what was happening to all the trees when we came down from Denver a couple of weeks ago. It’s scary the real problems that are ignored while we traipse all over the world and blow our money. Can the beetles not be sprayed? They go through here in California and spray all kinds of things that threaten commercial crops. People complain, but it gets done anyway.
Interesting what Janis said about skunks. Don’t believe I’ll try it myself, but I’ll tell my son about it, he catches opossums that way. We have so many raccoons, though, the other small predators have been pushed out.
Hope your chickens stay safe!
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Hope you catch that dirty rotten chicken killing skunk. Hope Terry shoots him dead. I hate skunks..
It is sad about the pine bark beetles..now comes the lecture..any time you plant only one species of Tree..like Pine..acres and acres..or Ash..one after another down the boulevard of our cities.. and the Elms before that.. you are going to get some bad bug that travels and goes from tree to tree..there is no alternate species to stop the bad bug..
We have lots of Oak and are worked on planting a few Pines here and there this spring..next year maybe Maples:)
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