Possums are Chicken Killers

[Robert M]

Yep, I had a couple hundred free-range chickens in the 80s, but had to get rid of them when they started flying the coop and tearing up the gardens.

I am going to get a few, now that I'm retired... retarded?... LOL and in my 70s.

Possums are out there and will need dealing with, so, out comes the .22LRHP scoped semi.

I don't really do any "hunting", anymore, but I won't let anything kill my chickens.

BTW, look out for blacksnakes, too. They're harder to control, because they can 'ooooooze' into the peep house. They also are egg-eaters.

If you are in fox/weasel country, watch out for them, too.

Get a couple, or so, 'keets, too. They'll nest in the trees and be your "burglar alarm".

Bob

 

[Robert M]

Hi to everyone. New to this love of chickens. Had a few hens when I was about 8 but now Im almost 50 and I jumped into "Chickens" again. Too fast this time. Got four hens and my family fell for them. Built a nice "house" for them. Backyard was fenced in and they seemed very happy. Have not seen a coon for many years. No one warned me and never read about it but I lost them to a possum. Blamed my dog and wife initially. Got three more hens thinking it was my dog and lost two more during the night. Caught the possum the next night. He is gone. My lone survivor goes to bed about 7 and is locked in every night. Hope others can learn from my mistake.

I have broken out a rifle for the first time in years! We recently were "blessed" with a herd of opossum out back. Got the leader, but the youngsters are smaller and a b**** to catch, but I'll find them, especially if I wait by the gate.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

Yep, I had a couple hundred free-range chickens in the 80s, but had to get rid of them when they started flying the coop and tearing up the gardens.

I am going to get a few, now that I'm retired... retarded?... LOL and in my 70s.

Possums are out there and will need dealing with, so, out comes the .22LRHP scoped semi.

I don't really do any "hunting", anymore, but I won't let anything kill my chickens.

BTW, look out for blacksnakes, too.  They're harder to control, because they can 'ooooooze' into the peep house.  They also are egg-eaters.

If you are in fox/weasel country, watch out for them, too.

Get a couple, or so, 'keets, too.  They'll nest in the trees and be your "burglar alarm".

Bob

 

I have been able to keep my chickens in the fenced chicken yard by clipping their flight feathers on the left side. There are videos on YouTube. I lock all my critters up at night mainly due to possums.

 

[jdoane]

How is it that possoms usually get in to coop or run? Are they diggers? Our run is 3 foot high welded wire that is buried and flared out with about 12" rocks lining the fence line. The lower half of the run also has chicken wire. And the top ("roof") of the run is welded wire. Window into the coop is regular screen and hardware cloth (both layered on each other). Can be shut with door if it needs to be. Pop door goes into run. I'm debating whether to close that at night or leave it open.

I think Possums are what we have most around here. So would love to get an idea of what there MO is so I can decide things like does my "window" need to be closed up at night and whether the pop door into the "secure" run is ok left open

 

[PrimroseMom1]

How is it that possoms usually get in to coop or run?  Are they diggers?   Our run is 3 foot high welded wire that is buried and flared out with about 12" rocks lining the fence line.  The lower half of the run also has chicken wire.  And the top ("roof") of the run is welded wire.  Window into the coop is regular screen and hardware cloth (both layered on each other).  Can be shut with door if it needs to be.  Pop door goes into run.  I'm debating whether to close that at night or leave it open. 

I think Possums are what we have most around here.  So would love to get an idea of what there MO is so I can decide things like does my "window" need to be closed up at night and whether the pop door into the "secure" run is ok left open

I had a possum living in a large clay jar on my back porch. The screen wasn't torn, so I think it opened the screen door. They have hands like a raccoon and can open things. They can also dig. I have read and been told that they can go through chicken wire but I know they can't go through hardware cloth. Two of my coops have tops that can lift up. Even though they are heavy, I screwed them shut. All of my animals are locked up at night. I read that if you dig footings a couple of feet down, as it sounds like you may have done, that makes it predator proof. I just read too many sad stories. Also black snakes can go through chicken wire. Chicken wire is generally not recommended on any coop or hutch.

