Help! Possum in the hen house and a bit bird

[sammy]

A possum today has taken over the hen house

i got my 2 chickens out and put them in a cage in the basement.

my poor little one has a bite on her foot

(i didnt touch the hens wore work gloves and a sweatshirt to move them)

is it ok if they are together in the cage

what should i do for her foot?

(i read here chickens cant get rabies-true?)

and how do i get that possum OUT of the house? I tried throwing some water at it and it hissed at me, now it is curled up in the corner-he doesnt want to move!

mostly i am worried about my bit hen tho

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

Quote:
Well, the possum will come back. You have a shotgun or 22? Or if ya have to, a high powered pellet gun? Or get a long crowbar and smash his head in... just PLEASE dont relocate!

 

[happyheart]

Take a shovel a pitchfork a rake whatever you got and get it the heck out of there. I am having the same problem at the moment when i let the girls out in the afternoon it so kindly lets itself in. Luckily mine hasn't been violent it's just coming in to eat all my eggs UGHHHH

You could always get a have a heart trap or just have someone shoot it sorry.
Good Luck

 

[sammy]

Quote:
yes we have a gun we could use thanks

i dont know how he got in we have a fully enclosed pen top and bottom.

can they climb chicken wire? there was no sign of any burrowing around the base...

 

[sammy]

Quote:
thanks sorry you are having a problem too!

best to kill it or just move it?

what about my bit bird? should i post that in the health forum?

thanks e1

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Yes they can climb chicken wire. You can just bonk them on the head usually, and they will play dead. Then you can just pick them up and haul them off someplace. Be careful shooting it. You might blow a hole in your coop. And it will thrash about and spew blood everywhere. Sorry- that's icky, but true.

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

Edited cuz I'm a dunce...

 

[Cocky]

I have a completely enclosed pen, the fencing is 6ft and is buried into the ground about 6" to a foot and I have netting over the top to keep out hawks. I had a opossum climb the fence and squeeze in through a hole that was in the netting of that was only about 6" in diameter....keep in mind the opossum was FULL grown....so to answer your question yes they can climb fencing, and they can find holes in your defenses that you didn't even know were there.

 

[sammy]

yikes thanks e1

guess best MO is to get the possum out and shoot it elsewhere?

if we take it to the woods is it ok to just shoot it and leave it there?

i didnt realize possums were so annoying!

 

[Opa]

A pitchfork is probably your best bet. Don't try picking one up until you know it's dead. I once picked up a "dead" possum my dog were biting at. I held it as high in the air to keep the dogs off of it. Suddenly, it decided it wasn't going to play dead anymore and latched on to my arm. Still can't believe I didn't get bit. They have a mouth full of sharp teeth so be careful. You do need to kill it. They can wipe your flock out in a hurry. Good Luck.