'Possum!!! A danger to my chickens? We let him go....PICS ADDED!

[cjeanean]

Well, we have a 'possum living under our deck, and tonight when we let our dog out he got the sucker! Well, so the dog thinks...the possum is now in a box playing dead. The question is this: do we kill it or let him go??? I got some cool pics of the thing, I'll upload them in a little while....

 

[CountryMom]

If it can get in your coop it will eat your chickens it can reach. Also, if you have horses, best to get rid of it. Their droppings causes a serious problem called EPM that affects the nervous system of a horse. It can be stopped but the damage is not reversable.

just wanted to add that it can also eat young kittens. Had that happen here once. Our poor barn Mama kitty.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

Depends. Hope Rooster-Red sees this one.
I would certainly not let it go until someone on here can tell
you what to do. Personally i would kill it, but I may not be
giving you the right advise. They will eat your chickens given the
right circumstance and how easy it is to get to your chickens.

 

[NurseELB]

Not an expert, but I'm pretty sure 'possums like eggs, and will eat chickens, also. You could call your local fish and game and ask them if they have a relocation process. Otherwise, at least where I live, there are local nuisance trappers and I'm sure F&G will help you get in touch.

 

[Farmer Brown]

You know what they say...... If you love something set it free.

So the question is do you love the opossum?

 

[cjeanean]

I don't have a problem killing it, the problem is that I don't have anything to kill it with except a hammer...I've killed a raccoon with a hammer before (long story, I think that's how I impressed my hubby and sealed the whole marriage deal LOL!) but that was a roadkill that was already incapacitated. I could always put him in a trash bag with some gasoline, but that sounds way too cruel for a large animal that I can't restrain. He's been living under the deck for a while now, and hasn't gone after my chickens cause the trash is always where it can get to it.

If I let it go how far away does it need to be?

 

[mamaKate]

I'm pretty uncomfortable killing animals so I'd let it go. They do kill chickens, just not as often or as well as raccoons. They pretty much are only active at night, so if your coop is tight, I don't think he can do anything.

 

[Biddieacres]

Can you call animal control? We have an animal control officer who will come pick anything up if you can catch it. Otherwise I would let it go a few miles away if you catch it.

 

[cjeanean]

It's in a box right now waiting on a verdict from BYC....We'd be letting it go about 5 miles away...is that far enough????

We're outside city limits and don't have animal control....

 

[Farmer Brown]

The relocation sounds like a better idea than killing it. This should probably be done before he stops playing dead and starts playing maim the humans.