So, earlier this week, I was hanging out in the yard, reading and keeping an eye on my 6 freeranging ladies. Suddenly, there was a commotion right around my feet, and I looked down to realize they had swiftly dispatched with a medium-sized (~4 feet, black, nonvenomous) snake. They tore that thing to bits. I feel strongly that this was due to their clear desire to protect me, obvs. (I did mention to them that, in future, if the snake is not one that is going to poison me, we can probably let him continue to roam the yard to knock down vermin issues).
This morning, I went out to the coop to let the girls out for the day and found that a possum had invaded the cage last night. The girls had put him down brutally - every bit of fur was off in tufts all over the ground and he was very bloody. It was gross, but I was also alarmed, so I came inside to figure out how to prevent any of his little friends from lodging in our coop any time soon. In doing so, the basic information I gained re chickens and possums is that chickens are no match for possums, end of story. So this brings to mind new questions:
1. Is it possible this was a sick possum to begin with and, if so, should I be concerned that my chickens could be made sick from exposure? I know this question has too many variables to be definitively answered, but has anyone had an experience where their flock got sick from eating something that was already sick?
2. Am I just wrong about this whole chicken/possum thing? Has anyone else seen a match between these two that ended in chicken victory?
3. The most reasonable answer is my aforementioned superhero theory, I think - in which case, where are the girls keeping their capes in the coop??
There's also a little tickling thought that Mr. Possum may have actually been Mr. Weasel. Living in the deep south out in the woods, I see possums at least weekly, and at first glance I was sure this thing was a possum...but now I'm second guessing that. I've never seen a weasel (in fact, they may not even live here - should definitely be Googling this), but it seems like chickens occasionally have better luck pitted against weasels so I didn't want to dismiss the possibility...
Anyway.
This morning, I went out to the coop to let the girls out for the day and found that a possum had invaded the cage last night. The girls had put him down brutally - every bit of fur was off in tufts all over the ground and he was very bloody. It was gross, but I was also alarmed, so I came inside to figure out how to prevent any of his little friends from lodging in our coop any time soon. In doing so, the basic information I gained re chickens and possums is that chickens are no match for possums, end of story. So this brings to mind new questions:
1. Is it possible this was a sick possum to begin with and, if so, should I be concerned that my chickens could be made sick from exposure? I know this question has too many variables to be definitively answered, but has anyone had an experience where their flock got sick from eating something that was already sick?
2. Am I just wrong about this whole chicken/possum thing? Has anyone else seen a match between these two that ended in chicken victory?
3. The most reasonable answer is my aforementioned superhero theory, I think - in which case, where are the girls keeping their capes in the coop??
There's also a little tickling thought that Mr. Possum may have actually been Mr. Weasel. Living in the deep south out in the woods, I see possums at least weekly, and at first glance I was sure this thing was a possum...but now I'm second guessing that. I've never seen a weasel (in fact, they may not even live here - should definitely be Googling this), but it seems like chickens occasionally have better luck pitted against weasels so I didn't want to dismiss the possibility...
Anyway.
