ARGH, Possum in my run and dh wouldn't let me kill it! *HUGE RANT*

[baltimoreharps]

Oh I Am SO mad right now!!!! This stupid possum was sitting in my apple tree in my run just now!! DS was outside and on his phone and thought it was one of the cats in the tree, um, NO, it was this huge, ugly very slow to move possem!!!!

I grab the baseball bat and am on my way out to the coop and DH tells me to hang on, wait for him.

We get out there, kids in various stages of scared, freaked out, going for the kill modes, etc around us, and it is still sitting there in the tree! I'm whacking branches to get it to fall, and dh is STILL telling me to hang on and let him handle it, and his idea of handling it is to try to get it out of the tree so it can leave the run.

I'm chasing this thing like mad before he gets out, and get a good whack in to try to hit it hard.... and I missed because dh didn't want the kids to see it get killed

I'm so mad I could spit nails, NOTHING messes with my flock, DH included.

The coop is like ft. Knox, the run isn't so secure but it will be starting tomorrow!
It comes back, it is TOAST, DH or no DH and freaked out kiddos or not, it is a DEAD possum!

Thanks for letting me rant, I'm still so mad right now I could spit nails!!

 

[Suechick]

It sounds like it didn't get any of your chickens?! Whew!
Yes, please kill the bugger if you get another shot at it.

 

[baltimoreharps]

Quote:
The coop is sealed up tight, no one was injured, thank God!! And trust me, it's stupid enough to come back, it WILL be killed! No predator messes with my flock and I love animals, but NOT predators who think they can wreak havoc on my just laying hens, nope, no way!

I am not going to be sleeping well tonight at all.

 

[cassie]

Good heavens to Betsy!! Fix the run so the possum can't get in. That shouldn't be hard. A possum is not a raccoon. If I tried to kill every potential chicken predator around here I wouldn't have time to do anything else. We have possums, skunks, coyotes and hawks. Lots of them. And none of them have ever given us a bit of trouble. Why? Because we have good guard dogs and the chicken run is more trouble than it is worth for them to get into.

 

[fancbrd4me02]

I agree with Cassie. I was just thinking about my chickens and how seldom I have predator problems. Luck hasn't anything to do with it, and I often encounter predators on my property, etc. But I don't ever have to kill them and I only lose birds when I have done something wrong, like not penning them up at night, or not making sure everything is secure. If I had seen the possum, I would have seen that as a sign about being more dillegent in my exclusion campaign against predators. I would not have felt like I had to kill it, because I don't. Even if he had killed a bird, i would just let it go as the bird is already dead. Then I would have set about fixing whatever wasn't secure. I am only saying this because I think there is a huge focus on killing animals who are only guilty of not knowing the difference between a chicken and a wild bird. It's also a waste of time trying to eliminate predators when you can fence/build/etc. to keep them out.

 

[ranchhand]

I must need sleep. I read it as possum in your RUM- too much eggnog, I guess.

G'night, Gracie!

 

[baltimoreharps]

Quote:
That's the aggrivating thing....we have had one hawk who the crows chased off, and have NEVER seen a possum or any other predator until the girls came into POL. Obviously, the run is going to be reinforced heavily from now on..I am just so aggrivated with this, moreso with DH who just sees it as an "it was up in the tree, not bothering the chickens" etc. That's a BIG deal to me and I thought it should be to him!
We can't have dogs, the landlord wants "outside only" animals and I can deal with that, but I will not have an outside only dog, not fair to a pack animal especially if it's the only dog who cannot come in the house.

DH is going out to check the pen once again and to drive the car and shine lights on any trees the possum could have gone into. He's trying, but good grief.... it could have been over and done with if I could have gotten one good hit in.

I love animals of all kinds, but I just do not deal with predators who are looking for an easy kill on my POL chickens who are 9 out of 12 laying hens right now.

 

[cassie]

Why don't you look into an electric fence? They are cheap and effective. If it isn't that poor possum it is going to be something else so it is a never ending battle.

 

[gsim]

Quote:
I agree with fancbrdfrme02 except for one thing. The ones I catch are dead meat, period.

I am not out to exterminate every pred on my small farm. I have a great love of wildlife and no real hatred of poultry preds, but the ones that show up for a meal of my chooks are dead meat.

Why? Because they crossed that line of no return, and from then on can be counted upon to keep coming back for a chance at some yummy, live, defenseless poultry.

Not on my watch. Catch-and-release around here means releasing into a freshly-dug hole in the woods.

 

[lildinkem]

Friday nite I went out to lock up my coops, and heard a weird sceamin sound. My little dog Luna had stumbled onto a Possum, he went to playin dead. Gave me enough time to walk back to the house and grab the .22 Springfield and pop him a few times in the head. Last I seen he is gettin chewed on by my dogs. Nuttin like Possum on XMAS to make a dogs day.