'Possums are not ALL bad...

[ErnieBerley]

There's a really large possum that eats every night in my chicken run - somehow gets in. One morning it was out there in the daylight, and my chickens were just treating the possum like a member of the flock.!

and Cherokee legend tells of why the possum is "ugly" - the sun got too close to the earth and was going to burn it up. Well, a possum said "I can move the sun back" and he got charred for life, and the sun didn't move. Then the Vulture said he could move the sun back - he did! his head feathers got burned off, but the earth allowed him amazing flight ability and he never has to eat anything alive and kill it !!

 

[Willowspirit]

There's a really large possum that eats every night in my chicken run - somehow gets in. One morning it was out there in the daylight, and my chickens were just treating the possum like a member of the flock.!

and Cherokee legend tells of why the possum is "ugly" - the sun got too close to the earth and was going to burn it up. Well, a possum said "I can move the sun back" and he got charred for life, and the sun didn't move. Then the Vulture said he could move the sun back - he did! his head feathers got burned off, but the earth allowed him amazing flight ability and he never has to eat anything alive and kill it !!

I love that legend!

 

[leslielbk]

There's a opossum that eats the leftover chicken feed at night. I'm not sure what to do about that. Picking up all the food they've got scattered all over would be pretty impossible because it's a very large fenced area, but I don't know if I should do something to scare it off or shoot it. Where there's one there's more, so that seems kind of pointless. Can they spread disease to my chickens? Any suggestions?

 

[Folly's place]

If it can get into the chicken fencing, so can every other predator! My birds are fed in their coop and safe run, not out where other critters can visit.
Mary

 

[ErnieBerley]

There's a opossum that eats the leftover chicken feed at night. I'm not sure what to do about that. Picking up all the food they've got scattered all over would be pretty impossible because it's a very large fenced area, but I don't know if I should do something to scare it off or shoot it. Where there's one there's more, so that seems kind of pointless. Can they spread disease to my chickens? Any suggestions?

well, as long as the chickens are in a coop shut up at nite, think of the possum like a vacuum cleaner that's just going to tidy up a bit in the yard..... . i put up solar lights in the run at various locations so when the possum gets in the run, light comes on and it keeps them kinda in one area - they don't like the light

 

[leslielbk]

As long as I don't have to worry about it giving something icky to my chickens I'll leave it be. They've always had feed in the coop and in a feeder outside but maybe I'll just transition away from that. They holler like hell whenever I come outside LOL.
I've got an automatic coop door that closes about 15 minutes after sundown. That thing is a lifesaver!

 

[ErnieBerley]

As long as I don't have to worry about it giving something icky to my chickens I'll leave it be. They've always had feed in the coop and in a feeder outside but maybe I'll just transition away from that. They holler like hell whenever I come outside LOL.
I've got an automatic coop door that closes about 15 minutes after sundown. That thing is a lifesaver!

OMG yes auto doors are amazing - changes your life !! no longer do i have to run out and let them out, or put them up (well actually i always check for stragglers at night) !

 

[leslielbk]

Me too, but that door can also lull me into complacency. I had a few girls who decided the nesting boxes where the best place to sleep, so I put up a screen partition. It worked great, and I figured that broke their habit. But today I found a little bit of poop in the nesting box! Now all I have to do is remember to go out and see if I have anybody sleeping in there tonight.

 

[Folly's place]

I've never had one, because I worry about possibly locking a predator in, or a chicken out, at night. And, I let the flock outside at different times, hoping that it makes local predators work a bit harder, because of the uncertainty.
My coop/ run combination is very safe, there's room enough for everyone without havint to free range, so it works well for me.
Mary

 

[David61]

My dog caught a possum trying to get into the chicken run last night. I had a little talk with that possum and he decided to take a dirt nap. I dug a hole and tucked him in for a long sleep.