Help! Opossum in Nesting Box!

[Aunt Angus]

I started out not being too interested in coyotes (not a threat in my area), but now I am going to read all of these studies. You guys have hooked me.

 

[Skipper81]

I hear them howling every night but they haven’t come close enough to bother me yet

 

[Trux]

I live in the foot hills here in SoCal and hear them every night as well. They just don't come down into the neighborhoods, but do skirt the outer perimeter houses. Most every house in our area has a fence, and they seem to respect those borders. No one in the neighborhood has had a problem, except for the occasional escapee cat or dog that doesn't come home.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I'm feeling guilty about the coyotes stealing this possum thread, so here's me trying to bring it back around.

OP when and if you catch another possum, you might try this:

 

[llombardo]

Can you provide a reference to this info. I certainly can't seem to find any to corroborate this. All the info I find says they breed once a year in early spring. Mentions nothing about alpha male or female.

Someone else already did.

 

[chickens really]

I went out to collect the eggs and I found a GIANT opossum in on of our nesting boxes. He ate all of our eggs too. It was almost dark and the chickens were panicking and they wouldn't go into their coop. We called our neighbor who took care of him, but what should I do if this happens in the future? We have a batam and we are getting 5 more in a couple of weeks, and that opossum easily could've eaten her. Any tips on how to keep these pests out? Also, I have seen it wandering around their coop for a couple of weeks, and something seems to be attracting it, does anyone have any tips??

I have no help to give. I'm in Canada so opossum are no problem here. I can't even imagine how you felt seeing that...

 

[Suzi18]

We can speculate, we all have our opinions. Fact of the matter is, we are all responsible for keeping our flocks safe. I am very confident with my coop and run being able to keep out any predators we deal with where I am. By no means is it bear proof, or mountain lion proof but then I don't have to deal with those animals. If your confident in your coop and run, and are being honest with yourself about it, that's great! If you have your doubts in your own mind about it, don't wait for a predator to confirm it for you, act on those doubts and make it better!
As for the ecosystem, there are checks and balances that keep it on an even keel. Remove a predator and other not so wonderful pests population increases, like rats and mice, ticks and various bugs. So keep that in mind when you decide to take out an animal you could keep away from your flock by making sure your coop and run are secure

I like the way you think. I live in town so no bears or Bobcats but we do have lots of raccoons, opossum, dogs and occasionally even fox and coyote. I am confident that my coop and run are as secure as I can possibly make them. I see raccoons and opossum on a regular basis and in the winter I can see their tracks in the snow. I have never seen any evidence of them trying to dig or scratch or claw their way onto the coop or run. I believe every living thing serves a purpose and prefer to let them coexist. But......that's not to say if one shows signs of aggressively trying to get to my chickens, I wouldn't hesitate to take action. I know others disagree and that's ok. Everyone needs to do what they believe is best for them.

 

[Cryss]

OP what kind of predator protection do you have in place now? A wide hardwarecloth apron prevents diggers. Hardware cloth is your friend. Look for holes and gaps in the coop. Are they in a run or totally free ranged? Possums can climb. Hardware cloth covering keeps them from climbing inside.

 

[funnyfoshay]

Look for the entry point in the coop. They will normally leave a trail of some sort. Get yourself a cage trap and put the entrance of trap in front of whatever hole the opossum got through. It will go through the trap if it is the only way to your chickens. Then neutralize the demon. Continue to do this until they don't show up any longer. An Opossum and it's friend killed 3 of my chickens and only ate their stomach areas. After this I killed 21 Opossums between the months of October and November with this method. No joke. They don't come around there anymore. Opossums will always remember where they scored an easy meal, and others will follow in the raider's footsteps. In the 15 years I have spent raising chickens, Opossums have always been the biggest threat to my chickens. The only way I have found to deter them is to capture and eradicate them.

shat State do ypu live in, what kind of neighborhood?

 

[aart]

I liked the coyote discussion, thanks @OhZark Biddies.
Have read quite a bit about them, won't cite studies,
but overall, they do reproduce significantly when numbers are reduced by 'pest control'.
They are one of the quickest of the canids, and other keystone predators, to do so.