Possum... Friend or Foe?

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
thats ironic I baited my trap with a culled chick and this is what I found inside.

I wonder if he was only looking for cat food.

 

[pnuts]

well if you are leaving it a snack like that no duh its going to take it..

possums are mostly scavengers not hunters (when it comes to meat/protein anyways as they eat vegetation as well) so obviously a dead chick would attract the thing...

thanks for posting pictures of dead animals i guess.

 

[MMPoultryFarms]

Quote:
Opossums are opportunistic animals they will take what ever they can get. and your quite welcome. this is last time I checked the predators and pest section. Could you explain what that Opossum was doing at my trap located at my brooder barn? Probably the same thing all the others were doing? Looking for an easy chick fillet would be my best guess. Racoons Skunks and Opossums will all Kill your Not only small chickens and fowl But larger Fowl as well. I vote Kill them all. and if I remember correctly Opossums and Racoons are vegens, meaning when the vegetation runs dry they eat meat instead.This is I believe the cold parts of the years where crops die out for the season. and where the carnavor part comes out. I dont have to attract anything as I live on alot of land where predators roam there already here. It is mine and your Job to protect our flocks and keep them safe as we each see fit as individuals.I keep traps baited 24 hours a day around all my coops and barns. This Opossum was living under my brooder barn. I wonder if I forgot to pick up the bag of cat food before the barn was built over 70 years ago I bet that was it. there is tons and tons of post here where Opossums have killed not only a chicken but flocks of chickens.
I hope that life never allows such things to happen to your birds. or anyones birds. But if you see them about Just know they are trouble. As Nifty-chicken said theres no such thing as a 100% predator proof coop. Good luck to ya and have a wonderful day.

 

[aprophet]

trap and dispatch works well here after they have been trapped properly they do not reappear for 6-8 months same with coon and fox and yotes

 

[emarble]

definetly foe and casing the joint! I would eliminate the problem

 

[pnuts]

omnivores *

 

[woodman]

I found a possum tonight in a trap i set baited with tunafish. Could it be the culprit that killed one my Buff Orpington hens Friday night, when she decided to fly over the fence and roost just outside before I shut them up for the evening? What ever it was dragged the hen about 100' into the woods, leaving a trail of feathers but not eating much besides nibbling on the head.

 

[motherpeeper]

So Mr. Henry Rooster has your friend/foe returned for a visit? Lost any of your birds?

 

[Bizzybirdy]

Last month a possum cllimbed a 4' dog pen and killed 10 of my 16 young 5 month old chicks....for sport.

I shot it a few nights later.

I USED to think they would only eat eggs until they started killing my grown birds too. They are not as crafty as racoons but just as good at climbing and killing.

Possums are definitely FOE.

 

[Catstar68]

Quote:
Ditto - they really are quite interesting critters... just Google for more info about them. And yeah, well built coops are our friends.

(I'm more worried about the dogs and raccoons).

I caught one in the coop one evening before I had a chance to shut the door after the girls were out in the yard. It scared the beejeebus outta me. It was eating the food out of the feeder and the girls were sitting on the perches just watching it like nothing was the matter. They are used to the cats, who seem to enjoy hanging out with the girls whenever they can. I think he'd been sneaking in frequently when I had been late shutting the door since I had been thinking for several weeks - 'wow, those girls are getting sloppy with the food" The food would be frequently slipped out of the hanging feeder.
Well, when I found this guy, he was just sitting there stuffing his little weasel face and then he sauntered out and tried to escape the run. I had already closed the run door by then so he was trapped. I dispatched him with a shovel. I felt kinda bad afterwards...it was the heat of the moment and if I hadn't been startled I might have acted different

I caught another one one the porch last night sniffing in the empty cat food bowl. As a rule, I don't leave cat food out but I have a little stray that I'm feeding right now (who is getting spayed on Tuesday, though she doesn't know it yet!). He scurried about 7 feet off into the flowerbed and looked back at me. Then he just waddled off into the woods.

If either one of them wanted my chickens, they had opportunity. I'm on the fence where opossums are concerned. They are everywhere here but I can't think of a time where they have ever hurt anything.