Captured!

Two days ago - we set out the "trap"... apparently dog food was not an attractive bait, so we switched to something a little more... gross (a partial chicken carcass - yuck!) The first night - something tripped the trap, but was not captured... this morning though... at 5:30am - the beloved hubby hurried in to tell me that we had a critter in the trap! A SKUNK! Bummer! I was hoping for a less "offensive" guest - like a weasel! Now the problem was actually having to get rid of IT! Unfortunately, I love most all animals - even the stinky ones! I did not have the heart to kill it! Though it killed many many chickens and my beloved duck - I'm just not that vengeful when it comes to critters!

Since the hubby ducked tail and ran off to work, I called in the ever dependable Uncle Jim! It was determined that the best method for disposal was to cover the trap - and then dunk it in a large garbage can filled with water. Yep - a little gruesome - but the one most likely to cause less mess (and less smell). Unfortunately, it was WAY too windy to cover the skunk with the tarp so that the cage could be moved... so - the less attractive method had to be used...

So - Uncle Jim loaded the .22 and gave the skunk the final verdict and carried through the execution. In a sick way - I wish I had the video of him giving the final verdict - or carrying out the sentence - just for the verbal stuff - it was pretty funny! Uncle Jim has a great knack for coming up with comical lines from the hip! Uncle Jim saved the day again!

So, now we have to hope that this was a lone stinker - and our remaining chicken pair will be safe! I think we will have to leave the trap for awhile just to make sure!

Amy