As I drove up to the house today, past the broiler pen, I noticed a green tarp laying up against the side. Now I knew that the storms we had yesterday ripped up the tarp that covers the pen, but that was mostly covered by chicken wire.
What was that tarp doing?
Turns out that we caught something in the live trap.
A skunk to be exact.
The secret to not getting sprayed by a skunk in a live-trap is to hold up a tarp in front of you as you approach. Skunks are scared of people and toothy animals, not tarps.
But how exactly do you get a skunk out of the livetrap?
Answer: carefully.
First, he goes tarp-and-all into the back of the truck, and down the road a mile and a half.
Then very carefully, open the door and hope the little critter gets the heck out of there without getting too…vindictive.
Nobody got sprayed, and the skunk now safely away from the chickens.
Excellent work! Bomb squad-like precision.
Did you release him on your farm? Maybe there’s a special neighbor. 🙂
Farmers here aren’t likely to be so animal friendly. No skunks here, but we do have these amazing ragondin (coypu) who are pretty much grumpy beavers without the tail. They’re also considered a delicacy by some of the old folk so when trapped they tend to become food. Us peasants eat everything.