Opossum got my broody...=*(

[Zookeeper9000]

I don't know if it works but everyone I passed this on to said it did.

Fine yellow cornmeal will kill ants. It is hard on their digestive track, they bring it back to the nest and store it. When they eat it they all die. I have been told that in 3 or 4 days you don't see any ant's.

Good luck, again sorry about your hen.

 

[poultrykeeper08]

i sure would hate to be drowned its one of my fears but i guess you did wat u had to do

Poor mamma hen

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Looks like the one I sent over the rainbow bridge last night with my 20 guage.

Rooster Red. I commend you. That possum in your 4 pics, the one on the bottom left is one nasty looking animal !!

I realize that they just "play possum" when you approach them to a corner, but I did not realize that any one would pick the things up !!

I dispatch them, These and racoons are for too crafty and they have taken to prowling during the last hour of the sunset.

I have silkies and they can't or won't get away from these critters.
These and Armadillos are coming into lower Missouri in drowves this year. I have not seen nearly the racoon as I have the possums and the armadillos.

I have no love loss for a possum, a coon or a armadillo. i have lost many animals and property to these critters. You can not relocate these varmits. They just pose a problem for someone else. I would not appreciate it if some dude relocated his possum problem to my back door.

I have a resident ground hog under the chicken barn. I have caught his/her entire family and they actually died in the trap. i am guessing from heart attacks. We left him in for the winter cuase he does produce a scent and I have never seen him bother the chickens.

I do have a question though. Will an opossum climb to get to a meal (namely a roosting chicken) and were do they nest for the daytime ??

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Rooster Red, you're a whole lot bolder than I think I'll ever be to grab a 'possum bare-handed. I want to keep away from all those bared sharp teeth.

Still, this guy didn't put up much of a fight, just kept baring his fangs but didn't lunge or snap. So perhaps I could have intimidated him more than he did me. But it was the middle of the night & I wasn't in the mood. The worst part was that although I had remembered to put on my glasses, I neglected to clip back my long hair that I never wear loose during the day, so it was getting in my way while I was bending & grabbbing & caging.

My concern was that the opossum would panic and dart away through some small opening before I could securely contain it. But perhaps I shouldn't have been worried about that. Are they really more intimidated, and will remain cowering rather than fight or run away?

I've never seen one "play possum" either. All the ones I've caught in the traps just crouch & bare their teeth upon approach.

Tackyrama, I don't like to kill natural predators either, and really wasn't angry with this opossum, just sad about losing the hen. But I knew I had to get rid of him now that he had sampled the fare in my chicken pens. He was big & old & had probably left numerous progeny behind. Besides, I figure that opossums, like the raccoons, have multiplied due to development in the area, and their numbers could stand some reduction.

 

[rooster-red]

Quote:
Just to clarify before anyone gets the wrong idea: I wouldn't condem anyone for protecting their chickens, we all do what we feel we need to do, and do what we have to.
My above post was just to relate my experience with these critters, but I know it won't work for everyone. I don't sugguest anyone try catching possums like I do, because 90 percent of the time when they are cornered they do not "play possum". they turn on you and growl and hiss and bare their teeth as a bluff, but they will bite. I've been snapped at, but never bitten.

rimshoes, to answer your question:
Possums can climb, but are not good at it. they would much rather dig or find their food close to the ground. They usually reserve climbing as a method to escape a threat. They also can not hang by their tails except when very, very young, the weight of their body is too great for the tail to support.

 

[maco5]

I am a fan of Oppossums so I'm sure I will be disliked here!
I am not happy that they kill chickens however, in my work with the wildlife center, it is a pretty rare occurence for an oppossum to kill something that big.
They are very slow moving, therefore are not equipt for much of a fight like a raccoon.

Again, I do not condone them killing chickens, but they are extremely beneficial to the environment ( if they don't kill livestock)!
They will eat carion, snails, slugs, garbage, etc.

They are the only North American marsupial also.
I raise marsupials for a zoo, so again, a fan of them. NOT THE KILLING tho!

So, I am sad for everyone who has lost chickens to them, and I do hope it never happens to me, but I welcome them in my yard!

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Quote:
Um yea... I hate to tell you they are native to nearly all areas East of the Rockies, North to southern Canada......

Question do you kill unnatural or supernatural Predators?

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
Do we have a fan of Wagner's Ring Cycle on here?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Maco5, it's not about taking sides here, it's about protecting & defending our livestock while also respecting the wildlife around us. Please read what I wrote, I made a thoughtful decision to dispatch this particular opossum and don't think that harmed the ecological balance by doing so. I'm sharing my experience so that others can learn of the potential danger to brooding/mama hens from opossums, and plan accordingly.

 

[tackyrama]

Quote:
Um yea... I hate to tell you they are native to nearly all areas East of the Rockies, North to southern Canada......

Question do you kill unnatural or supernatural Predators?

Can't be native here. I have lived in central Minnesota for 62 years and NEVER have seen possums until the last 3 years. Anyone you talk to around here has the same story. Are you trying to be funny about your supernatural statement?