opossum in hen house!

[ihavechicks]

I went out to the chicken house to turn off the lights last night and as I was approaching I could see something walking alongthe floor of the empower run. I thought it was a mouse but once I got up to the run it was gone. I noticed one of my girls that likes to sleep on a roost in the run growling towards the chicken house. I ran to the door, flung it open and there was a opossum climbing the roosts heading right for my chickens. Luckily I had a broom close by and was able to knock it off the roosts. I flung it out of the house and into he run. I ran back to the run with broom in hand and chased all my chicks in the house and closed the trap door. Once chicks were safe hubby came out and shot the opossum. Talk about being scared. I am so glad I went out there when I did. Who knows how many chicks I may have loss.

 

[Debbi]

Good chicken mama!! Beaware, where there is one, there are many! This won't be your last predator rodeo! Lock 'em up tight. Chickens 1 / Possums 0. Hope it stays that way!!

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

Those things are horrible. Glad u got it. Good job heading out when you did.

 

[Linn Bee]

I had an opossum get into my first chicken coop many years ago. Didn't do any damage or I got there early enough to prevent any damage. I called DH to help. He brought a pitch fork and went after the 'possum. The chickens were scared and running everywhere so I locked the door to prevent them from getting out.

The story as DH tells it: "She locked the door behind me. It was the 'possum or me. Only one of us was getting out alive."

Strange thing. That opossum left the coop - not moving - with two tines passing through its body. DH tossed it onto the snow behind the coop. The two hours later there was no sign of the carcass.

Love, Linn B (aka Smart Red) * * * Nesting with 5 Australorp and 5 Lt. Brahma hens plus 'The Count of Monte Cristo' - or Monte for short - one beautiful, well-behaved, hard-working, Australorp rooster, in south-est, central-est Wisconsin.

 

[Carolyn]

Linn Bee 'possums play 'possum. Watched my dog dragging one around in the yard, it looked dead, dead, dead but awhile after the dog left it disappeared.

ihavechickens, I am so very glad you got the 'possum. I lost 2 hens and nearly lost #3 to them last year.

 

[Flock Runner]

i have a story with the same lucky bad luck. i went out to take care of my chicks and it turns out the pen was broke! luckilly they were all there and i gathered them up and locked them in a box for the moment. i went to the barn to get my tool bag and i saw my rooster(i used to free range). he was hanging by his leg on one if the rafter by a piece of string. i nearly had a heart attack! it was embedded in his foot and rapped around half his leg. it was as swollen as heck! i got him unhooked and cut the string off his foot and he made a nice recovery but he lost 1 toe andhe still has a fat foot. the funny thing is, had my pen not broke i wouldn't have had to go to the barn and who knows how long he would have hung there!
sorry to the original poster, this just somehow reminded me of this storry.
also, good shot, lucky birds, but poor opossum! they're real pests but i don't think they deserve to die. in my oppinion, and i'm not saying what you did is bad, but i would hae trapped it and relocated it instead of killing it.

 

[Carolyn]

Flock runner, trapping and releasing an opossum is illegal most places and totally unkind any where. However, if you really think that is the best management, post your location and someone might be willing to help you learn why that is not a good idea. Then you can face the situation on a daily bases of protecting your flock and deciding if you want opossums or chickens.

Loving wild life takes on a whole new meaning after seeing your flock destroyed. I still love and enjoy wildlife. Some species such as birds of prey are protected in most states. Some such as the red fox who likes to feed her young my chickens are not legally protected but since they are not plentiful in this region anymore, I have tried to accept some losses and manage to protect my chickens without having to kill the fox. I may not always be able to do so however. Racoons, coyotes and opossums are more than plentiful here and everywhere. Their killing is not always motivated by hunger either. To relocate those animals does not improve their life because, like tossing out unwanted cats and dogs down a country lane, they struggle to make it in another environment and often end up dead after suffering. Additionally they create tremendous problems for the people where you dump them and eventually they are killed.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

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Carolyn, everything u said is right on the money... I applaud you for it.

 

[gypsyfarm123]

I had the same thing happen last night! Well, sort of. I have been no,ticing something has been digging under my coop for the past week or so. So last night (without looking first) I opened the sliding glass door to let my dog out (a catahoula,BTW that is a sweetheart with my chicks) took off like wildfire! Before I knew it,he was mauling a huge possium. I don't like to kill anything and I don't care if its illegal to relocate or not, I would rather have done so,but by the time I got out there it looked like "cajun" had got the better of him, so I had to shoot it. I feel kinda bad but I think I would have felt worse If It had got to my chickens.

 

[terrilhb]

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about your DH. I am so glad you caught it ihavechicks. What a great chicken mommy you are.