OPossum and chickens?

[Compost King]

I caught possums with chicken feed and cat food. I also caught a few cats including my own lol. And one time I caught one of my chickens because I forgot to unset the trap at sunrise.

 

[Johnny98]

Believe it or not, honey buns work like a charm for opossum trap bait.

 

[Alexandra33]

Many warm welcomes to BYC, @Chickenluv22 ! Happy you decided to join this wonderful community.

Once again, I'm going to be the black sheep in the flock here. My opinion, going off personal experience, is that opossums aren't nearly as worrisome as other vermin...raccoons, for example. As a matter of fact, I let any trapped in our barns go free without meeting a bullet. They are surprisingly clean animals who eat incredible amounts of pesky insects and are environmentally beneficial. Plus, presence of possums on our property helps keep unwanted coons and skunks from taking residence in their stead. I've caught several around the coop during the day to dusk, without casualties thus far. Last night, one of my poor, dim-witted Silkies couldn't seem to find her way out of the surrounding field, and guess what was within 6 feet of her? Also guess what walked the other direction without glancing at my slow girl? For this reason, I choose to leave them alone.

That's not to say, throw caution to the wind. My possums aren't everyone's possums. Do all you must to protect those chickens of yours, even if it means elimination. No potential predator is worth the risk to a beloved flock. Just please, please don't count relocation as an option. Not only is it illegal in places, but the practice of potentially making your (not you, specifically, just a general term) own problem someone else's problem simply isn't considerate.

~Alex

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to BYC! Good luck!

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens

 

[Compost King]

Possums will drive off Venomous snakes too... there are benefits to having them around. I prefer not to have them though.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to our community.

This is a useful link of BYC guides to take a look at announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3 I’d suggest including your location using the guide in that link. You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find your State's thread.

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

Glad you joined our flock! We are sure you'll love it here, so pull up a roost!

We once caught an opossum in a trap just by using canned ravioli . I'm pretty sure you can bait it with almost anything that smells good and is edible.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Glad to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!
Whether you choose 'eliminate' or 'relocate' the results is the same for the animal. It's your choice and have to do what you feel is right for you.

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us