awwwwwww... I followed my new 'pet' back to his hole...

[sweeterdeeter42]

I hate opossums!!! Nothing but trouble!

 

[Knight Hawk Ranch]

Sorry but it would be dead here. Possom carry EPM and I have horses along with chickens.

If they stay in the woods (where they belong) I leave them alone. When they come on my side
of the fence they are unwelcome. Have lost too many chickens to them( possom, coons, fox, ect)

Thank-fully, I now have a rescue dog here who is truly a tresure. An Ausie that has learned his
job WELL! Stray animals of all kinds are promptly herded back across the property line.

 

[elizabethbinary]

Australian Possums are cute:

Image from QLD Museum.


Still just as deadly though...

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

I'm glad you took care of business. Its a tough aspect of being a farmer and caring for your flock. My in-laws in Michigan remove coons and possum from their property whenever possible. They don't have chickens, but they garden, and have seen the local grouse, pheasant and rabbit populations drop drastically in recent years. Removing coons and possum by trapping or shooting probably won't eliminate them from your area- they are able to reproduce very efficiently; but it should allow a more balanced wildlife population near you.

 

[ccm352]

i still think its funny you named him George. We had one that wandered into the house i was living in.. We built him a little hut and he lived there for 4 years. He was free to come and go as he pleased. He was quite friendly. One day he just never came home. My dad asked what we should name him. I said George of course.. After he thought about it for a second he got the humor behind it!

 

[fishnet1971]

It just kinda fit him. I had a ground hog like your opposum a few years back. I actully made a sign that i posted above his hole in the front yard. A home sweet home sign, It was so funny. My DH was so mad, but i plantedhim a little flower bed of fake flowers around and stuff. IT WAS SO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he died i guess, never came out one spring. That or DH got him.

 

[laughingdog]

had oppossums that i raised as orphans, living with a half bobcat half feral cat, in my coop, and never were trouble, just seemed to get crowded around by the hens P.S. possums can carry bacterial infections by bite and feces, but if clean, they are no trouble, as body temp to low to carry other harmful diseases that cats and coons carry most of small pests and preds). on the other hand adorable coons killed the pair and other oppossums for sport, and when food got low in area suddenly ( my neighbor suddenly stopped leaving all you can eat ca food feeders out for just them, and they turned mean, but to fat still to climb or run for monthes). nothing is odd and funnier than seeing baby oppossums suddenly carried out, around, them brooded by your hens cat, or dogs. if the oppossums started fighting or made any trouble they were dispatched or sent packing by cat or dogs though. usually they would eat the dog's food same as other supposed dangerous animals and just grow up and wander off on own when mature. only had one raccoon orphan that was nice enough that was allowed to stick around, then it just wandered off slowly over time, but found dead by fence torn up by other coons later like oppossums and cats.

 

[ColbyNTX]

I don't let opossums on my place because they do steal a lot of eggs at a minimum but I love them everywhere else because they are the #1 spreader of the cat flea. That is the main flea that dogs and cats get and I make a living from killing fleas off of dogs and cats!

So you people have a heart and use live traps and relocate them!

 

[doxies1]

Opossums are one of the few things I won't eat. I can get the picture out of my mind, of them crawing out of a dead rotting cow, (I've seen that on a number of occasions).

 

[4HMomma]

My 4 yr old laughs everytime she sees an opossum. She says, "I know your not sleeping, and I know pitchforks kill you!" in this evil 4 yr old voice. The first time we were at the feed store since the "incident" some older gentleman asked her if she knew what "this" (a pitchfork) was used for. She proudly said, "Of course, its an opossum killer, duh!!" I have no place for those critters. I've seen horses with EPM, not a pleasant experience, never mind the chickens.