Opossum Playing Dead

[Henry&Friends]

They are doing more than playing dead. The take a crap that hangs out only about half way plus the extrude a greenish white stuff from the anal area as well. If a predator is like me the first time, then the predator is thinking this item is nasty.

it probably is nasty

 

[feathermaid]

I'm going to pollute this thread (sorry!) but this is my favorite commercial:

 

[centrarchid]

I'm going to pollute this thread (sorry!) but this is my favorite commercial:

They do make reasonable pets, but do not potty train. I would only keep them outside and not penned up. They do allow petting even as adults if properly trained. They hug a lot. This assumes permits available.

 

[BarredRockMom]

I'm going to pollute this thread (sorry!) but this is my favorite commercial:

Ok, I'd never seen that & it's hilarious!
I don't find them to be ugly but I do find them to be a danger to my girls. They are opportunistic hunters//scavengers, so I keep everyone secured. Predators skulking around under cover of darkness by my girls don't last long.

 

[feathermaid]

Ok, I'd never seen that & it's hilarious!
I don't find them to be ugly but I do find them to be a danger to my girls. They are opportunistic hunters//scavengers, so I keep everyone secured. Predators skulking around under cover of darkness by my girls don't last long.

That one in the commercial is actually super cute and fluffy. The ones I've seen here are dirty and near hairless, must be infested with mites or something.

They do make reasonable pets, but do not potty train. I would only keep them outside and not penned up. They do allow petting even as adults if properly trained. They hug a lot. This assumes permits available.

I don't doubt they would make interesting pets if cared for properly, I wouldn't even mind hugging a tame one. My husband's half-Cherokee step-dad in Georgia had one for a while, and also some house squirrels over the years, a coyote pup and many other critters he found injured in the woods that needed help. Most were released back to the wild or sent to a reserve.

 

[Tortoise]

I'm going to pollute this thread (sorry!) but this is my favorite commercial:

I always crack up at that one, it's a good one for sure

 

[cassie]

Why would you want to kill the possum? If your chicken pen is not secure enough to keep out something like a possum, you will have a very big problem if and when a more skilled predator comes by. Like a raccoon.

 

[chrissynemetz]

When I was a child we had three baby opossums as pets. They were friendly and kinda cool, but they had a potent smell... very musky.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Ya my cousins had one as a pet. I always thought it stunk like h€ll and was ugly as sin.
It was very friendly though and yes it was litter box trained.

 

[Kazzandra]

They can get out of the way. Lights on dim in barn so chickens can see threats. Chickens move when opossum approaches. I have not lost a chicken in over 2 years to opossums since lights installed.

I'm more curious to hear about this approach. Does this lighting not disrupt the chicken's circadian rhythm, too?

Why would you want to kill the possum? If your chicken pen is not secure enough to keep out something like a possum, you will have a very big problem if and when a more skilled predator comes by. Like a raccoon.

+1 this. No need to kill possums-- in fact they often do keep away raccoons. Once you scare them, they don't return. But another often appears in its place. They will not kill chickens unless heavily overpopulated or a male gang of juveniles forms, in my experience. And even then, I've only lost a bantam silkie who refused to go in the coop at evening, so not surprising.

They are doing more than playing dead. The take a crap that hangs out only about half way plus the extrude a greenish white stuff from the anal area as well. If a predator is like me the first time, then the predator is thinking this item is nasty.

I always pick up possums I find in my coop before I close them at night to emphasize I'm kind of scary. Not mean or nasty to them, but I just show them I'm not afraid and pick them up and escort them out of the coop and run. Never had one be 'dangerous.' They might act like they're going to bite but if you call them on the bluster, they usually play dead. I had one do this not a week ago, and it did exactly this. Got it on my shirt. Fowl, musky smell.

They do make reasonable pets, but do not potty train. I would only keep them outside and not penned up. They do allow petting even as adults if properly trained. They hug a lot. This assumes permits available.

I have had two female pet possums, non-releasable, permit acquired for them. They were litter box trained. Not ugly or mangy or musky-- rich, thick fur, very huggable. Sweet, thoughtful critters, really. To be honest, the worst thing about them was the pouch grease. Their pouches are constantly lubricated with a jelly-- very unpleasant, especially during breeding season.

I do get sick of people judging animals by 'beauty' standards. It's how we've ended up with all these really poorly functioning dog breeds, that die early deaths. Possums are made to scavenge and survive, and all animals are beautiful when they're happy.