Hey Costello. First, a possum will absolutely kill chickens. They climb as well as a coon. Not as fast but every bit as well. Possums will carry killed chickens away. Possums will eat them on the spot. They will pull the chicken's head through fencing and eat it clean off. Some will eat the guts and leave the rest. For a long time I gave advice here on "Predators and Pests". I was once called a liar or told I was "full of beans" by a frequent poster here. So, I left for a long while.
I have no ulterior motive to give advice. Only tried to help. But, I do have extensive experience chasing down predators of chickens and other farm stock. My son has a very rural place down here in SE Louisiana. We, and many of our neighbors raise chickens. I have kinda been the guy most of our neighbors would call when they had a chicken killer afoot that they couldn't catch. I have never charged anyone a dime for my help. Just enjoyed the challenge of finding the culprits. I will try to be brief.
The "dogproof trap" is a wonderful trap for coons, possums, skunks and anything in the weasel family. They will not inadvertently catch a dog or cat. I bait them with canned tuna, cat food or, fish guts and the cheapest strawberry jelly I can find. Push some down the trap and also drop some globs around the trap Most of the folks down here have now bought 5-6 of these traps themselves once they realized how effective they are. Here is what the traps look like.
http://www.rpoutdoors.com/dudpcotr.html
Steel leg traps are effective but are indiscriminant in what they catch. You'd have to make sure your dog won't get caught in it. Not very likely he'd be injured by it but....
Live or cage traps are by far the LEAST EFFECTIVE traps I've used. Just about everyone who has asked me to help with a chicken killer has 2-3 of these traps. We set them out but rarely catch anything in them.
For years I would read here the stories of folks problems with predators. I always had an opinion, based on the details given, of what it might be. The overwhelming number of times I was dead wrong. The truth is that all predators will sometimes kill and eat chickens in a very similar fashion. I am surprised that you haven't caught your killer on your gamecam though.
You may have no experience with firearms but, learning to shoot a pellet rifle is very easy and very safe. Here is a powerful yet inexpensive pellet rifle that is plenty strong enough to kill a possum, coon or weasel. It will very likely kill a coyote sized animal within 30-40 yards.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ruger-Air-Magnum-.22-Combo-with-4x32-Scope/22174267
They also sell a brand of pellet rifle by the name of Gamo. It is also a very good pellet rifle. Whatever you decide to buy, get it in .22 caliber and make sure it shoots at least 1000 feet-per-second (fps). ( Very important). Remember, it's a pellet gun, not a firearm. So, don't be intimidated by it. Telling folks to kill the predators is what got me crossways with the aforementioned animal rights activist that questioned my integrity here. I advocate the killing (legally) of any predator that is killing animals on my property and recommend the same to anyone who asks for my advice.
Since the 3 devastating floods (12-14 feet of water each time) we've experienced since hurricane Katrina, many residents have moved away. It has gotten crazy-wild here. Coons are responsible for the deaths of many chickens here. Coyotes are killing livestock, poultry, cats and dogs at a rate unheard of in this area ever before. But possums are the main culprit of chicken deaths BY FAR! And, I'd bet that owls and hawks are not far behind. Hardly anyone free-ranges their chickens anymore. The ones that do, suffer the greatest casualties.
Well, so much for being brief! If you or anyone else would like to ask me any questions, you may ask here or email me anytime at
[email protected]
