FARM Interesting morning escapades in the pasture

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summerthyme

Administrator
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So... in our current situation, we're in a tiny apartment built in what used to be the haymow of a small barn addition on DS's big shop. He added a good sized bedroom on for us, with sliding glass doors looking out on the pond and pastures... a balcony is going to be built later this summer. We have animals below us in their stalls at night.. good thing as lifelong farmers thats comfortably familiar!

Anyway, I spend a lot of time watching the animals... I was fortunate to notice a few days ago that the month old Dexter bull calf was sick... no obvious symptoms, but he was much less active than normal, and I kept seeing him off on his own, which is not normal for a herd animal. When we caught him, he was running a low grade fever... almost certainly a navel infection. A shot of penicillin fixed him right up.. we tried to catch him 48 hours later to check his temp and retreat him, but we couldn't get near him... I guess he's cured! I need to find my lasso in the storage containers yet...

So, this morning, I noticed the entire herd of Dexters (8 head) was chasing what I thought was a piglet down the field. There are 6, 2 month old piglets grazing out there... they all get along a amazingly well. I couldn't figure out why they'd be chasing a pig, though... when I looked closer, I realized it was a very large skunk! Uh, oh!

Then I saw they were chasing it right towards the two horses... oh, sh!t!

So, I watched in horror as the bigger pony (I've got a mini mare I got from former member Willow, and a Quarter Horse mare, who, at 14 hands tall and 800# is technically a large pony) trotted over to challenge the "intruder". I was hollering out the window at her, but of course I was being ignored.

I grabbed the 9 mm and dashed out, certain I was going to be deskunking a horse (or two!) At one point, Bella was on her hind legs striking at the skunk, and the last sight I'd had just before I dashed for gun and boots was the mare on her hind legs with the skunk poised with tail up!

By the time I jogged to the end of the pasture, the skunk was out of sight in the woods. There was a faint odor of skunk in the air, but no animal had gotten sprayed! I have NO idea how!

My DDIL was pretty impressed by the show... she thinks the horses will protect the sheep from coyotes, which is true... but the Dexters will, as well.

Never a dull moment!

Summerthyme
 
adgal

adgal

Veteran Member
I LOVE living in the country with animals. We live far enough away from neighbors that in the morning, after I feed the dogs and cats, I hurry outside in my nightgown and crocs and open the chicken coop, so the chickens can free-range. In the past few weeks, our rooster, Charlie, has decided that he needed to assert his dominance. So, one morning, he came running towards me - wings outstretched, crowing loudly, and angry. So, I lifted my arms, flapped right back at him, made my own crowing noises, and ran towards him. Talk about a surprised rooster! And, can I just say, I'm so glad we don't have close neighbors.
Charlie and I are friends now. He's tried a couple more times, running towards me with much less aggression - and I just stand my ground and chat with him. Then he turns and walks away. Life on the farm!
 
Dobbin

Dobbin

Faithful Steed
I have never been sprayed by a skunk. Perhaps I have sense enough to avoid?

Owner's dogs have been sprayed. Something about a dog which attract skunks? I didn't see the start of the interchange, but I smelled and saw the result. The larger dog was not pleased having gobbits of skunk efflux hanging from his nose.

But I don't think he made the causal connection.

Dobbin
 
Satanta

Satanta

Stone Cold Crazy
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and...what were you going to do with the 9mm? Last I heard one had to head-pop a skunk to keep it from spraying and they have a small noggin. Mixed in with some other critters....were you going to drop a cow on it hoping to smoosh it and contain the stink under it?
 
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mecoastie

Veteran Member
Last year our dog got hit by a skunk. The amazing and disgusting thing is she got it all right in the mouth. She must have been a couple inches from grabbing that thing when it let loose. None on her face or the rest of her body. Good for us because we didnt have to deal with much of the odor but I cant imagine how her stomach felt.
 
I

intothatgoodnight

. . .
Dobbin said:
I have never been sprayed by a skunk. Perhaps I have sense enough to avoid?

Owner's dogs have been sprayed. Something about a dog which attract skunks?
Click to expand...
Growing up on a farm, and having at least three large dogs roaming about the place, one of the dogs was sprayed by a skunk.

Poor fellow felt dejected and forlorn - nobody wanted him! (back in that day, tomato juice baths was all that was available to de-skunk the pup, which sort of worked - kind of . . .)

Had to move his food bowl out and away from the house, so that the breeze did not bring his smell wafting into the house - none of the other dogs wanted to be anywhere near to him - he would trot over to where the other dogs were casually lying about, looking for acceptance, only to have them all get up and move away, upon his approach.

