Any ideas on culprit?

[Duckstail]

What did you do with the possum?

I hear people in the South make possum soup

 

[Backyard Bruce]

I'm not clear on how the possum got into the coop. I understand it dug under the run fence but did you leave the pop door open at night and it entered there or some other way.

Edit to add. Maybe it's a dirt floor coop and the possum again dug under that wall?

 

[Mddutson]

https://morningchores.com/chicken-predators/
This article may help. It describes the aftermath of different predators. I had 2 girls dead today when i checked on them.

 

[jolly wattles]

I'm not clear on how the possum got into the coop. I understand it dug under the run fence but did you leave the pop door open at night and it entered there or some other way.

Edit to add. Maybe it's a dirt floor coop and the possum again dug under that wall?

Yes we leave the poop door open cause that side of the coop is only accessed from the secure run. I didn't think that a predator could go from one side of the coop cause it sits on 4x4s. But it's a old shed so maybe some of the 4x4s have rotted creating a passage. Either way I now have a skirt of hardwire around the bottom.

 

[jolly wattles]

What did you do with the possum?

I hear people in the South make possum soup

9mm to the head. Took it to a back field now the buzzards are taking care of the rest.

 

[Duckstail]

Okay I hope you did it far from your property a dead carcass is only going to attract more predators.

 

[jolly wattles]

Okay I hope you did it far from your property a dead carcass is only going to attract more predators.

I have 4 acres. I'm deep in country surrounded by farm land on every side with my woods in between. I know about carcasses and not by my doing but there's always something dead somewhere when you live in the country. Never had a predator problem that attacked before. We have coyotes the run through our property and many other predators constantly. This possum was the first to make a attempt. And he only got 1 hen cause she was in the nesting box laying when wife locked up the coop.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

A possum is like a rat, in that if it can get it's head into something it can squeeze it's body in as well. 4 x 4 is large enough for a possum to get in. We trap possums all the time and we live in the city. Sorry for your loss. Good luck with getting your coop safe and your possum problem under control.

 

[jolly wattles]

A possum is like a rat, in that if it can get it's head into something it can squeeze it's body in as well. 4 x 4 is large enough for a possum to get in. We trap possums all the time and we live in the city. Sorry for your loss. Good luck with getting your coop safe and your possum problem under control.

 

[jolly wattles]

A possum is like a rat, in that if it can get it's head into something it can squeeze it's body in as well. 4 x 4 is large enough for a possum to get in. We trap possums all the time and we live in the city. Sorry for your loss. Good luck with getting your coop safe and your possum problem under control.

I think you're misunderstanding. I said the shed sits on 4x4x8s. So if a predator could get underneath it would be stopped by other 4x4s. But apparently there might be some rotting on those foundation studs so it could go from under one side of the coop all the way to the other side and come out where's theres access to the poop door.