do possums eat chickens?

[kubota girl]

I had a possum i found in a nesting box the other day... i dont know if it was eating any eggs though. Do they eat eggs? Also are they harmful to my hens...would they be if they knew there was a rooster in there with them? please give feedback

 

[ShinShien]

I had a possum i found in a nesting box the other day... i dont know if it was eating any eggs though. Do they eat eggs? Also are they harmful to my hens...would they be if they knew there was a rooster in there with them? please give feedback

They'll eat both. They attack at night when the chickens are roosting.

 

[kubota girl]

Thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here is a link and what they say about possums.

http://icwdm.org/inspection/livestock.asp

•Omnivorous eating fish, crustaceans, insects, mushrooms, fruits, vegetables, eggs, and carrion. They will raid poultry houses, usually killing one chicken at a time, often mauling the victim.
•Eggs will be mashed and messy, the shells often chewed into small pieces and left in the nest. Opossums usually begin feeding on poultry at the cloacal opening. Young poultry or game birds are consumed entirely and only a few wet feathers left.

Possums are slow-moving and don’t really pose much of a threat to chickens during the day. The chickens will most likely just run away. They really like the eggs though at any time. At night, when the chickens are on the roost, they can’t run away in the dark. The chickens are easy prey. Obviously the rooster can’t see to do anything.

I once found a possum in the coop just before dark. The rooster was as scared of it as the hens. He wasn’t getting near that thing!

People have a romanticized opinion of the value of a rooster for predator protection. Occasionally you will find one that will attack a predator but much more often they function more as a warming system. Often a rooster will position himself between the flock and a potential danger to check things out but if a real threat is found, mine are more likely to try to lead the flock to safety rather than send them to safety while he sacrifices himself to give them more time.

 

[Fancychooklady]

It depends on where you are and the type of possum. I've seen some mean looking creatures on threads here, but who knows whether or not they were antagonized . I live in Aus and our brush tail possums regularly sleep in my nesting boxes. Apart from inconveniencing the hens that want to lay in that cubicle they haven't caused any problems.

 

[kubota girl]

thanks

 

[kubota girl]

thanks

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

;I recently dispatched an opossum in my hen house that had killed one of my hens.

 

[kubota girl]

oh wow thats not good:-(

 

[aart]

It depends on where you are and the type of possum. I've seen some mean looking creatures on threads here, but who knows whether or not they were antagonized . I live in Aus and our brush tail possums regularly sleep in my nesting boxes. Apart from inconveniencing the hens that want to lay in that cubicle they haven't caused any problems.

Possums in the US are nasty.