Do possums eat the chickens or the eggs or both?

[lastersthisnthat]

I have had a opossum kill 2 of my adult chickens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm no sure what you mean by invasive species. Invasive to your state? Possums have been here a very long time. They are the ONLY marsupial on this continent suggesting they got separated from other marsupials living in Australia etc. Marsupials are the animals whose young develop in their pouch like kangaroos. They are not related to rats and they do not carry rabies as their body temperature is too high to support rabies. They are one of the more interesting animals around. Lots of people kill them mostly because they are afraid of them--an unfortunate human tendancy.

I meant cats are an invasive species.

 

[Lbrad7]

I have a possum that came up on the upper deck to eat cat food. I immediately brought it in, but it has been back to look for more. The dogs have treed it 2-3 times so far. My point though is that it hasn't bothered the chickens and it hasn't gone in the compost heap which is next to the coop. Either I am lucky or it's not interested in chickens.

I'm not sure that you have been lucky, you have just kept it well fed with the cat food. Possums will eat chickens, eggs and of course chicks. Forturnately IMHO they are the easiest of all the predators to catch. If you have one haning around the house, I would set a trap and dispatch it before it becomes a problem.

 

[shannonpdp]

sooooo true i have caught 6 in 6 days 1 each night i finally got the one that killed my prized rooster he put up a fight as the opossum had injuries and stab wounds you gotta kill them i have seen litters of 16 before

 

[FarmersHatchery]

Opossums will eat any kind of food they can get their hands on if they think they can take it down. The only egg-eaters I've had personally are black snakes, while my opossums go after my chickens. My friend however, says her opossums never bother her birds, they just eat the eggs. Either way, if you haven't done so already, you should either shoot the opossum or catch it and release it on public hunting reserve. It's best not to release it anywhere else, since you might unknowingly release it by another person's coop.

 

[turkensummer]

Night before last my girls were squaking something terrible but didnt catch what it was. Then lastnight again a big rucus and sure enough when the motion lights turned on it was a big ugly opossum! My husband grabbed the baseball bat and killed it( it was spure of the moment and we dont have any guns)! My eggs have been missing lately and one of my girls has feathers yank out and an injured wing, havent been able to hold her to inspect for bites and such as she is very tramatized!
The opossum dug a hole under the fence, so not only do they climb like coons but they dig too!
Last spring we lost one to raccoons and a neighbor lost all of hers, so I thought a chain link dog kennel would keep things out, except for digging under the fence!
good luck!

 

[Gargoyle]

Last spring we lost one to raccoons and a neighbor lost all of hers, so I thought a chain link dog kennel would keep things out, except for digging under the fence!
good luck!

Chain link is good, but you need to cover it with hardware cloth. Otherwise raccoons reach through, grab chickens, and pull them through the chain link- it's a really awful way for the chicken to be killed.

 

[susan carol]

They will eat both and leave nothing but some feathers this morning in the dark i came upon a skunk by my chicken house didnt go much farther. Looked up on net and found I have another eneamy to my chickens they eat chicken too. Set live trap will see in the morning what will I do next ? wont be put in my new jeep not sure what to do will see in the a.m. I love my chickens and gunies and other critters I have dont want to have them eaten good luck I know I need it.

 

[jetdog]

Drop the trap in a barrel of water, works every time.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Opossums are crazy, I don't know what a possum is though....

An opossum is a possum who's putting on airs.

Back when ever country house hold had a milk cow it was common to confine possums and fatten them up or clean them out with corn bread and waste milk. The only way I remember possum being cooked was baked on a bed of sweet potatoes.

Baked possum is better than no food at all, but I never expect to see either possum or opossum as the surprise ingredient on Iron Chef America.