Help name seven baby skunks, please

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh boy. I just found 6 or 7 baby skunks living in a storage area attached to my office - a converted barn. I just came walking down and they were all waiting near my office door. Two of them wanted to come over and say hello. I don't know where mama is.

I have learned that skunks really have little to no fear of humans. I have stood within three feet of a skunk that was eating and he could have cared less. No tail action, no threat, he just barely acknowledged my presence and kept eating.

The cats like to make friends with them.

 

[plover]

Help name seven baby skunks, please

• Manichaeus
• 10-ft.
• Any Other Name
• Calvin
• Dinkum Stinkum
• Cribbage
• Therapy

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yes, if you have any suggestions, what in the heck do I do now?!

I had to shoot two this year already...but seven? Gees.

Integral are your reading? You have lived here longer than me. What do I do?

 

[Evo]

Awww, little babies. I hope the mom is ok. Just don't upset them. My dog, you know the one, the "Jaws of Death" is forever cornering skunks right under my bedroom window. Nothing better than waking up in the middle of the night thinking you've been sprayed.

Maybe you could name them after the PF members they most resemble? Surely one is an Evo.

 

[Evo]

I had to shoot two this year already...

SHOOT THEM? NOOOOO, they're innocent babies!

Call an animal rescue league to come get them and relocate them.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Just don't upset them.

No, see, I can't have seven skunks living on the property. This gets ugly.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

we are posting nearly simultaneously.

Call an animal rescue league to come get them and relocate them

They will probably laugh at me but I will try. I really don't want to shoot them all. They are almost like little kitties - they handle themselves much like a persian cat does. Until I checked I assumed that cats and skunks were closely related but not so.

btw, I just lost my office kitty Miss Bun. Only 4.5 years and she lost blood circulation for some reason...don't know why. 24 hours from good to dead. It was so sad.

 

[Evo]

No, see, I can't have seven skunks living on the property. This gets ugly.

Smelly maybe, not ugly. Just don't let me know if they meet an untimely death.

The neighbor's dog killed all of the kittens that a stray cat that hangs around had. They were so precious, I'm just sick. I had to bury all of them yesterday.

I am so sorry to hear about Miss Bun.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

country living can be really ugly that way.

 

[Evo]

Yeah it's really hard for a bleeding heart animal lover like me.

But on the positive side, there are the times when you go into your kitchen and there's an opossum eating cat food like it's the most natural thing in the world. Man those things have large fangs and they drool when they eat. I replaced that window screen real quick.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Just don't let me know if they meet an untimely death.

That what I mean by ugly. I really hate shooting things.

Funny since as a kid I liked to hunt.

You know, moving from LA to the backwoods of Oregon was quite an experience. Anything related to farms and animals can be a pretty hard adjustment. Even seasoned animal people and farmers hate what they sometimes have to do.

Oh yes, here a favorite for the sheep people to pull on the city folk. The first time I watched the birthing of lambs the farmer made sure that he positioned me directly in the line of flight of the afterbirth. Luckily I was quicker than he.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

But on the positive side,

you haven't lived until you've seen a billy goat mate!

 

[Evo]

you haven't lived until you've seen a billy goat mate!

Is it something you can explain in mixed company? :blush:

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Is it something you can explain in mixed company? :blush:

Well, hmmm, um, first you have to picture a cork screw; that's the shape. Then they pee all over themselves to attract a female - which I have tried and I can say that this seems to only work for goats. Anyway, that's what that famous billy goat beard is for. Its a sponge. Then they get so horny that they get stiff legged and can't walk right. They just wobble around making all sorts of obnoxious noise, peeing on their beard, and trying desperately to mount the nearest female who makes the poor billy stumble all over the barnyard trying to catch her. When he finally does its all over in about five seconds. It is absolutely the most pathetic mating ritual I have ever seen.

 

[Evo]

Then they get so horny that they get stiff legged and can't walk right. They just wobble around making all sorts of obnoxous noise, peeing on their beard, and trying desperately to mount the nearest female who makes the poor billy stumble all over the barnyard trying to catch her. When he finally does its all over in about five seconds. It is absolutely the most pathetic mating ritual I have ever seen.

Not unlike what I've encountered with males at the local bar.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Not unlike what I've encountered with males at the local bar.

 

[Adam]

- George Bush.
- Tony Blair.
- John Howard.
- Ashcroft.
- Powell.
- Cheney.
- Alexander Downer.

 

[Andy]

Happy
Grumpy
Sleepy
Dopey
Sneezy
Dock
bashful

Took ma a while to get the last one, lol.

 

[Njorl]

Let's see, how about...

Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, Horst Bucholz, Robert Vaughn and um, um, um... Oh, just name the last one Stinky!

Njorl

 

[jimmy p]

Dammit Andy, I was going to use them names... Oh well, i second the "7 dwarfs" naming scheme

 

[Math Is Hard]

How about George Foreman I, George Foreman II, George Foreman III, George Foreman IV, George Foreman V, George Foreman VI, and George Foreman VII?

 

[holly]

Seven perfect names:
Chroot
Greg
Integral
Marcus
Enigma
Monique
Doc Al

If we use hyphenated names, we could fit all the Stinkin' Great mentors/members' names on 'em...Monique-Evo, Marcus-Jimmy P, Enigma-Tsunami, etc etc.

bwha ha ha ha ha

 

[Tsu]

Awww, little babies. I hope the mom is ok. Just don't upset them. My dog, you know the one, the "Jaws of Death" is forever cornering skunks right under my bedroom window. Nothing better than waking up in the middle of the night thinking you've been sprayed.

:surprise: :surprise: :surprise: :surprise:

Maybe you could name them after the PF members they most resemble? Surely one is an Evo.

They're ALL Evo! (How you doin', Sis? )

 

[BoulderHead]

More ideas;

SprayBaby
Stenchtail (or Stenchy)
Striper
Tailraiser
Mr Buttoneyes
RabieBaby
Fleazy

 

[Math Is Hard]

Hey Boulderhead:
You forgot Stripe and Polecat!

 

[BoulderHead]

Hmmm, then here's a few more;

Musky
Egghead (or Eggster)
Nomad
Smellinger (pronounced; smell-linger)
Odiferous (as in; odoriferous)
Weasely (or Weasels)

 

[The Bob]

Why not seven elements (like the most common seven) or the seven wonders of the world:
1. Egypt
2. Babylon
3. Olympia or Zeus
4. Artemis or Ephesus
5. Halicarnassus
6. Rhodes
7. Alexandria or Alex (for short)

Don't really want to know about Goats and their sexual habits. I know it is natural but it reminds me of what my friend say about Welsh farmers. Anyway...

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I think we have a solution

The Skunkapult:

http://www.mangonel.com/petraria/dawn2s.jpg
http://www.ripcord.ws/

And before you have a fit Evo, I intend to put a little parachute on each of them.

 

[Monique]

How about..

badger badger badger badger badger badger and snake

 

[zoobyshoe]

Where does this notion that you have to shoot any of them come from? They won't spray you unless you corner them and threaten them. Just don't feed them, and as they grow up they will disperse to find their own territory. I believe as adults they're solitary animals.

 

[The Bob]

How about..

badger badger badger badger badger badger and snake

Ok this website is spreading too much now.

Ivan Seeking. Can I ask if you are going to catapult them or call them skunkapult?

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[Moonbear]

How about Stinky, Pewey, Pepe...that takes care of three.

And it's pigs, not goats that have a corkscrew shaped penis! I used to work with goats...I burned my clothes when I was done! The stiff legged "walk" is actually a foreleg kick and is part of their mating behavior too...the female goats seem to like it, though it just plain hurts when they get my shin instead of one of the other goats. But, yes, urinating on themselves is just nasty, but a clean goat won't get the females (yes, I knew someone who did that as an experiment, compared stinky goats with those scrubbed clean)...I used to play a similar trick as your sheep friends, which was to line up the new help with the male goat known to miss when he was spraying his beard...eeeeewwww!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

How about Stinky, Pewey, Pepe...that takes care of three.

And it's pigs, not goats that have a corkscrew shaped penis!

It must depend on the type of goat. I am quite sure that I have never seen a pigs penis... I think these were all pigmy goats but I would have to check with my expert, Tsu.

I used to work with goats...I burned my clothes when I was done! The stiff legged "walk" is actually a foreleg kick and is part of their mating behavior too...the female goats seem to like it, though it just plain hurts when they get my shin instead of one of the other goats. But, yes, urinating on themselves is just nasty, but a clean goat won't get the females (yes, I knew someone who did that as an experiment, compared stinky goats with those scrubbed clean)...

You can smell them a mile away. That is the worst smell... Also, I found that really fine goat cheese smells just like a billy goat. In Paris they gave me some of this with Parma Ham or something and it about made me sick. Talk about an acquired taste!

I used to play a similar trick as your sheep friends, which was to line up the new help with the male goat known to miss when he was spraying his beard...eeeeewwww!

Brutal. :surprise:

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ok this website is spreading too much now.

Ivan Seeking. Can I ask if you are going to catapult them or call them skunkapult?

