You Wont Believe This!

[spartacus_63]

Quess I'm lucky, I have carried hunderds of possums by the tail and never gotten bitten or scratched!

Hundreds! I guess you are lucky to have not been bitten, and unlucky that you have been infested by opossum. Maybe if you dispatched one or two, the word would get out that the free ride was over.

I guess that just goes to show, if you relocate them, they'll come back with friends.

 

[Kat'sChicks]

Quote:
X 2.....We also have horses and have a good friend who used to believe in protecting all wildlife until both of her barrell horses got sick and tested positive for EPM. Needless to say, she has changed her wildlife management beliefs. I believe that as an owner of animals - horses, dogs, cats and chickens - I have the responsibilty and right to protect all of them from harm to the best of my ability. If that means I dispatch them, so be it.
And that comes from someone who will swerve or slam on the brakes to miss a squirrel on the road. Heck, I can't even stand to hit a dead one...I stop and move them off the road and say "I'm sorry you got hit little guy".... LOL.

 

[akcountrygrrl]

For the OP, I'm glad all of your girls were okay. To add to the list of 'possum problems... My mom and dad were woke up one night to their dogs carrying on - barking at the door and jumping on the door trying to get out. When they let the dogs out, they didn't want to come back in. Dad finally went out and found the dogs at the back corner of the fence trying to get at something. Dad pulled the dogs inside and they finally settled down. The next morning Mom and Dad went out to take care of their chickens and found one missing a head and two others with bare patches on their backs. This was the one time they had not closed the door on the chicken run and locked the chickens in the coop. That night the dogs started up again. Dad went out to see what was going on and found a 'possum trying to get into the chicken run. He dispatched it and disposed of the body. Well, within a week the chickens came down with a respiratory infection which took my folks over a month to finally get rid of. The first ones to come down with it are those that survived the attack but had feathers ripped out of their backs. I don't think that is just coincidence. 'Possums are nasty, disease carrying vermin. I've seen them just covered with fleas and mites. So, not only do they kill birds, eat/foul food, and eat eggs, they also can transmit disease and parasites to your animals. Why would anyone really want to chance that with their precious animals?

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
Hundreds! I guess you are lucky to have not been bitten, and unlucky that you have been infested by opossum. Maybe if you dispatched one or two, the word would get out that the free ride was over.

I guess that just goes to show, if you relocate them, they'll come back with friends.

Yes Hunderds! however your jumping to the wrong conclusions.

1. I do "dispatch" possums we catch in traps. They are a predator that will cause damage.

2. I do not relocate possums, coon, mink, weasel, fox or coyotes. I do release or relocate civey cats!

3. We have raised possums in the past and I used to work at a farm that sold possums. They would ship several out each week.

 

[austin.ray22]

Quote:
Hundreds! I guess you are lucky to have not been bitten, and unlucky that you have been infested by opossum. Maybe if you dispatched one or two, the word would get out that the free ride was over.

I guess that just goes to show, if you relocate them, they'll come back with friends.

Yes Hunderds! however your jumping to the wrong conclusions.

1. I do "dispatch" possums we catch in traps. They are a predator that will cause damage.

2. I do not relocate possums, coon, mink, weasel, fox or coyotes. I do release or relocate civey cats!

3. We have raised possums in the past and I used to work at a farm that sold possums. They would ship several out each week.

What were the intended uses of these possums?

 

[buck-wild-chick]

Quess I'm lucky, I have carried hunderds of possums by the tail and never gotten bitten or scratched!

Iv only been bitten once and they can pack a nasty bite. I ended up with two punctures and couldn't move my finger for a few days. It was interesting explaining to everyone as to what happened.
I prefure to "scruff"(grab by the neck) the possums once I have them by the tail. Well my grip loosend and...

ouch

 

[karimw]

Quote:
They are nice dogs but the ones I have known are death to ALL small animals not just rats. How do they do with your chickens?

 

[b.hromada]

Quote:
My thoughts exactly.

 

[allcrackedup]

i can't believe the posts i'm reading she is not asking for anyones advice.. her family did what was right for them... and i thought it was funny would have scared me, hope he was awake and not half asleep still...

For the opossum activists this is great site you may want to join... http://www.opossum.org/ you can share your rescue stories...

 

[Miss Lydia]

We had 2 young possums living under the chicken coop last winter, they would come out during the day and eat with the chickens and ducks and never went into the coop. I guess they moved on in the spring. This year I put hardware cloth around the bottom of the coop so haven't had any renters, but we have never had a problem with possums, I think the dogs help keep things out during the day and at night everyone is lock up tight.