Egg Thief

[pvaldes]

Wouldn't be better to keep the local opposums vaccinated instead to remove them (to be inmediately filled with new oppossums from neighbough areas?). Like in the bagder cullings, the main collateral effect in this cases is that the diseases spread much faster.

 

[Folly's place]

Vaccinated? No, it doesn't work for this disease, even in horses. It was tried years ago, and failed. Many horses have been exposed, and few actually get sick. Keeping possums and raccoons out of the barns and hay as much as possible is the choice.
They can live anywhere else!
Mary

 

[CampnGirl]

You likely don't have it in the UK. It's Equine Protozoal Myelitis, a very nasty infection of the spinal cord and brain, from intestinal parasites carried by opossums. Likely not spelled correctly, but an ugly disease. Not rare here, often causing death.
Mary

Well put.

 

[CampnGirl]

Vaccinate? Unfortunately that doesn't work. Best bet is not to give them a welcoming environment. One thing that I'm very careful about is keeping food locked up. They're hard up for food this time of the year. Bad as I feel for the possum, I'd feel even worse if I lost my horse because of a possum. I do what I can to co exist but I won't risk the lives of my critters. In 5 years that Ive lived there this is only my 2nd one. The first one was VERY sickly. This wasn't an easy choice for a lady who as a girl wouldn't even step on ants.

 

[CampnGirl]

I feel really ignorant :lol but what is EPM?

No need to feel ignorant, I wouldn't know if I didn't have horses. In short it comes from the opossum generally when they poo in the hay or area of feeding (which generally is an attractive bed for an opossum) the horse ingests this, it gets into the horses blood through the digestive tract and causes a neurologic disorder. Not a good thing.

 

[grammaC]

Just wanted to share what I came home to yesterday.

Found my thief today, too... neighbor dog!

 

[BYC910]

I try not to kill possums here. If they get my coops it's good buy possum .I never heard of the disease .Good to know .Daughter might change her tune about ants if she was to meet some southern fire ants . I hate those.

 

[CampnGirl]

I try not to kill possums here. If they get my coops it's good buy possum .I never heard of the disease .Good to know .Daughter might change her tune about ants if she was to meet some southern fire ants . I hate those.

Actually it's me that didn't like stepping on ants when I was a kid. And I lived in Key West for a bit, still have scars on my legs from fire amts. Took a while for this northern girl to figure out what hurt so bad. lol

 

[CampnGirl]

Found my thief today, too... neighbor dog!

Pups not stealing eggs, it's a welfare check.