The Bob (2004 ©)

That was a plan of action!

How about calling them Fling the 1st, Fling the 2nd...

In reality I am planning a capture and release. They love cat food. I think I can get a cage full in the back of my pickup truck and then dump them a few miles away back in the woods. It is all a matter of maintaining the proper distance. I can suffer the damage to he back of the truck for a time. It should be an interesting ride though.

I just can't stand the thought of a skunkacaust.

 

[Moonbear]

I have the same experience with goat cheese, can't stand the stuff because it reminds me of the bucks. It tastes just like they smell! But, nope, it isn't breed dependent, it's not shaped like a corkscrew, sorry. Just long and skinny. It's okay, I trust you weren't examining it all that closely.

Glad you're not planning on skunkapulting them. Baby skunks are really adorable. You know you can take them to a vet and have their scent glands removed and make them into very nice pets :-)

 

[BoulderHead]

Ahight, I give up, call them all what I would;

Ah pa'ai (name of polecat animal. Pronounced: Ah Pie).

[edit]
Oh, and whatever you do, don't swap the P with a B, hahaha!

 

[Evo]

The Skunkapult:

And before you have a fit Evo, I intend to put a little parachute on each of them.

That is acceptable.

Uhm...could you add some tiny crash helmets?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Where does this notion that you have to shoot any of them come from?

The most direct answer is from the guy at the feed store that has helped to walk me through the trials and tribulations of country living for the last fourteen years. When in Rome... Much more often than not, like nearly always, the advice has been good.

They won't spray you unless you corner them and threaten them. Just don't feed them, and as they grow up they will disperse to find their own territory. I believe as adults they're solitary animals.

They are disease carriers for starters; most notably rabies. Beyond this though some will stick around and it is too easy for our animals or us to get sprayed - which is quite an ordeal. The problem with any wild animal like this is the unplanned encounter. Still, it is bad enough to shoot one. I'm just not going to shoot seven babies.

I got a picture of them tonight. Its not too good but I will post a little later anyway. It seems that we have either seven or eight babies, and mama.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

But, nope, it isn't breed dependent, it's not shaped like a corkscrew, sorry. Just long and skinny.

Hmmm. I just can't imagine what penis I'm thinking of! I will have to check with Tsu. She is an expert on many things. Btw, it was her idea to use the skunkapult. I was tending towards an air-cannon.

When we had two pigmy goats - a brother and sister named Grunt and Bambi - we had the female studded by a local billy. Our male was a wether. When Bambi got home from her illicit interlude she really stunk and Grunt started to attack her. He kept ramming her in the side to the point where I was afraid he would injure her. So, in an effort to desensitize Grunt to the smell of the billy-goat, I rubber down Bambi and then rubbed this all over Grunts face. That was not a good idea.

That goat about went into orbit. He started snorting and yelling and jumping wildly like a rodeo horse. He would shake his head and run in circles while snorting and then start jumping again. This went on for quite some time...like ten minutes or more. He was really ticked off at me for hours. It was absolutely hilarious!

 

[Tsu]

It must depend on the type of goat. I am quite sure that I have never seen a pigs penis... I think these were all pigmy goats but I would have to check with my expert, Tsu.

and

Hmmm. I just can't imagine what penis I'm thinking of! I will have to check with Tsu. She is an expert on many things. Btw, it was her idea to use the skunkapult. I was tending towards an air-cannon.

Er... thank you, dear. (I think,) Goats are not among those animals known to have a corkscrew penis. Those would include bulls, http://www.world-sex-records.com/sex-299.htm ducks http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/10/1023_corkscrewduck.htmland and pigs (the boars having one with a left handed thread :surprise: ) http://www.lifestyleblock.co.nz/articles/592_breeding_cycle_male.htm . Now, I've been TOLD by a fairly reputable breeder that Pygmy goats have a 'hook' type apparatus on the tip of their long, pencil-like penis that helps to 'anchor' the situation until the time is right. However, I have no first-hand knowledge of this since I was not present at Bambi's de-flowering.

Here is a picture of the babies! It's not that great of a shot, as it was taken at night as the were heading for shelter under the chicken coop. You can see two tails on the left, one in the middle and three on the right. You can also see a little baby skunk head peaking out from under the coop between the two right-most tails. Aren't they sweet?
http://imageuploader.milbrathnet.net/uploads/skunks1[/URL] 6-29-04.JPG[/PLAIN]

Evo, you'll have to provide the helmets! We don't have enough and I'm not letting them stink up our kitties helmets that they wear when we send them down the creek on a little kitty white-water rafting trip. :surprise:

 

[zoobyshoe]

They love cat food.

