Goodbye to a Rooster Named Skunk

UPDATE 9-19-2011:  OK, so my mother apparently doesn't know the difference between a hen and a cock, at least not without a long dangling tail for reference... never mind the GIANT comb and wattles. Needless to say, Skunk is alive and I lost a rather young barred rock laying hen to something that killed her but left the body under brush and apparently took Skunk's tail too.






I finally got the chance to head to the beach for some much wanted ORVing. I guess my enjoyment came at the price of my favorite rooster, Skunk.


My mother agreed to watch over my chickens, including the new chicks, while on her vacation at the homestead. Yesterday, she opened their pen and then left. While not the best choice, I sometimes also make last minute plans and leave them to fend for themselves. However, there has been large bird of prey around lately and I've been extra careful in keeping the chickens fenced in during much of the day for their own protection.

This barred rock rooster was found dead under some low brush in the front yard and looked like it had been attacked from the back. Did another skunk really come to finish the job the first one failed to? Was it a weasel who couldn't handle the meal? Did the Northern Harrier kill and start plucking feathers but got scared away? Or was a fox hiding his dinner for later? I'll never know.

Anyway, I was going to put these pictures up of skunk laying down. He loved to lay down everywhere: in the sun stretched out, perched on the porch or in the shaded grass. Only chicken that I’ve had that lies down that much, could be his first skunk attack gave him weaker legs, back and lungs and he likes to rest. He never did crow right since attacked as a youngling. He had the biggest pitched, yet softest voice of all my roos.