Possum attacks HELP!

[tlcmurphy]

Opossums are marsupials not rodents.
I hope you can remove them from your property, we have them lurking here too.
I’m sorry for your loss.

 

[McChooky]

You may need more than a air rifle, there tough to kill.

They will only be shot in our yard at close range thanks

 

[Necti]

A 35 watt incandescent “decorative” bulb, dialed down to about 15 watts with a dimmer.

From my experience and from other accounts, it is 100% effective at preventing entry of opossums into a small outdoor pen where there are easy obvious entry points.

The roof is 1/3rd covered by black plastic over a 6 inch wide metal mesh, 1/3rd palm frond, and 1/3 with nothing but the 6” openings.

(Where the chickens perch is covered, but I like to keep the compost floor below the chickens moist with the regular nightly rain. There is no problem from mites in the moist outdoor environment. Wild chickens sleep in more cold and moist environments than this.)

The bulb is much dimmer than it appears in the photo, because the hens are illuminated by the flash of the camera.

The hens lay eggs almost daily (indoors and not in the pen), normal for their breed, and free range in the forest during all daylight hours, and do not appear adversely effected by the lamp.

The orange color of the light has the least diurnal cycle effect. (I suspect that the output is mostly in the infrared heat range, rather than the visible orange range.)

The pen is small. I only keep the rooster and the two hens that are more aggressive in the outdoor pen. I keep the other hens indoors at night.

If the bulb were a much greater distance from the hens it might not be as effective.

I understand that opossum pie is a delicious dish, but a opossum might enter a pen and still do some damage before it goes into a trap.

(I do know there are lots of opossoms. I have seen them and all the neighbors see them, and if it is late in the day and the weather is bad, and one of mine or a neighbor hen does not want to come in, I sometimes leave them out there to "learn", and they are always attacked around midnight or later. However if they are loose they usually escape a mortal bite to the head by the opossom, and then they usually agree quickly to come in to safety with the other chickens.)

 

[David61]

Air rifle and a dog is what i use. My American bulldog makes short work of it so i'm not sure the air rilfe does more than drop it to the ground. The post hole diggers make a quick deep hole. Dispatched and back in the house in less than 5 minutes.

 

[catballou]

A possum has been eating young chickens and bantams. I think it is eating eggs too.
This rodent was sighted on my trail cam just last night. I have not been counting how many chickens he has eaten, around 10-12.
I need to get rid of this varmint before he eats/destroys all my chickens/ and chicken feed. Here is a picture of him looking for eggs and small chickens
View attachment 3686307

You need a trap and a gun.

 

[Plsc]

I use a 410 here, just blast them.

 

[McChooky]

A possum has been eating young chickens and bantams. I think it is eating eggs too.
This rodent was sighted on my trail cam just last night. I have not been counting how many chickens he has eaten, around 10-12.
I need to get rid of this varmint before he eats/destroys all my chickens/ and chicken feed. Here is a picture of him looking for eggs and small chickens
View attachment 3686307

Attaching 1/2 inch galvanized steel hardware cloth (16 gauge wire is best) over all openings,vents and windows will make your coop secure.You also need to bury hw cloth around the sides so nothing can dug under the coop and get inside while your chickens are locked up.Sorry for your loss!

 

[Dragonfly Farm]

the only thing not predator proof is the fencing (3\4). Could i put mesh or hardware cloth around the bottom of the fencing? If so, how tall of a roll do you think would work. plus i wanna get rid of him for good

Opossums are good. Please don’t poison him!!!!! Any larger predator who eats his dead or dying corpse will also die.
Dig down below your run and attach hardware cloth all the way around….

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

A possum has been eating young chickens and bantams. I think it is eating eggs too.
This rodent was sighted on my trail cam just last night. I have not been counting how many chickens he has eaten, around 10-12.
I need to get rid of this varmint before he eats/destroys all my chickens/ and chicken feed. Here is a picture of him looking for eggs and small chickens
View attachment 3686307

How dare he get into your chicken coop and try to steal your eggs and chickens!
I would try a live trap - it works every time!!!

 

[SamLockwood]

You may need more than a air rifle, there tough to kill.

A 22LR works if you can get a head shot. Otherwise a .357 or .30 carbine is the minimum heavy enough to drop one with a single shot relatively humanely.

Air rifles are just plain cruel on anything bigger than a small squirrel.