so tonight i went to put away our chickens (they like to sit on top of there dog pen instead of going inside it and yes i know they need a coop we've been tight on money and seem to do just fine in the extra large metal Kong dog crate) anyways when i opened the gate to there pen my flashlight ran across what i assumed to be a rat...however when i shined my light on it it turned its face to me and it was a baby opossum. probably not a baby baby but it wasn't an adult. i have a picture of it ill upload. anyways it was already in the wooden coop and i dont know if it realized there were chickens about four feet above its head roosting...thankfully none of the chickens were sleeping in the pen on the floor of the coop. i sprung into action and managed to get ahold of it without it biting me. it didn't put up too much of a struggle. so i left my girls and went to deal with the issue. it was covered in fleas and possible deer ticks so mom put a little front line on it and i released it further up the street into the hills which granted the hills back up to my yard but i figured it was a baby it could have hurt my chickens it didn't. tho i do think it helped itself to eggs. usually we get about 15-20 the past two days 20 and then 24 eggs. today it was 10. usually i collect em in the day time about half way threw the day but today got busy so i did it at night. anyways if it comes back ill be forced to end its life as its either my chickens or it. so my question is...HOW DO I PREVENT THEM/ALL PREDITORS? the chickens live under a tree and above the tree is telephone and electric lines. so is there anything to prevent like raccoons opossums coyotes and all that? any ideas will be helpful i love all 28 of my baby's. and dont want to loose any. btw i think it got in because some of the staples have fallen out so part of the fence hangs open which I'm fixing tomorrow moring. you know people say tv rots your brain...psh they lie if it wasnt for wild man on animal planet i would have never known how to catch it. i didnt have very protective gloves like him just some everyday gardening/work gloves.
found & caught a baby opposom in our coop...how do i prevent?
- Thread starter chickencrazy21
- Start date
You have to lock the door at dusk.
Also, whenever you're lucky enough to catch a possum or raccoon, put it to sleep or it will be back and you will lose chickens. I lose more to dogs but I have had possums, coons and hawks take some.
I now trap regularly, possums and coons are few and far between now.
Also, whenever you're lucky enough to catch a possum or raccoon, put it to sleep or it will be back and you will lose chickens. I lose more to dogs but I have had possums, coons and hawks take some.
I now trap regularly, possums and coons are few and far between now.
where there is one baby there is usually more, set a trap, may catch momma too.
That’s exactly why I like a walk-in coop. I’ve walked in at dusk and found a possum in the coop. I wasn’t nice enough to catch it and release it either, which by the way was probably illegal unless you released it on your property.
Possum’s generally prefer eggs but will eat chicken too. You can’t really predict what a predator will do.
The only way to totally prevent predators is to have a barrier that can’t get through, climb over, or dig under. You have to keep it maintained.
What I do is have an area that is pretty predator resistant, not predator proof. But at night I lock them in a pretty predator-proof coop. While a lot of common predators like dogs, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, snakes, and skunks can be active during the middle of the day, they and most others are generally more active at night, including right at dusk and dawn. Plus they are less likely to be disturbed at night. Night time is your biggest risk.
What else can you do? A dog trained to not hurt your chickens can really help, but that may not be practical in suburbia. Plus you have to be willing to leave the dog outside at night. It does you no good at the highest risk time if it is locked in the house.
You can trap them and permanently remove them from the scene. It is probably illegal to release them anywhere except on your own property, but if you choose that method, take them many miles away, say ten miles as a minimum so they don’t find their way back. You can talk to animal control and see if they will take them if you live in suburbia or tell you where it might be legal to release them. They may even loan you a trap but a lot won’t help you in any way. You need to talk to them to find out what they will or won’t do.
You will never totally remove the threat by trapping. Where there is one there are more. But you can remove the ones that are hunting on your property. Most predators hunt a specific territory. If you remove the ones that are hunting your property, you have temporarily reduced the threat. But eventually another will find you, say when a Mama weans her offspring and they have to find their own hunting territory.
