Maine

[superchemicalgirl]

SCG What was your giant critter???

It is an opossum.

 

[islandgirl82]

Widget, I have to hand it to you. I tried to rid myself of my fear of rats by handling an old acquaintance's pet rats. The only one that didn't make me freeze up was a hairless rat named "Harry". I don't know why he didn't bother me but my experience with that one opossum has ruined it for the rest of them. Granted...there's a big difference between a wild one who was being encouraged to leave by scaring it off and one who has been handled regularly by humans.

 

[suzMEchicks]

I saw a possum driving home late one night .I think I was between Waterboro and Sanford. There's something so odd about seeing one . unexpected . All this talk about critters. I need to latch down the nest box area of my coop.Its just a hinged board.Something could open it.

 

[buckabucka]

I've decided to line the floor of the run with hardware cloth next spring, a few inches down. The coop is on cinder blocks and the space underneath is inaccessible for humans, but great for rodents. I can't monitor what is going on under there, or put traps or poison. Even if I was able to kill off this batch of rats, I think others will always move in to this large, dry, protected area under the coop.

Inside the run, where the rats keep tunneling up, I tried putting some scraps of hardware cloth with bricks on it, and it definitely deters them. They eventually make new tunnels, but if I could line the whole "floor", I think it would put an end to them coming in.

Meanwhile, I'm coming up with other silly schemes to entertain myself. I'd like to put a cage with poison in it directly over the large rat tunnel. When they come up their hole, they'll be in the dead-end cage and I can watch the poison to see if they take the bait. I've thrown poison down other holes, but it disappears out of sight and they don't appear to be eating it.

 

[Widget]

Actually she was only handled the months the zoo was open (May-Oct). The rest of the time she was just hanging out in her exhibit with two other possums who were not friendly. I was amazed that she was still friendly after six months of little to no interaction. We also never named her. We just never found a name that suited her.

Real fun is handling a ten foot python or a three foot alligator.

 

[suzMEchicks]

I feel like Im cheating in a way because all 6 have started laying again but I have the light on. The strange thing is the eggs are so big . I guess that's a good thing. They seem happy and in good shape so far. I think we have been very lucky with the weather too.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I've decided to line the floor of the run with hardware cloth next spring, a few inches down. The coop is on cinder blocks and the space underneath is inaccessible for humans, but great for rodents. I can't monitor what is going on under there, or put traps or poison. Even if I was able to kill off this batch of rats, I think others will always move in to this large, dry, protected area under the coop.

Inside the run, where the rats keep tunneling up, I tried putting some scraps of hardware cloth with bricks on it, and it definitely deters them. They eventually make new tunnels, but if I could line the whole "floor", I think it would put an end to them coming in.

Meanwhile, I'm coming up with other silly schemes to entertain myself. I'd like to put a cage with poison in it directly over the large rat tunnel. When they come up their hole, they'll be in the dead-end cage and I can watch the poison to see if they take the bait. I've thrown poison down other holes, but it disappears out of sight and they don't appear to be eating it.

That's what we ended up having to do in the duck pen... they still tunnel under it and make a warm nest, but they can't get up and into the duck house anymore (they ate my ducklings last year).

The only poison that I had luck with was the stuff you mix in water. Pull up all the animals water so they can't drink that and then put down the poisoned water. Be sure to get rid of it the next morning and put fresh out for your animals. I had the best success with that in the summer when it was hot and not raining.

 

[buckabucka]

I agree we've been lucky with the weather! Last year at this time we'd already seen -22 at my house, and we had frozen pipes on January 1 and 3. I enjoy snow, but I'm liking this little break from winter. I'm sure there will be plenty of cold and snow to enjoy in the coming months.

 

[buckabucka]

I didn't even know about the poison you mix with water. That might be something to try for now, as I won't be laying hardware cloth for a while.......

 

[lazy gardener]

I agree this weather is a wonderful respite from the nastiness of winter. BTW, happy winter! What a joy that the days will start to get longer. Spring is on the way folks.