Opossum....How much of a threat??

[LulaBell]

Recently we caught a possum in our box trap. He would sneak around our coop at night looking for feed. My husband called his dad who said he wouldn’t hurt the chickens, so my husband released him. I’m second guessing his decision and would like to know the experience of others.

A little back story...we lost our first flock, all but one, to what we think was a mink or a weasel. We beefed up our coop and started over. With some adult girls given to us from our neighbor. Since we have started a second flock from chicks that are just starting to lay. We have 28 hens and 4 roosters, 32 birds total.

I appreciate any insight from veteran byc owners!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Opossums can be downright vicious. Most won't go after a full-grown hen, but my father had one killing his mallards a few years ago. The dogs caught it in the act, and it's no longer among us.

They'll definitely go for eggs and chicks, and they can climb just about anything.

Usually, they won't attack adult, LF chickens. That changes in the winter when other food is scarce. They're kill-on-sight at my place. I'd start cleaning up the feed at night

 

[HomesteaderWife]

They've attacked and killed older hens of farmers we know, but because they strictly had nothing but layer hens with no chicks, and frequently collected eggs. We shoot them here, personally. I definitely agree with feed clean up to give them less reason. I will say this- if you have fruit trees nearby to the pen, expect them often when fruit is ripe.

 

[LulaBell]

We have a pvc feeder which we cap off at night, and we put away their regular feeder. But our chickens are messy eaters and there is often times feed around their feeder.

I am leary of any kind of animal around the property, regardless if they "traditionally" attack or not. It is beginning the season for other food sources to be scarce. We do have a couple older hens which would be more easily attacked. While we do not have chicks at this time, we plan to in the future. It makes sense to me to get rid of any threat, regardless of how big or small it may be.

It sounds like we should continue to trap and dispose of anything caught.

Thank you all for the input!

 

[sylviethecochin]

We have a pvc feeder which we cap off at night, and we put away their regular feeder. But our chickens are messy eaters and there is often times feed around their feeder.

I am leary of any kind of animal around the property, regardless if they "traditionally" attack or not. It is beginning the season for other food sources to be scarce. We do have a couple older hens which would be more easily attacked. While we do not have chicks at this time, we plan to in the future. It makes sense to me to get rid of any threat, regardless of how big or small it may be.

It sounds like we should continue to trap and dispose of anything caught.

Thank you all for the input!

We use pellets and feed only a few times a day. This really cuts down on waste.

Sorry for being a stickler on this point, but when I was a kid, the coop had a huge rat infestation. I strongly advocate eliminating everything that would contribute to such a problem.

A few people on here have had wild birds come in and eat at their feeders and waterers, and spread diseases to their entire flock of chickens.

 

[LulaBell]

We use pellets and feed only a few times a day. This really cuts down on waste.

Sorry for being a stickler on this point, but when I was a kid, the coop had a huge rat infestation. I strongly advocate eliminating everything that would contribute to such a problem.

A few people on here have had wild birds come in and eat at their feeders and waterers, and spread diseases to their entire flock of chickens.

We have tried pellets but our girls wouldn't eat them. We do have a waterer out, I will talk to my husband about moving it inside the coop to prevent wild birds from using it. I'm not sure what else we can do about the feed though. We have had rats, we constantly have traps out to rid what we can. Any other ideas for feeders or ways to reduce food waste?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It sounds like we should continue to trap and dispose of anything caught.

^^ This...anything you trap should be disposed of.
Sorry, if that's not popular, but a Possum is a threat to chickens.
The forums are full of Possum attacks - both injuries and chickens being killed.
I have never had one get in (yet), but have trapped a few that wanted in

 

[sylviethecochin]

We have tried pellets but our girls wouldn't eat them. We do have a waterer out, I will talk to my husband about moving it inside the coop to prevent wild birds from using it. I'm not sure what else we can do about the feed though. We have had rats, we constantly have traps out to rid what we can. Any other ideas for feeders or ways to reduce food waste?

Some people strongly recommend a treadle feeder. Some say their birds never got the hang of it.

I feed twice a day for fifteen minutes each time, promptly lock up the feed, and leave. That's probably why my chickens aren't picky. They'll eat anything.

I know a lady who makes her feed wet, so that the chickens have to peck it out and there isn't so much waste, but I imagine that freezes in the winter.

There are probably some better ideas on here. Why not start a thread and ask?

Good luck in eliminating the rodents. I hate 'em.

 

[Alexandra33]

I may be a part of the minority who hasn't encountered any problems with possums. Which has become rather confusing, considering the number of attacks on others' flocks.

We've always had families of opossums taking up residence in our barns, since before the poultry keeping days. While raccoons and skunks don't leave traps with their lives, possums around here have always been handed a ticket to freedom. In reality, they can be truly environmentally beneficial creatures.

As a matter of fact, my visually challenged Silkie pullet got "stuck" in a field around nightfall recently, and I discovered a large possum within feet of her. It moseyed the opposite direction without attempting anything.

This is why I choose not to eliminate. However, if my experiences were otherwise, you'd better believe I'd choose my flock's well-being over any wild animal. You should do what you feel is best in your situation.

~Alex

 

[centrarchid]

Most losses I have had to opossums were ground roosting eggs, chicks, juveniles and broody hens. Opossums can certainly climb, but not as well as raccoons. If birds sleep in an enclosure the opossum can not get into, the I leave opossum alone. We have a female living in barn that will soon be having a dozen or so babies. We can ship the babies to scardicat poultry keepers needing some fun. lol

The opossum we have is providing testing opportunities. I do not know how representative she is in terms of climbing abilities, but we are using her to test ways of protecting nest from her by elevating nest. So far, having nest set on 55-gallon barrels does the trick. She is typical for a opossum in that she can not do much in the way of jumping.