opossums are they a threat??

[kryptoniteqhs]

Quote:
you can use a live trap...it will not hurt your kitties in the slightest...in fact they may come to enjoy it if u stick canned kitty food or a slice of chicken in there....opossums love that too! I caught mine with chicken (since thats what he seemed to prefer anyways).

 

[shawnkfl]

i wouldn't turn a blind on on opossums getting rabbis. although it's rare, they can and do get rabbis. my uncle contracted rabbis from a opposum when one bit him while he was getting it out of his barn. he had to get shots for a week after that. in his stomach, no less. all mammals can get rabbis. it's not common in opposums, mice, rats and such, but it is possible.

 

[bluey]

shawn, you are correct. It is possible yet rare. I ammended my previous post.

 

[pascopol]

Quote:
Right, they are just as bad as coons, and they stink when trapped.

Exterminate them.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

I thought possums would only eat eggs until I caught them killing/eating my chickens!

They will bite the sides out of them. Awful.

And I just had my old pet cat killed by a racoon early this morning.

Don't like killing anything but will not have my chickens, ducks and cats slautered. If you cannot trap predators, please shoot them. Do not relocate to have them prey on someone else's livestock.

 

[Amadita]

I'm new to chicken care. Last night I heard a cackling and saw a possum (I think, it was dark)

getting away, found my hen w/o tail feathers, except for one. There's no bleeding. she didn't get away too quickly so I put her into my bathtub for the night. Can they fly w/o tail feathers. I know stupid question, but maybe she was just too traumatized to scoot away from me. She's been in the tub for hours and has't gotten out yet. Should I let her outside today with her buddies? I have 7 hens, 2 small, and the rest part Ameracauna youngsters, larger than their moms. She was at the top of the pecking order before.
Thanks, Amadita

 

[mominoz]

We killed 2 possums that climbed a 6 foot fence and went up a ramp and was eating the heads and necks of our chickens 15 years ago. We lived on the outskirts of the suburbs , the only predator of posssums in those areas are cars. We live near "possum creek'. (that was when I didn't know to lock them up securely at night.
My horse got EPM , a neorological diease, of which possums are a host. I now aim for possums with my truck, and I am squeamish, but it cost me 2000$ and could have killed or caused permanent damage to my horses. Don't relocate near anyone with horses! Only 1/3 of horses who get it recover normally!

 

[JewellFarm]

Get rid of it! I had a close call with one last week. I had let chickens out of the coop for the evening and my husband went out at sunset to lock them up. Well he rounded the back of the house and saw something at the coop and it ran off. He couldn't tell what is was, we figured a coon so we set a trap. The next morning we had a big fat opossum. We took it behind the house on an old dirt road to "dispose of it". Unfortunately he opened the trap, it ran out, I pointed the 20 gauge and pulled the trigger and all the darn thing did was go click. Dang thing didn't fire and the opossum ran off into the woods. That was his lucky day for sure.

 

[andorraclaim]

You can't kill them all. With feed control you can contain them and give them their own space, so they don't have to come foraging in "your" space.

 

[StillwaterCreek]

I just came in from taking care of the possum that killed 17 of our 43 chickens three nights ago. There may have been more than one, but only time will tell. It's OK, I've got more buckshot.

I had to learn the lesson the hard way: chicken wire does not protect you from possums (or coons). They reach right in and grab anything sleeping close to the wire. There were bits and pieces of 2-1/2 week old chicks scattered all over. The following day I replaced all the chicken wire with 1/2" mesh hardware cloth, but I wasn't going to sit around and wait for the culprit to find another way in or kill something else.

As for those who choose to "live and let live"... sure, you have the right to cause yourself and your neighbours grief another time. I'm not trying to be mean or antagonistic, just realistic. They're predators. That's what they do. You have only two options: let them do it, or stop them. And much like criminals and dictators in funny hats, lethal force is often the only thing they understand.

As for me, I keep chickens and other animals on the farm to supply my family and me with food. I don't keep them to feed the local wildlife.

Genesis 1:28