'possom war

[duck walk]

I must live in the 'possom capital of the universe...they found my coop and my birds and took many...beefed up the ground, the soffits and all of that...set traps...within the last 3 weeks I have trapped 7 of the big "rats." I went into the woods and found the killing ground where they carried my birds and ate them...the took an australorp, brown leg horn, wf black spanish, 10 of my MPC EE pullets, 3 silkies...it is war...oh, and they injured Walter my Welsummer roo and he died this morning...I have lived on this ground since 1984 and have always given the wild life respect and space...never even shot a deer in my backyard...but now I am mad...the freaking rabbits destroyed my garden and many of my flowers...what they did not eat, the bugs and the mold got...so I plowed it under and decided to have a few birds...hawks, owls, racoons, snakes, fox, 'possoms, dogs, ferral cats...they are on everyone's menu but mine...I am so tired of having to defend everything from the stupid wildlife...it is an all day sucker protecting them...I just came in from "patrol" and it is midnight...the 7th 'possom is sitting in the trap and I will tend to it in the morning...just ranting away...I am tired and very sad about Walter...a few nights ago he was attacked on the roost by one of the "rats" and had a bite on the back of his neck, featerhs missing and his tail feathers were yanked out...he fought off the predator but was too hurt to recover...he was so pretty and a sweet rooster...took care of his girls and never made a bad move on a human...I need a big roo to take his place and look after the girls...all my youngsters are pullets...and I have 9 older hens who have stopped laying and are molting...they look god awful right now...maybe that was the final blow for Walter...

 

[#1California Chick]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss!

I agree that you probably need to take EXTRA measures to protect your chickens!

Cindy

 

[duck walk]

oh yeah...since we beefed up security and set traps, I have not lost any birds...those 'possoms are cleaver little buggers...I would fix one spot and they would prob and fine another weak spot...I have had the birds for almost two years and have not lost a single one to a predator until this recent 'possom invasion...do they hunt in packs? I know nothing about them other than I don't like them much any more...since I was missing as many as three birds a night, it seems like they were in a group...we are beefed up now and I set two traps every night...I have not had anyone to help me set up the electric yet...I want hot wire hot enough to fry an elephant about now...the chickens are so helpless when they are on the roost asleep...the 'possoms just walked in and grabbed
them off the roost, carried them out the back fence about 20 feet from the fence and ate them...all they left was little piles of feathers...I walked around out there and quit counting at 12 piles of feathers...it is just heartbreaking to see...hopefully we have the problem solved at this point and I do have the charger to set up electric as soon as I can get a few parts and some help from my son to set it all up...in the remains of my EEs from MPC, I think there is a rooster...I hope so...Walter was a good roo and so pretty...I do have Dudley, a bantam Cochin roo and Boss, a black Silkie who thinks he is all that and a box of chips, but they are small...Boss is a riot...totally full of himself marching around out there like a drill sgt...keeping fingers crossed on the battle against the death squads...

edited for spelling

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Oh, I'm so sorry for your losses! I know you've been getting opossums in your traps but could there also be raccoons preying on your birds? I think they are even worse predators, they're stronger & more clever than opossums. Keep reinforcing your coops & get that hot wire installed, I've heard that is the best defense. Also keep your traps set for a long while, even after you turn on the hot wire and stop losing birds. Also check with your neighbors to make sure they aren't attracting the wildlife by keeping pet food dishes filled & out all night and/or keeping edible garbage out in their cans.

 

[clhbubba]

I am sorry for your losses. Until the recent bobcat problem, possums were our only problem. They would bend the chain link on the run attached to our chicken house. They killed my precious hand raised Muscovy duck and just ate her head off because she was too big to tote up the chain link and out of their hole. The possum I trapped the next day was one of the biggest I've ever seen. We have lost a couple of chickens too. We have reinforced the chainlink with about a million zip ties. We set a bobcat trap and caught a possum for three nights straight. I do like possums, so it's very hard for me to have them killing my birds. I guess I should say I like possums in the woods, not in my barn yard. We never lost one to another possum with our LGD, but then he took a liking to our ducks after 2 years. It's all so very frustrating. Good luck with the rest of your flock.

 

[Bizzybirdy]

I was thinking also that you might have a racoon "visiter" too. Must be possum season for sure. I have killed 4 in the last 3 weeks.

So sorry for your losses, including your good roo. Do you not have a way to close up your coop at night so they (predators) cannot get in?

 

[Chickmate]

Wow, you guys are scaring me. I'm new at this and just finishing my coop. I have seen possums in my yard before so I know they are around, but how are they getting into your coop? Do they chew through the wood?? Tear through the wire?? My coop has locks on the windows and chicken door and I thought that would keep predators out. I thought I would bury wire around the run and it will be covered with translucent fiberglass, making sure not to leave any holes for anything to get through. What else can I do?

 

[duck walk]

they had dug in the one soft spot by the door to the coop where there was no wire, then they found a loose board, then one came in through the sofit...I mean, they found every entry point, but we are shored up now, waiting for the hot wire to get in place...I have not seen racoons, yet...7 'possoms in a little under 3 weeks is a lot for one small area...I have no neighbors so there is no trash cans or things likd that around to attract them...they did wipe out my grape vine in one night...I had been waiting for the grapes to ripen and the day I decided they were ready to be picked the next day, during the night we were raided and they ate every grape on that vine...it is a big vine and it was loaded...so much for grape jelly...I had knocked one of them out of the vines and he curled up as the dogs were after him...I took pity on him and rolled him out the perimeter fence and let him go...I was repaid by the deaths and theft of my birds...no good deed goes unpunished...I wont ever let another one go...

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I battled varmits for YEARS! I bought a little thing called a niteguard. It has a little red LED light that strobes. It is also solar recharged. I was AMAZED!!! It actually works,and works well! I havent lost a bird in 7 or 8 months since I bought it. It is supposed to look like a predators eye reflection. I guess it does to the evil varmits.I have mine hanging on a fence about 3' off the ground, & 5' from the barn. I Tell ya, THEY WORK!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Do you just have one? And it's effective? I thought you needed to have more than that, to have one facing in each direction.