The mating season of this animal is in February and early March and the young are born mostly in May, although some will be born in April. There are usually from four to ten young in a litter but occasionally there will be a larger number.
The value of a skunk skin depends mainly on its size and markings, they being graded by the buyers entirely by the amount of black fur, providing, of course, that the skin is prime and well handled. There is a considerable difference in respect to sizes and markings of the average catches of the various sections. From some parts of the country they will run quite large, in other parts small, and while in one section they will run perhaps ninety per cent. long stripes, in other parts of the country the black and short stripe grade predominates. Of course the skunks of the South are not as well furred as those found farther north.
Being slow moving animals, they can not catch the more active animals and birds as do the other members of the weasel family and their food consists mainly of mice, insects and grubs, also on the eggs and young of such birds as nest on the ground. They are very fond of poultry and frequently visit the poultry houses, killing the young birds. They also feed on carrion. When they can get it they will eat almost any kind of animal food. Even in the wild state the skunk is not, strictly speaking, a carnivorous animal as they will eat and in fact are fond of sweet corn when in a milky state, also sweet potatoes, melons and wild fruits.
They have no means of defense other than their scent, but this is sufficient in many cases and the majority of people will give them a wide berth. This scent is only used when alarmed or frightened and in captivity there is no trouble whatever from this source as they soon learn that there is no occasion for alarm and become quite tame.
Past Experiments.—Beyond all doubt the skunk has been given more consideration by raisers of fur-bearers than any other animal, with the exception of the fox. There are many who have tried raising these animals with more or less success and where the experimenters have used good judgment and have given the subject all of the attention it deserves, they have been reasonably successful. Most of these people have started in on a small scale, having perhaps only a dozen or two of skunks to start with; in fact, nowhere has the business been carried on as extensively as some newspaper articles would lead one to believe; the majority of these parties having at the most only two or three hundred animals. One of the largest ranches was located in Eastern Pennsylvania, but for various reasons this venture was a failure.
It is the smaller experimenters, in other words, those who have begun on a small scale, who have been most successful. They are for the most part trappers who had even before venturing into the business a fair knowledge of the nature and habits of the skunk and therefore were more qualified for making the business a successful one. Trappers naturally take an interest in all nature and are most likely to give the proper amount of attention to the animals, also learn their habits readily and act accordingly and these qualities are absolutely necessary for the successful raising of all fur-bearing animals.
The most successful stock breeders are those who make a special study of their animals and take a great interest in them and those who do not are almost certain to fail and really deserve failure. If so much care is necessary in breeding domestic animals, how much more important the care in handling the wild creatures, knowing so little of them as the average man does. But even handicapped by lack of knowledge the experimenters have been fairly successful from the start if they were the right men for the business. Without exception they all report that the animals breed well in captivity and are easily kept; in a short time becoming quite tame and losing their fear of man.
The skunk is an animal which is despised and feared by many people because of its readiness to make use of its powerful scent, the only means of defense with which nature has provided it, but it is only when frightened that it uses this scent and once they have become tame and learn that they will not be harmed they are practically harmless. We will say, however, to those who are afraid of the scent do not attempt to raise skunks, but devote your time to some other calling for which you are more fitted.
It is true that the scent glands may be removed from the young animals but many of them will die from the operation and there is practically nothing gained; therefore, this practice is not advised.
Those who have failed were for the most part people who knew nothing regarding the habits of the animal and its care when in captivity. They were men with capital, who began on a large scale expecting to make a fortune in a short time, but in this they were mistaken, for many of them lost all that they invested. These parties have had trouble from the older animals killing and eating the young, also from depredations of owls, but mainly from the first reason. It is our opinion that this cannibalistic tendency is caused by improper feeding, as those parties who have used care in that respect have had no trouble whatever.