Em - 1 Possum - 0 **Updated w/pics**

[mangled]

Warning - It's a deceased predator post.

Went up tonight to throw down some fresh straw for the chickens and close them up for the night and all the chickens are out in the yard milling around, which is unusual so close to dark. I open the big door to the coop and walk in and what do I find in the nestboxes eating eggs? A huge opossum.
Scared the life out of me, you know? So, i shoo the chickens out of the coop that followed me in and closed the darn thing in. Ran down through the yard to get the shotgun and run back up to the coop.
Look in through the window and see that the opossum is still in the nestbox, chewing on an egg. So, I open the chook door and try to get an aim by laying down with the shotgun through the small door, and of course that won't work, and now he's looking at me. So, I had to open my door and walk in to get the deed done.
So, after 2 shots of 12 gauge high brass .00 buck, it's a dead opossum, and I have some serious plywood repair to do.

I never said I was a great huntress, and my aim is not good, so there's a bit of collateral damage.
I had to have the neighbor boy come up to remove the carcass, because I was too, uh, chicken to pick it up myself. And my girls and guys are back in their coop, roosting peacefully.
My kids think I'm crazy, after watching me run across the yard and back with the shotgun, and my husband, who is at work, thinks the whole situation is hysterical.

Anyways - such is the state of affairs on my wonderful piece of America.
Em - 1 Opossum - 0

Thanks for reading -
Em

 

[ZuniBee]

Couldn't help but snicker a little reading your story.....especially "I never said I was a great huntress, and my aim is not good, so there's a bit of collateral damage."

I could just picture it!

Congrats on winning that war!

 

[mangled]

LOL, thanks. Now that my hearing has returned a bit, and I've got everyone settled down (i.e.: myself), I am more seeing the humor in it.
I can see the neighbor boy going to school and telling all his friends about his crazy neighbor and her shot up chicken coop.

Em

 

[lynnlee]

Ever eat opossum ? Its pretty good !

 

[Redfeathers]

You Rock!! way to go. I don't know if I could have done it. In fact there was a mouse in my shed yesterday and I shamefully went and got my son to deal with it.

 

[Brian]

I've never eaten possum, but I hear it tastes like chicken.

Sorry, couldn't help it!

I'd love to see a picture of the shotgun damage! If you have a .22 pistol, that would work well

Brian

 

[mangled]

No pistols here. We have lots of rifles and shotguns, but no pistols. I don't know why I didn't grab the .22 or 30.06. I guess when I saw the possum in the coop, my tiny redneck streak screamed SHOTGUN!!!! GET THE SHOTGUN!!!

You all should see the bruise from the 12 gauge recoil I have on my shoulder. Bloody thing is huge.

My husband says I should create an "Em's Chicken Coop Carnage" post, complete with splattered egg yolks and splintered 3/4 in. plywood.

I'd had a broody sitting on those eggs for a week at best. It's the first real broody I'd had since I got the chickens from their previous owner. The way my BO roo goes at those girls, I'd bet money they were fertile. I was curious to see what a SLW and a BO looked like as a cross.

Now I'm all worried about the security of the coop. I don't feel they can get in at night, it's held up to coyotes, but this possum was there before full dark, like he was casing the place. Time to buy some traps, eh?

Thanks for the kudos, lol.
Em

 

[MandyH]

Way to go Em, at least you got him chewing on an egg and not a chicken head. Maybe you need a .22 pistol with some rat shot for your birthday!! LOL!!! I am trying to picture the hole that's left in the side of the coop.

 

[Big_Charlie]

Don't bother with the rat (or snake) shot, it's hard to find and probably would just piss off the critter. A .22 hollow point might do the trick, but it could take more than one shot. I find that my .40S&W pistol does a nice job of putting down opossums without exiting the corpse - just about any pistol caliber should do the same. Go get yourself a used 9mm, .38 (or .357 loaded with .38) or similar pistol to carry to the coop with you, and load it with a fast expanding hollow point like HydraShok. Any of those will do the deed with far less collateral damage to the coop than a 12ga with 00 buckshot. Man...I'd love to see pictures of that!!!

Big Charlie

 

[mangled]

I will indeed have to try to get a decent picture, LOL. When my husband got home from work, he went to inspect the damage and told me I have darn near destroyed 2 of the 2x4 cross posts. Oops.

We are going to purchase a good 9mm pistol. I used to have a nice decocker model Ruger, but we got rid of the pistol when we had kids, too portable, you know? Now we'll just have to get that gun safe we've been talking about.

Big_Charlie ... you can still get HydraShoks? My husband and I were wondering if they were still legal. Hmmmm ... time for a trip to the local gun shop.

I will try to get a couple pictures tomorrow.

Thanks-
Em