Do Marietta Skunks Attack Chickens?

Skunks are well known as scavengers, and these hyperactive creatures also act as predators to worms and slugs. These animals have clumsy feet, poor eyesight, and small mouth but with these shortcomings also, you cannot consider them innocent. Skunks are observed to attack baby chicks and eggs; however, in case if you lose an adult chicken, you should not blame Georgia skunks because it is probably a raccoon.



There is no doubt to say that Marietta skunks are opportunistic creatures, they take no time to attack a chick and can kill it easily. Indeed, you will definitely feel angry if one morning you find all the eggs and chicks missing from your house. Probably, a skunk has consumed them all in his dinner. The terrible fact is that skunks are nocturnal animals, so they often prefer to attack chickens at night; hence, you will rarely find a chance to catch them.

One thing that makes Georgia skunks different from raccoons is that unlike raccoons, these creatures are not good climbers. They cannot get into your premises by jumping over the fence but yes they are great diggers, and they can create a tunnel below the fence to get inside. If you want to protect your chicken from skunks, you may need a pair of gloves, shovel, and chicken wire. The idea is to protect entire chicken coop with chicken wire that is 3 feet tall and make sure it is buried 2 feet underground to ensure complete safety from skunk attacks. It will help to discourage skunks from digging a tunnel below the ground to reach to your chickens. Prefer to bend the chicken wire from the bottom side up to 6-inch dimension and when you put it underground put its direction away from the coop. It will scare the skunk when he starts digging the ground to get your chickens.

Note that skunks are quite adaptive animals and they can live on anything they get with ease. That is why they can live in any environment with ease. When they visit your premises, they can also eat insects and worms to complete their routine diet. Experts also consider them a good choice if you want to control certain types of insects such as bees, wasps, and hornets but it clearly doesn't mean that you should introduce a skunk to your pet world. They do not deserve to be a domestic animal because they are too destructive creatures. The biggest trouble with skunks is that they can release an odorous fluid when they are threatened, and this fluid will make you hate yourself with an unbearable smell.

Also, Marietta skunks are carriers of various harmful diseases such as rabies, so it is good to maintain a good distance from these terrible creatures. In case if you find a skunk in your premises, prefer to call skunk exterminators to remove them as soon as possible. Professionals know right techniques to take these creatures out of your premises and will leave them far away so that they do not return.

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