Oppossum - predator or pest?

[chickenmomva]

i lock mine up everynight ..................I go out there in the rain and snow and all temps.............soemtimes mine dont want to go in but the do anyway

 

[ChickieDee]

Your right TJ. To this point I've let my birds free range and lock them up at night. Those nights the oppossum got in I was working late and didn't get home till dark. But I have lost 5 out of 6 hens to predators during the day because of free ranging. I've order new hens and I'm rethinking the whole free range thing. The birds are so happy running about but I was heart broken time after time losing a hen here a hen there. I'm not to sure what to do at this point before my new arrivals. I was going to just fence in a great big area, but after reading here, it seams I'll need a roof too. Can hawks such as red tails pick up a chicken?
Dee

 

[mudhen]

You're absolutely right TJ!
And here I was about to leave the coop door open tonight cuz the 10 week old girls refuse to accept their curfew.
My pen is completely covered with hardwire, so the hens don't freerange, but I know that some predators can be pretty clever at finding gaps.
So I'm thinking that until they 'get it' I'm gonna have to keep picking them up and putting them in one by one.

 

[mudhen]

Never TJ! The beauty of being human is that we all have our opinions on how to raise chickens and can share them freely here.

It's just how we learn from each other!!

I must say that I was surprised to find I had a scare like that today, though

 

[eggsetters]

Kingsdaughter,
To answer your question,

I have an old friend who's an ol' timer now. He trapped professionally for many years in Arkansas. Mostly coon. He said when he trapped a skunk the only way to keep them from spraying was to shoot them very quickly 3 or 4 times in the stomach with a .22cal. If you miss that pocket then get the ketchup ready.
This may not be the ideal solution for everybody but getting a skunk out of a trap is no fun task.

 

[motherhen]

Thank you TJ as I was reading this post, I kept thinking is everyone letting their chickens free range and not locking them in at night. I am glad you brought it up because I was gonna ask that if the coop is build secure wouldn't the chickens be safe at night when you lock them in?
Another question is do these predators attack during the day? I have a dog, but I have planned to have a covered run with chicken wire. I really can't afford to by hardware wire and also I am home most of the day to keep an eye on them.
I hope it works.

 

[bobbieguyette]

I have learned the hard way im sure most have not knowing and being a newbie to birds years ago that i wish there was someone to help me by telling me that predators can and will rip thru chicken wire catch your birds while free ranging ect experiencing losing your birds yourself you just want to help others out there so they dont have to go thru what you went thru losing your babies will bring you into reality and locking them up at night you wont have to worry about losing them anymore,

 

[ChickieDee]

Even though I lock my girls up safetly at night, something was still taking them in the daytime. We have coyotes. I'm not sure if they were hungry enough to come during the day. But I asked about hawks because my husband saw a hawk flapping wildly on the lawn at the edge of the woods and that same day my kindest girl, Chickalena, didn't come home never to be seen again. She was one of five I lost during the day. Something is getting my birds. I didn't think a hawk, like a red tail, was big enough. Anyone know?

Dee

 

[Sugar Sand Farm]

Oppossums can get through chicken wire like cutting through butter. We had a coop with chicken wire yard it was dug into the ground and covered on top . It lasted a year or more so we fwere shocked when a oppossum got in It killed almost all of our birds and hurt the rooster. Now we use one inch fence on our chicken yard and the coop is a converted metal shed with a plywood floor The chickens are locked in at night and hopefully nothing can get in. In other words chicken wire is not for chickens!!!!!!

 

[MTchick]

ChickieDee; a Red tail hawk is absolutely big enough to take one of your chickens. In fact, even a smaller hawk like a Coopers hawk or a Broad wing hawk could kill one- they just wouldn't be able to fly away with it. That flapping wildly at the edge of the lawn that you described is a pretty dead ringer for a hawk trying to "subdue" a good size animal, like your beloved chicken. Sorry to bear bad news.

The best way to prevent hawk attacks on your birds is to have a covered run that the hawk can see. This means if it is something thin, like fine chicken wire or light nylon mesh, you should put streamers, ribbons, bright colored yarn, etc into it. Hawks will drop really fast out of the sky and they might not see a fine mesh covering until it is too late- in which case not only do you end up with a ripped cover, but now you have panicky or injured chickens and a wounded frightened wild animal!

-MTchick