possum in the coop!

[ozark hen]

thank you I can respect you for what you said. I have taken pics of young possums as I love photography but won't stand for predators no matter what they are. No need for debate, I respect your decision since you respect mine.

 

[okiechick57]

AWWWWWW so sorry Ozark...........always hard to lose one. I spend my mornings out in my front yard with my .22 waiting for the pack of coyotes hanging around here.so far they have taken 3 of my favorite birds this month.....shot one dead.....who's next? I will continue to wait them out...........

 

[thndrdancr]

Oh so sorry to hear. Dont be too hard on yourself, I usually have my girls out til about 8:10. Its just barely dusk at that time, how could you know you had an opportunistic possum casing the joint?

Wow, that is soooo early, it scares me. I had been having dh set our trap I bot, and we caught a possum every night we had it set. He stopped setting it cuz he says they arent eating his garden anymore! Duh, what bout our girls? Well, they continue to sleep in the house, but possums are so darned used to people here, I keep imagining one coming in the garage screen door while I am not around. It could happen, I am always seeing possum poop in the garage! Ugh!

 

[ozark hen]

you know when I walked out the door, I said to my dh, "this is the time predators will be out". My gosh, I really didn't expect it to come true. I know now. It was one of the roo chicks who was bound for the deep freezer so it didn't bother me that it was a chick, it bothered me that I failed my chickens. I have raised them from two days old and haven't lost a one. I know, I am not being realistic as it is bound to happen. I dread winter as we have two red tailed hawks who are here on the property but I haven't seen them all summer.

 

[2mnypets]

So sorry to hear that. Try not to beat yourself up over it too much. I know that's easier said than done. I say hold on to that .22 and let us know if you slam him good. Give all your babies a hug from me.

 

[alaskan_crew]

Hello my friend Carrie,

Plz. know that it is not your fault. How many do u think u have lost? Between my DH and your DH, it coud not have been prevented. Just keep on keeping on, huh? BTW, I'm sorry for your loss. Truly, I am sorry.

TTFN,

Donna

 

[nccatnip]

You have to protect your home, family and livestock as you see fit. It is a personal decision made in the moment of confontation. I see nothing wrong with rehoming if done correctly and I also see nothing wrong with killing predators if necessary. I recently killed a 5 1/2ft black snake I caught in my coop after he had just ate one of my precious eggs. Could I have rehomed him? No, how the hell was I going to catch him? I live alone. Sure, he might have eaten a mouse or rat if my eggs were not so handy but I have cats that do the job just fine. I don't bother them on my property anywhere else but if they are anywhere I deem dangerous to my furr and feather kids, they are swiftly dealt with.
As far as feeling guilty, don't. We are not know all, be all beings. We do the best we can and life is a learning process. It could have been far worse.

 

[ozark hen]

thanks nc, I really shouldn't have gone out there so late. I knew better! But I am not going to dwell on it as I will use it as a lesson learned.
Donna, you are a sweetie. I emailed you a long letter. thanks.