You will never be able to totally remove the threat but you can reduce the risk. Good luck!
Possum’s generally prefer eggs but will eat chicken too. You can’t really predict what a predator will do.
The only way to totally prevent predators is to have a barrier that can’t get through, climb over, or dig under. You have to keep it maintained.
What I do is have an area that is pretty predator resistant, not predator proof. But at night I lock them in a pretty predator-proof coop. While a lot of common predators like dogs, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, snakes, and skunks can be active during the middle of the day, they and most others are generally more active at night, including right at dusk and dawn. Plus they are less likely to be disturbed at night. Night time is your biggest risk.
What else can you do? A dog trained to not hurt your chickens can really help, but that may not be practical in suburbia. Plus you have to be willing to leave the dog outside at night. It does you no good at the highest risk time if it is locked in the house.
You can trap them and permanently remove them from the scene. It is probably illegal to release them anywhere except on your own property, but if you choose that method, take them many miles away, say ten miles as a minimum so they don’t find their way back. You can talk to animal control and see if they will take them if you live in suburbia or tell you where it might be legal to release them. They may even loan you a trap but a lot won’t help you in any way. You need to talk to them to find out what they will or won’t do.
You will never totally remove the threat by trapping. Where there is one there are more. But you can remove the ones that are hunting on your property. Most predators hunt a specific territory. If you remove the ones that are hunting your property, you have temporarily reduced the threat. But eventually another will find you, say when a Mama weans her offspring and they have to find their own hunting territory.
You will never be able to totally remove the threat but you can reduce the risk. Good luck!
I called animal control the first time I caught a raccoon and they told me all they did was dogs and cats. I asked who to call and they told me to call the state Department of Conservation. When I called them, they told me to fill a big trashcan with water and drop the trap in it. I said that sounded cruel and I thought shooting it would be quicker. They said "you probably can't discharge a firearm where you live" and I said 'you're probably right". I did shoot a couple here but the neighbors could hear it so now I take the trap about 5 miles from my house, in the woods, shoot and drop.
I did the drown thing twice. The first time was with a nice trap the conservation department loaned me. I hated hearing the thrashing. The second time I did it was with a havahart trap. I dropped the trap in the water and walked in the house to my morning coffee thinking I'd come back after the trauma was over. I opened the trash can, pulled out the trap and it was empty!! I looked in the can and nothing in there but clean clear water.
I didn't realize havaharts only work when they're horizontal. So all I did was educate a raccoon. Never again, they're too smart already.
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Each trap is different. Those with the lever can be a bit tricky. When I take my trapped animals submarining in a 55 gallon drum, I put the door end down. When mine closes, it locks closed anyway. Maybe you could use a snap lock, carabiner, something like that to keep the door closed.
If you have one of those things with a door on each end, I suggest wiring one door permanently closed. As far as I am concerned all that extra door does is give them an extra escape route if there is any kind of delay or malfunction.
If you have one of those things with a door on each end, I suggest wiring one door permanently closed. As far as I am concerned all that extra door does is give them an extra escape route if there is any kind of delay or malfunction.
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- #8
i was hoping there was a way to just keep em away. guess we need to buy another trap. we had one that was human and i actually used to help my grandpa he would tie a rope on it and fill the green trash can (like the lawn mowings and stuff) and drop it in. then he would make my mom drive him while he dumped it on the side of the road. i guess grandpa had his reasons and now i need to follow foot....just not looking forward to it i was hoping to prevent them but i guess since my property backs up to a hill and theres access with the tree and power lines ahead theres no other options. joy lol
IMO there's no keeping them away.
I've gone out at dusk and it was like a freeway of animals climbing down out of the trees to try for chicken dinner.
I did put rods through the trap above the doors another time to make sure they stayed in.
I've gone out at dusk and it was like a freeway of animals climbing down out of the trees to try for chicken dinner.
agreed
I did put rods through the trap above the doors another time to make sure they stayed in.
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