visiting opossum... what do? We dont want to kill it.

[asteria01]

Thank you everyone for the responses. Our coop is predator proofed 360 degrees, so I know its not going to be able to get to the chickens while they are inside. I forgot the ask but can a opossum get to a chicken during the day where there is light out? I believe chickens can escape that... right? We let our chickens out to the yard during the day so... just making sure.

 

[Steve J]

Possums are common and wherever there's one you can bet there's 10 more nearby. They certainly aren't in any danger of becoming extinct. You could trap it relocate it, shoot it and I bet you're going to see another in short order. I keep live traps set constantly and they're about even in numbers of what I catch with feral cats. Next is raccoons, which have had a population explosion in the last couple of decades, due to nobody hunting them with hounds hardly because the fur prices fell so much. I'm very protective of my chickens and have dogs fenced in right against their pen. That and my live trapping has so far kept everything at bay. No losses yet!

 

[24279102]

I don't like to kill anything but it comes to a decision about whether I am the protector of my girls or am I not. They can't protect themselves! We had been out and I just went to check on the girls before bed and saw eyes in the coop. It was an opposum and we dispatched of it quickly before any damage was done. It was too dark to see where it had gotten in but in the morning we found that it had chewed a hole in the 2 inch WELDED wire fence. In my opinion never trust them.

 

[123RedBeard]

While most predators prefer to hunt at night, an empty belly will send them out in the daytime!

Since you don't want to kill ... an relocation is ILLEGAL in your state! (and every state I've looked into!)

Your only other option would be to make life uncomfortable for it on your property!

1. If you can catch it, or wack it with a broom, or even get close to it and yell at it, it will most likely "play possum" (play dead) grab it by it's tail, and drop it in a dish pan of COLD soapy water, it will suddenly "come back to life" and wobble off, probably stopping and shaking the soapy water off, then look back at you ...

2. You could just chase it yelling and swinging a broom at it every time you see it, but it will probably just fall over "dead"! (your neighbors may look at you funny though!)

3. Maybe throw water balloons at it???

4. How about a paintball gun? Paint it bright orange so it is easier to see!

 

[Naliez]

We had a possum go after the chickens right around dusk. Lucky, my dogs went after it before any damage was done. Didn't kill it, but definitely injured him. I'm hoping that he realizes there's easier meals out there. One thing I heard was people putting cat food out, away from the coop in hope that they would have their fill and move on. Idk about that though. I think that's what attracted him in the first place. It sounds like your property is just a pass-through for him. If your chickens are secure, you should be all right. Just keep an eye out for him and when you see him again scare the crap out of him. Let him know that your property is full of crazy, and not worth it. It works for me with solicitors and neighborhood kids too. Lol IDK... Sorry I'm not much help.

 

[Cack-a-doodle]

If I had to protect my chickens I wouldn't hesitate to kill,trap or poison.

 

[ChicksAre4Kids]

I heartily agree with leafblade, the best idea is to keep the area cleared of foodstuffs, (including cat/dog food) at night and lock those gals up tight!
I take their feeders out in the morning and lock them in the coop at night. Check out the threads here on DIY 5 gallon bucket feeders, they're great!

 

[jimbob86]

Quote: " Don't feed the bears." That holds true for all wildlife: They will not move on from a location where there is a free meal, and in time will grow dependent upon it. If they need it, and it's not there, they'll take the nearest, easiest meal.

The lack of reasoning power in some people just astounds me.

If you don't want predators hanging around, don't give them food, water or shelter.

 

[LeafBlade12345]

Believe it or not, I've seen people actually feeding bears. I think bears are nature's way to thin out the dumb animals! Just kidding... As my father used to say...common sense is anything but common. Of course, we all have our lapses, but feeding bears? Really?

 

[birds4kids]

My thoughts would be electric fencing a few good jolts and he will stop nosing around the birds, and if you see a predator be sure there are more.