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Oppossums not always harbingers of doom

post #1 of 6
2/10/12 at 7:06pm
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I kill several oppossums annually.  They are always busted when moving about my pens or feeding stations.  Lately a couple have been in area of cockyard every night leaving tracts in mud and snow along a fen between house and main cockyard. They appear to be targeting voles in the fen which are becoming increasingly abundant this time of year.  Voles are so abundant my dog can catch every few minutes with minimal effort.  Another interesting observation is I have two types of vole. Those in fen are dark with smaller eyes while another kind with larger eyes and brown coat looking like a wild hamster occurs mostly in woods.  If you find a nest, then you often find babies.  With the brown type at least the father seems to help raise the little ones.  It is the voles that I think most of my predators are actually coming for.  The chickens are targets of opportunity.

Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it.
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Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it.
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post #2 of 6
2/10/12 at 7:33pm
I occasionally have opposums here as well. I can see them on the porch eating leftover cat food sometimes. I have no free ranging chickens and my pens are built of hardware cloth so I am hoping not to have to bother them...as long as they don't bother the chickens. I am more concerned about the racoon that I saw though. i sent the dog after him to scare him off. I think they will work harder to get at the chickens that the opposum...least that's my hope!
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post #3 of 6
2/10/12 at 8:01pm

Whew, good to know that.

 

I fear a new one has moved under our neighbor's shed (they're a VERY elderly couple, lovely people - I'm not bothering them about this!).  It's fairly round, so I fear it's a pregnant female.  Watching to see....

 

We've had our first snow today since it moved into the neighborhood.  It steals the BOSS my birdfeeder spills (messy cardinals!).  Thus far, it's only enjoyed the BOSS and some fuzzy oranges I threw into the compost bin.  With the newfallen snow, I'll be able to track it.  Hopefully. 

 

But it's still on my watch list - makes me too nervous to NOT be super careful about it's presence around the neighborhood. 

 

 

-- Blessed are the flexible, for they will not break --

Beloved spouse of wonderful husband, Mom to two men-in-training, co-owners of a small (ever changing) household menagerie - 6 Eastern 3-toed box turtles, 1 spoiled parrotlet, 1 pompous feline and a jealous dog.  6 Black Java chickens in the coop (hatched 4/1/11) - 1 Rooster, 'Roaster', and 5 gals - Anna, Tiger, Snowflake, Ms. Black and...

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-- Blessed are the flexible, for they will not break --

Beloved spouse of wonderful husband, Mom to two men-in-training, co-owners of a small (ever changing) household menagerie - 6 Eastern 3-toed box turtles, 1 spoiled parrotlet, 1 pompous feline and a jealous dog.  6 Black Java chickens in the coop (hatched 4/1/11) - 1 Rooster, 'Roaster', and 5 gals - Anna, Tiger, Snowflake, Ms. Black and...

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post #4 of 6
2/11/12 at 2:46am

 I think they are neat,but I still get rid of them when they are coming round my chicken pen. Voles cause a lot of damage.Hate those paths and holes they create in the grass.

Nothing Matters Anymore
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Nothing Matters Anymore
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post #5 of 6
2/11/12 at 6:17am
I am guessing a vole is similar to a mole? I have cats so I don't have any moles any more.i
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post #6 of 6
2/11/12 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by welasharon View Post

I am guessing a vole is similar to a mole? I have cats so I don't have any moles any more.i



Voles are short-tailed rodents very similar in size and overall proportions to lemmings and hamsters.  Moles are larger "insectivores" with very different teeth (not a rodent) and the big front feet for digging.  I have those and dogs go after those as well but moles seem not to be tasty, at least not to Scoob or our cats.

 

Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it.
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Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it.
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