 

[jdoane]

Only hardware cloth on the coop. The layer of Chicken wire that I have on the bottom of the run is really to keep the chickens in when they are still young. All my access points into the coop have gate hooks with safety catches. Unfortunately we didn't dig down a whole foot for the run. I hope we're ok!!!

 

[Robert M]

Only hardware cloth on the coop. The layer of Chicken wire that I have on the bottom of the run is really to keep the chickens in when they are still young. All my access points into the coop have gate hooks with safety catches. Unfortunately we didn't dig down a whole foot for the run. I hope we're ok!!!

You can dig down about 6", and out 12" - 18" from your gravel board, and bend hardware cloth in an ell, lengthwise, and lay in your trench, fastening it to your board and/or posts on the turned up part, cover it back up, and when the "diggers" try to get into the pen, they won't be able to. You can also use roof flashing. Aluminum won't rust, but they may figure how to get under it quicker than the wire.

It's rare, but opossums CAN carry rabies... ALL mammals can. And a possum will kill your chickens, eat the innards and usually leave the good meat behind. They are NASTY critters, to say the least. And they're very hard to kill, so make sure you're thorough in your attempted elimination, because they will "play possum" and in the morning they will be gone, to crawl off and heal, then they'll be back. Head shot between the eyes is best, otherwise...

 

[Parkland Chicks]

We just had two sweet easter eggers totally eaten by a few possums. My daughter found one dead chicken when she went to collect the eggs before school. It was such an awful experience for my kids to see and for myself as well (cleaning up everything and burying the remains) since these were their pets. Thankfully, one possum was so stupid it couldn't get out of the coop so my husband took care of him after my attempts of hitting it with a rake failed. Needless to say, we ordered a new coop that hopefully will prevent those awful marsupials from getting in. However, what is the best way to keep them from digging their way in? I was thinking of digging a trench around the coop and then pouring concrete in it. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

We just had two sweet easter eggers totally eaten by  a few possums.  My daughter found one dead chicken when she went to collect the eggs before school.  It was such an awful experience for my kids to see and for myself as well (cleaning up everything and burying the remains) since these were their pets.  Thankfully, one possum was so stupid it couldn't get out of the coop so my husband took care of him after my attempts of hitting it with a rake failed.  Needless to say, we ordered a new coop that hopefully will prevent those awful marsupials from getting in.  However, what is the best way to keep them from digging their way in? I was thinking of digging a trench around the coop and then pouring concrete in it.  Any advice will be appreciated.:cd  

I am so sorry for you and your family, especially your daughter. There is a thread that describes how to build to prevent predators from getting to your chickens. I read a lot. I went with locking them in small roosting/sleeping coops at night and letting them out every morning. Did the possums dig in?

 

[Robert M]

We just had two sweet easter eggers totally eaten by a few possums. My daughter found one dead chicken when she went to collect the eggs before school. It was such an awful experience for my kids to see and for myself as well (cleaning up everything and burying the remains) since these were their pets. Thankfully, one possum was so stupid it couldn't get out of the coop so my husband took care of him after my attempts of hitting it with a rake failed. Needless to say, we ordered a new coop that hopefully will prevent those awful marsupials from getting in. However, what is the best way to keep them from digging their way in? I was thinking of digging a trench around the coop and then pouring concrete in it. Any advice will be appreciated.

Did you read my post above? If you lay a capital "L" on its side you will have a pattern to bend your rat wire. Dig deep enough to cover it about 6" deep with soil. Fasten the short end to your gravel board, the board skirting the bottom of your fence. They will try to dig close to the fence and won't figure it out that they only need to try 18" further out.

Possums will dig, open unlocked doors, climb trees and drop in an uncovered pen, etc. Like coons, they are very persistent. You need to be smarter than they are.