Possum problem

[Daisygirl]

So, I suddenly thought the other day, Has anyone had troubles with possums?? It's one of the only major predators in NZ, so naturally I worry about what it's gonna do to my chooks. Also, what ways have you made your coop "possum proof", not including baiting, trapping, just keeping them OUT?

 

[Kennyog]

I keep a live trap set year round by my coop.I use cheap dry cat food from the dollar store for bait.I have caught 16 coons and one possum since july.I usually don't lose any chickens as long as that trap is set.They go for it before the chickens.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I have a completely covered coop, with wire buried under and outward completely around. We made it out of treated wood and used chicken wire and went as big as we could. By day, they have a run. They have a covered run, if I am afraid of chicken hawks and a yard if I feel safe. By night they are locked in the coop, which has 2 locks on each door. As we made it, we took our time and studied it hard and looked for weaknesses. I got my chickens as chicks in very late April and then 2 more batches later on and they went straight into the coop to brood in giant boxes.
The only birds that have died, were at my hands.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

You have opossums in NZ? I thought they were only in North America. I believe they're our only marsupial, but perhaps they're also in other continents. I'm off now to do some research.

By the way, nice kiwi in your avatar! Is that one yours?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Well, now I know something new! It seems you have possums, which are different from our opossums. Here's what I found: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possum It also seems that your possums are mostly vegetarians, while our opossums are omnivorous. Our opossums will eat eggs, baby chicks, and sometimes even adult chickens & ducks. So perhaps you won't need to do as much predator-proofing, at least for your possums. I don't know what else you have there that might eat chickens, check with other chicken keepers in your area to see what bothers their birds the most.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

omg......I can't believe I missed that. I was trying to figure where was NZ and I lived in Lakes Entrance, VIC as a small child. And then I was trying to figure if you were mis-spelling chicks or what......I remember mom telling us that when we came home to the US we used to call fried chicken, chook and cookies were biscuits and a candy was a lolly and such. Well our little marsupials can do some damage, for sure. I have lost a lot of chickens to them as well as others, but this is about my 7th coop and its awesome. I highly recommend anyone thinking on getting into poultry to go as big as possible and plan it like a fortress.

 

[Daisygirl]

Na, the little kiwi isn't mine. If it was, I'd be boasting about it in almost every post. I just liked the picture...

I'm worried because the possums here like to forage for their food, and if they're gonna smell the chicken feed, they're going to try to get into the coop. Then, they'll try to fight the chickens for the feed. My girls are REALLY territorial, particularly toward cats, but it's mostly attitude, and they can get badly hurt quite easily. Then, if the possum get's stuck on the way out, it's going to go completely demented as they do NOT like being in confined spaces and unable to get out...
And while the aussie possums here are mostly herbivores, they will eat almost anything if they're really hungry.

Thanks for the posts everyone!!

Now going to find those chicken keepers near where I live...which isn't easy so close to central city...