Lost 2 hens this week - raccoon? (pic of scat for the queasy)

[ryanc]

Welp, this morning I woke up to a Possum in my big trap. He ate the can of cat food I had zip tied to the back of the cage, after peeling back the lid which I had barely opened. I am suprised, I thought it was a raccoon but apparently not (or, I happened to catch a secondary predator but I think the tuft of fur I found matches this guy).

And no, the .177 was not enough, unfortunately. I didn't have time to drag out the trash barrel and fill it with water, but I will use this opportunity to pick up a .22 I think. He took 5 pellets to put down, I feel badly about that but I feel worse about my two hens.

I am going to keep the traps out for a couple of weeks until I am sure the trouble is past. I am also going to replace the plastic mesh with metal, and I think I'll do a little clearing as well.

Thanks all for the ideas/support/help. Hopefully I won't have to follow up too much on this sub forum, and I can contribute elsewhere.

 

[carlf]

Possums are pretty thick skulled with a relatively small brain case, so not hard to believe it took a few rounds from the pellet gun. But yeah, a cheap used .22 with shorts is a better option.

Keep the trap set, I imagine there is more than one critter visiting.