Small predators

A few days ago I missed a chicken. A neighbor had told me that he had shot at and missed a coyote about a week ago, so that was the number 1 suspect. Last night, after dark, I heard a commotion outside, so I grabbed a flashlight and shotgun and headed outside to see what was going on. A skunk had dug its way into the pigeon coop and killed a bird. When I saw it, it squeezed out the way it had gone in and was trying to drag the dead pigeon out with it. I gave it a load of number 6 shot and figured that was the end of that. I didn’t want to deal with the smelly thing just then, so I left it where it lay and went back in the house. Sure looked dead to me. Later I went back out to take some garbage out, and the striped kitty was gone! I can still smell it pretty strong around the coop today, and can’t help but think it is laying dead around here some place and I just haven’t found it yet. Sure hope it didn’t get into my woodshed or under my hay stack. I’d have a heck of a time getting it out of either place. Today I filled in the hole where the skunk dug into the coop, and used the dead pigeon to bait a cage trap that I have sitting next to the coop; just in case.