He learned.


intothegoodnight
 
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WanderLore

Veteran Member
We live in the boonies too. Going out in decent weather in my nightgown, to tend to critters, I sometimes just wear it all day. No neighbors for a long ways. Horses are out cutting the grass today.
 
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etdeb

Veteran Member
I am this years old when I just learned a month ago do not wet a skunked animal with water and tomato juice. NO WATER. it makes it worse.
 
cleobc

cleobc

Veteran Member
Ketchup is my solution of choice for deskunking. It's nice and thick and you can work it in like shampoo, and you almost always have it on hand. DH once had a moment of confusion when he got up and found wet towels and an empty bottle of ketchup in the bathroom. I deskunked the dog that came in the dog door and went back to bed!
 
von Koehler

von Koehler

Has No Life - Lives on TB
summerthyme said:
So... in our current situation, we're in a tiny apartment built in what used to be the haymow of a small barn addition on DS's big shop. He added a good sized bedroom on for us, with sliding glass doors looking out on the pond and pastures... a balcony is going to be built later this summer. We have animals below us in their stalls at night.. good thing as lifelong farmers thats comfortably familiar!

Anyway, I spend a lot of time watching the animals... I was fortunate to notice a few days ago that the month old Dexter bull calf was sick... no obvious symptoms, but he was much less active than normal, and I kept seeing him off on his own, which is not normal for a herd animal. When we caught him, he was running a low grade fever... almost certainly a navel infection. A shot of penicillin fixed him right up.. we tried to catch him 48 hours later to check his temp and retreat him, but we couldn't get near him... I guess he's cured! I need to find my lasso in the storage containers yet...

So, this morning, I noticed the entire herd of Dexters (8 head) was chasing what I thought was a piglet down the field. There are 6, 2 month old piglets grazing out there... they all get along a amazingly well. I couldn't figure out why they'd be chasing a pig, though... when I looked closer, I realized it was a very large skunk! Uh, oh!

Then I saw they were chasing it right towards the two horses... oh, sh!t!

So, I watched in horror as the bigger pony (I've got a mini mare I got from former member Willow, and a Quarter Horse mare, who, at 14 hands tall and 800# is technically a large pony) trotted over to challenge the "intruder". I was hollering out the window at her, but of course I was being ignored.

I grabbed the 9 mm and dashed out, certain I was going to be deskunking a horse (or two!) At one point, Bella was on her hind legs striking at the skunk, and the last sight I'd had just before I dashed for gun and boots was the mare on her hind legs with the skunk poised with tail up!

By the time I jogged to the end of the pasture, the skunk was out of sight in the woods. There was a faint odor of skunk in the air, but no animal had gotten sprayed! I have NO idea how!

My DDIL was pretty impressed by the show... she thinks the horses will protect the sheep from coyotes, which is true... but the Dexters will, as well.

Never a dull moment!

Summerthyme
Click to expand...

If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your bull dexter stud muffin?
 
lakemom

lakemom

Veteran Member
A mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, & Dawn dish soap. Takes that skunk smell right out of their fur. Had a golden retriever that just could NOT leave the black & white kitties alone. :lol:
 
MinnesotaSmith

MinnesotaSmith

Membership Revoked
but-theyre-so-cute
 
S

summerthyme

Administrator
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lakemom said:
A mixture of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, & Dawn dish soap. Takes that skunk smell right out of their fur. Had a golden retriever that just could NOT leave the black & white kitties alone. :lol:
Click to expand...
THIS! Funny thing... as I was jogging down the field, I was mentally reviewing the supplies, and I realized hey! I've got a case of 12 quarts of hydrogen peroxide I bought for potential COVID disinfecting... I probably can deskunk a horse!

Summerthyme
 
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Windy Ridge

Veteran Member
There are at least 2 reasons a skunk does not spray you. One is that skunks don't like the smell either and it is not sufficiently terrified to spray. The other is that the scent gland can only store a certain amount of the stinky liquid and, having been emptied not long before, it takes a while to fill up.

Windy Ridge ( who finally got some use out of those wildlife biology classes.)
 
AlaskaSue

AlaskaSue

North to the Future
Our redbone hound Max -- waaay back in my Oklahoma days -- got himself sprayed and we tomato-juiced him for a couple days - poor guy! That was not fun for any of us but he never ever did that again.

Yet another reason to love being up here - NO skunks! ;) 'course I have had to pull more than a few porcupine quills from doggie faces ~~
 
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