Looky what I [finally] caught!!

[Clay Mudd]

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We don't mind beating a dead coon.

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

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What did you do with it?

 

[Pele]

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I apologize, but your information is incorrect. Opossum are a bit more resistant than mammals to rabies, but that doesn't make them immune, nor in need of a direct bite to the skull.

Basic research will yeild hundreds of documented cases of people contracting the rabies virus from Opossum bites. There are several ways that rabies can be transmitted, and just because an animal is resistant to one does not make it immune and safe to handle.

Additionally, it is not just rabies that you have to worry about spreading when it comes to relocating animals. Naivete was the reason that we now have Bird Flu to worry about in the mosquitos in Idaho, even though we are geographically isolated. Someone thought starting an alligator farm was an amazing idea, and imported gators from Florida. It turned out that they imported disease as well, and it spread when local mosquitos fed on the gators.

I am not trying to get all over your case, or be disrespectful, but letting people think that they don't have to worry about being bit by Opossum is not something I think should be perpetuated. Yes they can give you rabies, yes they can spread rabies, and no it's not a good idea to relocate animals willy nilly.

 

[elmo]

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A flood light, a motion detector light, or even a radio can work a single night, and are a lot cheaper than those Night Eyes devices. The problem with any device like this is that the predator can learn and become acclimated to it.

A motivated predator isn't going to be deterred by Night Eyes for very long. A secure coop is the best defense.

 

[leonphelps]

Elmo,

I beg to differ with you.

I was catching a possum or raccoon for several weeks in a row.

I got a night eye and went to one in the next month. Could be I ran out of predators, but not likely that I received my night eyes and the population went to zero.

I do have cameras and have seen nothing around the coop at night in the past FOUR months.

Yes I did have motion lights around the coop. They only blind my birds when they come on.

I have even forgot to lock my coop up a couple nights.

Just my experience with the product. For $30 it was a steal.

 

[kari_dawn]

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Absolutely no offense taken

Just wanna point out, I never said they were immune. Simply that the only case of an opposum with rabies that we were trained about (and that I personally knew of, with hard evidence to back it) is the one that I shared. Instances of rabid opossums is EXTREMELY rare. One can find all kinds of info on the internet to support nearly any viewpoint one might choose, and on checking for other cases of rabid opossums, I found four cases in fourty articles. There are several videos of "rabid opossums", but most of these are simply slow moving opossums doing the best they can to defend themselves, and even more articles from people who *thought* they were dealing with a rabid opossum. Most people do not understand opossum behavior...it is bizare by our standards.

I also do not agree with just relocating without some major planning, but opossums are not on the rabies carriers list, just as bobcats and beavers are not, though all of those animals can get rabies, and potentially spread it (as can squirrels, rats, and mice, IF they were to live through the attack of a rabid animal), but not being major carriers of it, do not fall under the same regulations as skunks, bats, raccoons, foxes, and coyotes. I was simply trying to clarify that relocation laws vary by species and state.

Opossums are nomadic, they tend to travel anyway, so helping them along a few miles isn't quite as dangerous as relocating a raccoon (especially since opossums and their super low body temperatures don't readily support rabies or any other major modern disease like distemper or bordetella).

Keep in mind, my frame of refference is the state of Texas where I live. You always have to check local laws.

Sorry for hyjacking the thread, I really am just trying to help.

 

[Sleepy71]

This has been a great thread! I'm checking on my new coop everyday, to see if there's any evidence of walking predators.

 

[moodlymoo]

It looks like a raccoon possum mix. Either way glad you caught it. What a nasty looking thing. Does mom look like that?

 

[petchickenlover]

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No. she was quite large and actually looked like a coon.


We convinced an animal control to take it. don't know what they did with it.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

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No. she was quite large and actually looked like a coon.


We convinced an animal control to take it. don't know what they did with it.