do possums eat chickens?

[kubota girl]

that is so true... the ones in the picture look a lot different(they look a lot nicer)

 

[Fancychooklady]

that is so true... the ones in the picture look a lot different(they look a lot nicer)

Yes that's true, but as I said ' depends on the type of possum and where you are. Don't be fooled by that ' butter wouldn't melt in my mouth ' look, she'd give you a nasty scratch if you messed with her.
But we are surrounded by possums and they have never ( touch wood ) harmed any of my chooks.

 

[StruckBy]

Opossums (like most omnivores) go for the easiest food source. They will eat pretty much anything. I've kept 100% free range chickens in very high density areas and never had one attack a chicken. They did eat the eggs occasionally, but the most common thing was to go out & see them eating the layer pellets out of the feeder or digging through the compost. Or eating the barn cats' food...man do they love cat food! The people I know who have had confirmed opossum attacks/kills were ones who were religious about keeping their feed cleaned up & their birds tightly confined in coops. I'm sure a particular animal who learns chickens are easy to kill will continue to do so. Of course since they rarely live more than 2 yrs in the wild, not a lot of time to learn the habit in abundant food areas.

 

[kubota girl]

thanks everybody

 

[Owingsia]

I have a policy on possums.
1. Shoot on site!

 

[kubota girl]

thats exactly what i did when i saw a possum in my nesting box!....pow pow

 

[preludepc]

How do Raccoons kill chickens? I lost my first chicken tonight. It was horrible. I want to find out if it was a possum or raccoon. Hard to tell by tracks. Snow if too fluffy. I think possum though. How can I tell? Thank you

 

[GarthRyan]

How do Raccoons kill chickens? I lost my first chicken tonight. It was horrible. I want to find out if it was a possum or raccoon. Hard to tell by tracks. Snow if too fluffy. I think possum though. How can I tell? Thank you

I've had two killed by a raccoon, in my case there was little blood as in only found a few spots and the whole chicken was gone with only a few feathers left. I guess the eat every bit of it. One was pulled through 2 inch chain link fence and the other case a raccoon tore chicken wire and made about a 2-3 inch round hole and pulled one through. Both came out in pieces I imagine.

 

[Carolyn]

I live in Tennessee and yes, opossums will kill and eat chickens. I do not think I have ever lost one to a possum during the day light while they are free ranging. Instead they sneak into the coop usually just before the chickens or thru any opening they can find. I have usually been alerted by the sound of chickens after dark which is abnormal except for hearing the roo in the wee hours of the morning. If your flock has been sleeping in the hen house and then don't want to go in suspect a possum. If your electric fence is up in the middle of summer and your chickens disappear suspect a possum because a possum has been the one to point out to me my fence quit working during a drought. It also pointed out the small hole that washed under the fence in a flood. They wait until the chickens are asleep, climb on the roosts, bite at the chickens until they eventually kill one. They will return and eat on the chicken until all that is left is the feet and wing tips. Oh and they might bring the family along. Thankfully last night I saw one run over the electric fence I neglected to replug after letting the chickens out to free range for a while. I went back inside for the hubby, the gun and the flash light. The possum was hiding in a nesting box, looked straight at me and grinned just as innocently and friendly as the OZ ones in the pic but this was a local possum and I had seen too many of his kind around my chickens. The End (of that one anyway).

 

[Joe Gonzalez]

Yes possums will kill and eat chickens lost my flock of 9 buff orps last night he he tore one up preety bad and the others he just killed, without eating.