Possums: What do they do to chickens?

[aprophet]

Quote:
possums body temp is generally too low for the rabies virus to incubate properly they carry encephalitis though you do not want them near any horses, I mostly just step on them and dispatch them . They defaecate as they die if this has not happened they are "playing possum"

 

[JosieChick]

Has anyone actually seen an opossum in their coop killing their chickens? Just because it sadly winds up in your trap does not mean it was the culprit. Possums don't typically have territory but move constantly looking for food. They eat bugs, small rodents like mice and roof rats, over ripened fruit etc. Here is a great page with info about possums:http://www.opossum.org/

I like having the possums around because I see less rats, mice, and racoons. I would much rather have a little possum waddle by, they seem pretty harmless to me. Also, they are a VERY LOW RISK to carry rabies, most likely because their body temp is too low to harbor the virus. Possums in my humble opinion, are the least of your worries.

Please remember too that possums can't jump, they can climb but if they fall into a trash can they can't get out. They need a board to climb out on. They may growl and hiss when cornered but are giant babies and just scared half to death. I have accidentally trapped lots of them while doing TNR for a feral cat colony and I always feel so bad when they are too scared to come out of the trap, one time I had to wait 20 minutes for a poor baby to come out

 

[daver]

Quote:
I witnessed exactly what you described. Went in, heard me coming and went out in the same manner. I couldn't believe what I saw.

Dave

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
possums body temp is generally too low for the rabies virus to incubate properly they carry encephalitis though you do not want them near any horses, I mostly just step on them and dispatch them . They defaecate as they die if this has not happened they are "playing possum"

actually, possums defecate when "playing possum" as well. And not all individual creatures will defecate as they die - one of those "nothing is 100%" things