Two separate skunks were coming around at night eating the cat food I leave out for the backyard stray kitty. Whenever I appeared at the door they scurried away. That's all. Not the slightest attempt to spray me. Solution: bring the cat food in at night.

The trick to capturing skunks in a cage is to keep the ceiling of the cage low enough that they can't raise their tails. They will put off spraying almost forever if they have to get it on themselves to do so. The second trick is to cover the cage with a sheet or whatever, and for the cage to be made with a solid bottom (not wire mesh that they can see out of). Skunks will not spray unless they can see a target. The exception to that would be if you physically touch them by poking something into the cage.

Approach the trapped skunk gently from behind so it can't see you, throw the sheet over the cage. Then reposition your self facing the skunk for safety in case it does spray. Gently lift the cage and set it in a large plastic tub big enough to hold the cage. That will protect the bed of your truck if it sprays en route.

Arrived at the release point, set the cage on the ground with the skunk facing away from you. Pull the sheet back from the end where its face is, then open the door in front of it. It should scurry out of the cage and away as soon as it gets a look at the new environment and makes some decisions about the best cover to run for.

 

[The Bob]

Tell you what.. tell me where you live and I will get my friends BB gun to scare them away. Oh no that is cruel erm... I will get the smaller B gun and pump up the pressure so it is as dangerous but looks more inoccent.

No on a real point just let them go in the middle of a wood and give them food to surivie for a night. They would get the idea and learn to survive.

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[zoobyshoe]

Beyond this though some will stick around and it is too easy for our animals or us to get sprayed - which is quite an ordeal. The problem with any wild animal like this is the unplanned encounter.

A skunk will not spray you unless you threaten it. They will either ignore you, as you mentioned, or scurry away.

Skunks, like rattlesnakes, warn before they use their weapons. A skunk will face you and pound the ground with one of its front paws. That means back off immediately or it will turn with its back to you, hop up onto its front feet and squirt one at you.

 

[The Bob]

Ivan Seeking,

Are you going to keep the skunks as pets or not otherwise what is the point of thinking of names? All that effort

The Bob (2004 ©)

 

[holly]

OH THEY ARE ADORABLE! But as I.S. mentioned, they are wild animals. Aiee, what a lot of trouble...

 

[Math Is Hard]

Oh my goodness, Tsu! Aren't they cute?!? Look at the little bottle brush tails! Thanks for that picture.
Maybe you could capture them like Zooby was saying.

Zooby - how will they catch all the babies at once? They need to release them together.

 

[Evo]

I love how they all have their tails up in the air.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I love how they all have their tails up in the air.

I had to get pretty close to get that shot and they seem to want to come over and say hello. :surprise: For perspective, less the tail they are about the size of a two month old kitten. They are absolutely cute but when standing five feet away, it is more of an ominous sort of cute. Lordy lordy lordy, what a sight!

Zooby, sounds like great advice! Where did you pick all of this up?

They travel in a tight little pack so I'm thinking of a fairly long, narrow box. Maybe 8"X12"X36" or so. If I can coax them all into the box with some food and set a trap door, this might be fairly easy.

Also, its seems to be final; US Fish and Wildlife says I'm on my own. They were the last hope for an easy way out. The guy at the feed store says "22 shells", though even he admits that shooting eight or nine would be pretty ugly.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I used to live in another place that had a crawlspace beneath it where a skunk lived. Another skunk used to sneak in and they would fight and spray each other. The landlord called animal control, or someone, and they set a trap for it. I was the first one to find it caught in the trap, which is when I saw it pounding its foot whenever it could see me. I covered it with a sheet, picked the cage up, and moved it to the shade till the guy came to get it. I mentioned the foot pounding thing, and he told me it was their warning, but that they couldn't follow through without spraying over themselves under the circumstances, and that they wouldn't unless you poked them.

When he came, he took the sheet off, picked the cage up, and started toward his vehicle, whereupon it sprayed. I believe his mistake was letting it see him up close at the same time it could see it would be possible to spray down through the mesh bottom of the cage. When I moved the cage, it couldn't see me at all.

You could catch them all at once in a big cage but you'd have to wait for them all to go in and spring the trap yourself. I still suggest a solid bottom for it, and a cheap disposable tarp for the bed of the truck, just in case.

Edit: The animal control guy said that peanut butter works every time. It is the skunks downfall.

 

[holly]

Are the babies still nursing? Because you'll want to catch the mom, too...otherwise, she'll probably get mastitis. When I catch feral kittens, I must catch the mother, too, or have a way to feed her antibiotic-laced food (wet food) for 10 days. My vet taught me this.