Look at what I found today - Baby Opossums

[GldnValleyHens]

I use to maintain a Bluebird trail of about 100 boxes, and what you post about is common However even if it isn't harmed by it, an old fashion wooden mouse trap set inside the bluebird box will persuade any sparrow that trips the mouse trap to move on. Just learn to tell the difference between a sparrow nest from a bluebird nest.

Never heard of that idea! Totally gonna try it!

 

[casportpony]

They should be done at 375 for 90 minutes...

Possum Pot Pie
Via tngenweb.org

Ingredients:

• 1 cup glazed huckleberries
• 3 shots gin or moonshine
• 1 possum, skinned and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 pie crust
• sliced carrots & cabbage

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line the bottom of a pan with half of your pie crust, and place the possum in it.
3. Add the huckleberries and carrots, and shred the cabbage over the top.
4. Cover with the second half of the pie crust and bake 30-40 minutes.
5. Remove pie from oven, slice, and enjoy.

Possum and Sweet Potatoes
Via foodreference.com

Ingredients:

• 1 possum
• 2½ teaspoons salt
• Pepper to taste
• Flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
2. Clean possum, trim excess fat.
3. Wash inside and out with warm water; drain and pat dry.
4. Rub the possum with salt and pepper inside and out.
5. Sprinkle inside and out with flour.
6. Lay the possum on its back in a roasting pan.
7. Add water, cover and bake until about half done (45 – 60 minutes).
8. Split peeled potatoes in half lengthwise and place in pan around possum.
9. Add more water if needed.
10. Cover sliced potatoes and possum and cook 30 more minutes.

More fantastic wild game recipes:

• Mushroom Braised Quail
• Spit Roasting 101
• 6 Mouthwatering Elk Meat Recipes

Stuffed Possum
Via bertc.com

Ingredients:

• 1 possum
• 1 quart cold water
• 1/8 cup salt
• 5 beef bouillon cubes
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 celery stalks (chopped)
• 2 onions (sliced)
• 14 oz bag packaged stuffing

Directions:

1. Soak possum in cold salt water for 10 hours.
2. Rinse meat in cold water and refrigerate 2-4 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Prepare stuffing according to package directions.
5. Stuff possum cavity with prepared packaged stuffing.
6. Close cavity tightly.
7. Place stuffed possum in roasting pan and add water, bouillon cubes, bay leaves, celery and onion.
8. Bake for 2 hours then turn meat. Reduce heat to 300 degrees F.
9. Cook for 1 more hour or until cooked through.

 

[Folly's place]

NO! NO! NO!
Would have to be VERY hungry!
Mary

 

[duluthralphie]

NO! NO! NO!
Would have to be VERY hungry!
Mary

I normally buy the pre-cooked possum. They you do not have to skin them.

It comes in broth or creamed.

 

[DiamondSwan]

They can be hard to pull through.. parasites and stress will bring them down quick. But you tried, and that's what counts.

Yeah... Thanks.

 

[msmolly]

Possum eat millions of ticks (so they say), and eat also snakes. Naturally immune to snake venom.

 

[Kiki]

Possum eat millions of ticks (so they say), and eat also snakes. Naturally immune to snake venom.

They eat chickens too.

 

[Folly's place]

And their poo sickens and kills horses!
Mary

 

[casportpony]

Diseases carried by opossums
Opossums are carriers of different kinds of ecto-parasites like lice, mites, ticks and even fleas. Fleas are very common on opossums. The eggs and the larva of the fleas are usually shed in the areas that they frequent regularly. In California, Murine Typhus is a disease that has for a long time been transmitted to humans by the opossum fleas. There are other diseases that the opossum can transmit, and they include coccidiosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella, and tularemia. When the opossum is infected, leptospirosis can be transmitted to humans as well as animals through their feces and urine. Rabies occurs at a rarer rate in the opossum as they have some sort of immunity to the rabies virus. Wildlife, horses and pets are most at risk of getting a disease or infection that is associated with opossums.
Source:http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/opossum-diseases.html

 

[Sparrowsong98]

I don't think I could even do that. One thing I loathe more than anything are common sparrows, the ones polluting barns and parking lots. EVERY YEAR they swarm to our bluebird houses and take over! I try to shoot them, but they've gotten smart. Already, a poor sweet blue bird was killed in one of our house, plucked by the evil sparrows. This has happened twice now. They kill bluebirds and take over their nests, which makes me so angry. So I will wait till the female sparrow lays eggs, and put a net over the hole, catch her in it, and either whack her against the ground till she's dead or feed her to the cats. Then I will smash the eggs.

One thing we figured out about english sparrows is that they are cross-eyed. If you tie some fishing line (we used 4 pieces) to the overhang on your bluebird house roof and tie washers to the bottom of each sting, the english sparrows will think it is a cage and not go in, while the bluebirds do not care. We did this and have never had a sparrow problem ever since. I would get a pic for you but I cannot at the moment. Hope this helps!