Predator question

[Wolrep]

Would a raccoon or opossum try to kill a full grown peacock. Sorry if it might be a dumb question but there is something trying to get into my peacock pen and I spotted a opossum on the property they other day. It got away before I could take care of it.

 

[ocap]

I shut the coop door after dark one night and an opossum, unknown to me at the time, was shut inside with the chickens and peafowl. One peahen was killed and several chickens the next morning.

 

[DylansMom]

Would a raccoon or opossum try to kill a full grown peacock. Sorry if it might be a dumb question but there is something trying to get into my peacock pen and I spotted a opossum on the property they other day. It got away before I could take care of it.

I'm thinking yes for the Raccoon, not so much for the opossum. I saw someone lost some birds to an opossum who got locked in the coop, but I'm guessing this may be more a result of the opossum being in a panic to get out. We have an opossum family living on the second floor of our barn, they've been here for years and they've never hurt any of our Peas, chickens, guineas or turkeys and all the birds live in the same barn as the opossums. They come downstairs and help themselves to an evening meal of cat food and then head out to do whatever opossums do. I think if they have an alternative food source they will choose not to kill for a meal, however if they are hungry it is probably a possibility. We try to follow the live and let live philosophy here, as long as they are doing no harm we will allow them to stay, if they were to begin killing poultry they would be removed with extreme prejudice. If it is trying to get into your coop, it is probably after the feed, but if it is a raccoon it will gladly make a meal of the birds instead. IMO

 

[new 2 pfowl]

If it's a raccoon or fox your peas will be in trouble.

If its an opossum, in my experience, it won't hurt your peas...as DylansMom says, it's probably looking for whatever food you put in there.

Peggy and his little friend Shaggy the Opossum...

 

[WindStep]

I say yes IT WILL KILL IT!

 

[DylansMom]

If it's a raccoon or fox your peas will be in trouble.

If its an opossum, in my experience, it won't hurt your peas...as DylansMom says, it's probably looking for whatever food you put in there.

Peggy and his little friend Shaggy the Opossum...

That is so cool, so I'm assuming Shaggy has never harmed Peggy, like our Opossum family haven't hurt any of our birds? We also caught our's on hubby's trail cam, but I never had him download any pics on the computer. We had a cat go missing a few years ago and we searched all sort of odd places to make sure she hadn't gotten trapped anywhere, that's when we discovered where our opossums make their home. Cubbyhole, at the bottom of an unused stairwell on the end of the barn. There were 4 of them when we found them that time, but we've seen them in the barn for close to 10 years now, so I don't even know if it's been the same ones or if it's been a couple of generations living in there? Anyone know the average lifespan of an Opossum?

Ever thought of naming the next Pea "Scooby"?

 

[Wolrep]

Thanks everyone for the post. I thought they would but wasn't sure so I asked. Getting ready for baby's soon

 

[MinxFox]

I have lost 3 birds to raccoons. One was an adult peacock and the other two were peahens.