Do possums eat the chickens or the eggs or both?

[ChickenCanoe]

... As I said before I've done exactly what DNR has directed.

Well that takes care of the legality issue.

 

[smg1970]

DNR in MO doesn't handle wildlife issues. That's the Dept. of Conservation here. They told me since it isn't allowed to discharge a firearm here to drown the animal.
They told me to fill a garbage can with water and drop the trap in it.
Make sure if it is a Havahart trap that only works horizontally to secure the doors before turning on end. I learned that the hard way.

Yes that's exactly the trap I have. Trust me I don't want these critters around but since I cannot shoot them humanly, I have followed what DNR has requested.

 

[1cock2hens]

http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/wildlife/nuisance-wildlife

Louisiana laws are different then our Missouri laws.



Edited by Staff

 

[Folly's place]

I am amazed by the Louisiana approach; they don't have rabies there? Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I just looked at the CDC website; Louisiana in 2014 had one dog, one cat, and three bats rabies positive. Fewer cases than Michigan, anyway. Mary

 

[smg1970]

Thank

I just looked at the CDC website;  Louisiana in 2014 had one dog, one cat, and three bats rabies positive.  Fewer cases than Michigan, anyway.  Mary

. Very interesting didn't know those statistics . I'm kinda baffled that it's not higher here.

 

[Folly's place]

It will vary annually, and the latest stats were for 2014. Mary

 

[allbirds]

They mainly eat eggs but will kill and eat a chicken if given the chance. I've never had one kill an adult standard size bird but I've lost chicks and juvenile birds to them.
To answer your other question about if there's one is there more, normally yes! I'm dealing with possum problems right now and I've killed three already and I know there's atleast one more and this has been in the past ten days! I lost several nest of eggs one night so I set my trap and caught one the first night, one the second night and one the fourth night. I didn't catch anymore the next couple nights so I quit setting the trap and Friday night I lost more eggs with the same evidence left behind so I set the trap back last night but didn't catch anything but I bet I will tonight, atleast I'm hoping I do. So, through my 20+ years of raising chickens I've learned where there's one there's usually atleast one more! I'd definitely be setting a trap and getting rid of the predator and keep setting it for a few more days/nights to make sure there's no more! Good luck!

 

[Member 482121]

If you can't shoot them, there is a less cruel way to kill them than drowning them. Place the cage in a large, sturdy garbage bag, connect a hose to the exhaust pipe of your car, insert the other end of the hose in the bag and tuck and seal the opening of the bag around the hose with duct tape. Make a small hole in the bottom end of the bag to let the excess fumes escape after having filled the bag (you don't want it to pop if the pressure becomes too strong). Then idle the engine for twenty minutes, maybe 1/2 hour, and the animal in the cage will go to sleep and die without the terror and pain of drowning. I myself have never tried this method because I live in a rural area and can shoot. As a matter of fact I kill my meat chickens with a .22 pistol and a shot to the back of the head. The brain is destroyed instantly and... no brain, no pain. Beheading is painful. It takes several horrible seconds for the brain to shut down for lack of oxygen. Wringing their necks is even worse. Cutting their throats is the worst. I have just caught a big possum in a live trap by my chicken house and I will have to kill it. I hate having to do this, but I also have a horse, whose stall is not far from the chicken house. Opossums feces carry a bacterium that may cause the horse to get sick. And I do not believe in relocating wild nuisance animals for the reasons that have already been explained in this forum.

 

[uuinn]

adult male possums will hunt & kill grown Muscovy ducks. Chickens are a snack to them.