Fighting with oposums

[TNbear23]

I had a possum in my coop the other night,he did not live to see another day. Luckily no physical harm was done to my hens, but some were very upset. All though the following evening some of the hens were reluctant to go back to the coop, they did get over it though. We are surrounded by lots of woods so I'm sure one of his cousins will visit in the future, so I have added more security.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Even though most don't think relocation is right, a few miles is not far enough. Some people say 10 miles and I have heard of animals getting back from further then that. Animals have a strong homing instinct. Like the stories you see on the news from time to time some make it hundreds of miles. Every year our local coon hunters club has raccoons brought in from a breeder and they are released and then "tracked" by the dogs. All of the coons are tagged so they can keep track of them. One of the coons was never located and about 3 months later the farm that raises the coons called the club and let the know the coon showed back up. It was well over 40 miles away.

 

[PhilSanchez]

Ended up hauling off 6 opossums 3 adults and 3 young ones and proud that I did not kill them, they were just trying to get something to eat after all everyone loves chicken. Have not been bothered now for a couple of weeks.

 

[citygirlfarmer3]

None of these answers are encouraging to me. When checking the nest box yesterday, I was met with the face of an opossum. I went hysterical and locked it inside until my husband came home. When he looked the nest box door he found a MOTHER opossum all comfy with at least six babies sleeping in the box. They didn't stir while he assessed the situation. She finally moved to the sleeping area of the box and left 4 babies we could grab. Oh my they were so cute but I don't want opossums eating my eggs or my chickens. I found no local laws on rehoming and we took her and the babies about 5 miles away. I have not let the girls out this morning. We have some 7 week old chick besides the big girls. We have 12 guineas, one RR rooster and a dog and none gave an alarm. I told them all they should have been doing a better job.

Becky in Arkansas

 

[Ridgerunner]

And I bet your guineas, rooster, and dog just ignored you. They don’t take a scolding very well.

As you can see through this thread possums can and occasionally do kill chickens. Normally they prefer the eggs but they have to eat.

Possums are mostly nocturnal. Up in the northwest corner of the state I saw a possum eating at my compost pile at 1:00 on a bright sunny afternoon so they can and occasionally do come out during the day, but the worst threat is from dusk until dawn. If you lock them up at night in a secure coop you are doing yourself and your chickens a lot of good.

One night as I went to lock them up I found a possum in the coop. It wondered in right at sundown so I always look around inside before I lock up.

Whether you kill them, relocate them, or do something else is your choice. Removing one does not remove the threat. Since the first of this year I’ve permanently removed 1 raccoon, 8 possum, 7 skunks, and 11 rats from my property, mostly around the chicken/compost area but some in the garden. While removing one that is hunting your territory will lessen the risk and I practice that, there are always others ready to move in. The only real protection is proper barriers.

 

[citygirlfarmer3]

. While removing one that is hunting your territory will lessen the risk and I practice that, there are always others ready to move in. The only real protection is proper barriers.

Our coop is designed to keep a predator from digging under and is completely enclosed. Thank you. You have made me feel better about letting them free range during the day. We do think this mama possum might just have been trying to find a warm dry place to snooze but my egg count was down about 4 yesterday with no eggs from this nest box (there are two others not connected to this one).

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Re-homing is not the same as relocating. You probably didn't do the opossums any favors. Now they have to try and find water and food. Plus they may all be killed anyways since you just drooped them off in another animals territory. In California it is illegal to trap and relocate. We have opossum, raccoon, skunk, bear, coyotes, fox, rats, mountain lion, stupid neighbor's free to roam cats (most don't make it out of the yard, I have 3 dogs), snakes, and who knows what else I haven't seen. We don't have many stray dogs, but fences do break so it's always a possibility. I don't bother things in their own environment, but I have not only the right to protect my family and livestock but also the responsibility. Do you not know that many of these are carriers of rabies? Good luck, I hope you find something that is more humane (including quick death) and legal that will work for you. Building fort knox is sometimes an ongoing learning process.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I couldn't agree more that removing 1 predator just allows another to move in. And gave that advice to family who is planning to remove a family of coyote off their property. They don't have livestock, but they have to lock up their dog and cat every night or the coyotes will make their natural choice and protect what they see as their territory.

 

[horsesnchkns]

I have to agree... not to sound like a broken record. possums and coons have killed more chickens than I care to remember. I trap and shoot with a small .22. sounds like a nail gun or firecracker. I'm in the city limits, (but not in a true neighborhood) and my neighbors all benefit from the eggs my chickens produce, so don't mind if I have to eradicate a predator when one comes along. (although let's not tell the city, ok?) I do most often lock up my girls at night, but there are occasions where I don't. (just don't have it in me to walk all the way out there) Relocating isn't the answer. They will either come back or become someone else's problem. I am an animal lover, do not condone abuse or inhumane treatment at all. But, I have to protect my own!

 

[Ridgerunner]

In Arkansas we had the following confirmed rabies cases

.......................2015............... 2014..............2013
Bat..................16..................... 34................. 26
Cow.................2........................3...................1
Dog.................1........................1....................3
Fox .................1.......................1.....................0
Skunk..............53....................109................118
Cat..................0........................3....................3
Horse..............0........................0....................1
Possum..........0.........................0....................0

That’s enough years back. I scrolled back through 1990 and a few other animals, a raccoon and goat, made the list but not possum. I always treat any animal as if it has sharp teeth, sharp claws, or may be harboring a disease or parasites, but I don’t get too paranoid about it. I will shoot any skunk I see as long as there are no horses, cattle, people, or houses downrange. And I use a shotgun to limit range.

I thought I’d post this since the comment was made about rabies. Obviously it can be a risk but maybe this will help put it in perspective. I used Arkansas since the OP is in Arkansas.

It will be interesting to see how well this chart lines up when I hit submit. It usually doesn't work well.

Not well at all. Maybe this will work.

Not perfect but it will do