having SERIOUS issues with oppossum!

This isn't a BB gun http://www.gamousa.com/product.aspx?productID=321

And this isn't a BB http://www.gamousa.com/product.aspx?productID=80 my favorite for economical rodent ridding or humane kill
or this for raccoon or large possum at a distance http://www.gamousa.com/product.aspx?productID=458

Oh okay. Thanks!

They are kind of slow, stupid animals.

More than once my husband mistook one for one of our cats when he would go and bring in the cat food.
The possum was not frightened..at all...standing right next to my husband like he lived there.

So, wait, watch, and shoot it - sounds like it is a repeat visitor.

We have used live cage traps with great success too. Make the food in the trap more desirable than the chickens...perhaps lots of it...cat food, dog food.
Trap, shoot, bury deep.

jerryse said:

I find it odd that a possum would try to get your rabbits. Sounds to me like you have a raccoon and a opossum problem.

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I actually caught the possum red handed so I know for certain that it is, I don't doubt for a moment I have a coon problem too lol I have an everything problem but I learned really quickly that if I have ft. Knox security that I can control it. I was worried about the possum reaching in bc when I caught it out there it was under the cage trying to get through--- the cage is about 3ft off the ground and it had climbed up into the bucket I have under to catch manure. I did doubled galvanized wire so I feel ok that he wont be able to get to them

jlynnp said:

I have no problem dispatching these critters with a gun, I have a very ornery donkey who can dispatch many vermin herself. A good livestock guardian is worth it's weight in gold.

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Yes!! I have a Turkish akbash who is wonderful at keeping everyone safe and is the most gentle dog I have every seen, unless youre a threat, then well bad news for you... He is very protective of all of our animals down to the baby chicks but he sleeps inside and I don't always move fast enough at 2am to let him out haha I would love to have a donkey! Cant right now but we are looking at ranch right now, praying it works out and gets us out of city limits!

I seldom have issues with rubber ears (possums), LOL I even had a young one found asleep between two hens. He grew up stealing a few eggs here and there but never bothered the birds. Easy to recognize as he had over half of his tail missing. Unfortunately Half Tail was one of the casualties when the strip mine pushed a large number of coyotes onto the property.

Old thread sorry....I wanted to make a note in case someone is searching like I was.

Here's a good link for info about what possums are really up to. http://www.opossum.org/discourage.html

****If a possum can get in, so can a coon or a fox.**** Possums don't seem to be as crafty....

As much fun as some people have "killing" wild animals, or torturing them (i.e. drowning), it is an exercise in futility. If you don't have a predator proof set up - you will always be losing something to predators of some kind. It's logical and a balance. Wild animals and predators belong and are necessary in their environment. If you kill one, another one will fill the gap, and you lose again, you would never know when.

I am a little nervous about opossums here. I feed birds on the porch roof and pears strewn about from the overproducing pear tree. They come on the roof and in the giant Arborvitae next to the house. I could stop doing that...

But, the run is chain link, electric fenced and covered, coop is inside pen. (I still want to add 2 more strands of electric, maybe a chainlink or solid roof on the run, and a flush frame for the coop door) The precious pet chickens are locked in coop at dusk. And....I have a baby monitor. I think I have done all I can at this point.

Possums aka grinners are the easiest furbearer to catch just set traps for coon, coyote, bobcat, fox or anything but a possum and I swear every possum in the county will plug your sets.

Seriously a cage trap 5"x5" or larger baited with sardines in oil or similar smelly bait like a fishy cat food or jack mackerel can't be passed up by a grinner if the cats don't beat them to it.

Dispatch is just as easy. Get a broom stick and lay it by the trap ready to grab. Get the grinner sulled up and in the back of the cage. Now with your right hand, if you're right handed play watch the birdie with the grinner and get him watching your right hand at the rear of the cage. With your left hand open the cage and prop the door open. Keep his attention distracted with the right then in quick smooth movement reach in grab the end of the tail and snatch the grinner out. Stand up and let the grinner hang. Give it a light shake if it try to turn. Now in another smooth motion lower the grinner until it grabs the ground with its front paws but don't let the back ones down. Scoop up the broom stick and tap it solidly directly on top of the head just forward of the ears and just behind the eyes. Done right you should get red leakage from the nostrils and one or both rear legs kicking. Toss it aside until it done kicking.

Reset trap and repeat.

BTW cats are easy to deal with as well the first time. Cats readily enter a trap but don't like the experience and quickly become savvy to traps. So if you want the cats gone never release them or you'll play hob catching them again. If you just want them out of the way while trying for coon or possum give the cage a little shake, not a big one just enough to be unpleasant, then release the cat. It'll not repeat that experience anytime soon.

feral cats can and will kill just as many chickens as any predator out there. Probably 70% of my losses have been to cats, and we have dogs, coons, possums, fox , and coyote out my back door. I don't release any cats that I don't know is a house cat. And no I don't hate cats we just lost our cat after 16 years, I'm just saying don't discount cats as a predator.