WAR

[aprophet]

Possums, raccons and skunks, here in OK, all are presumed rabid.  Kill 'em daid and burn the carcass.  Tip for skunk, toss clear plastic over the trap before you shoot so you can see your target and not get sprayed.  Gonna stink no matter what.  BLECH!

most times possums being marsupials run a slightly lower body temp then mammals and as a result rabies has a harder time incubating in them google this with cdc in the search string

 

[flockman]

We have had to kill 8 possums this year and at least 3 raccoons. Kill it relocating as someone said just gives the problem to someone else.

 

[rikithemonk]

Ok, we're at day two. I purchased a second cage trap and set it up on the other side of the yard. Both are baited with tuna fish. I also finished replacing the coop door with a better stronger one. I still haven't finished the anti lift latch, but I'm comfortable with how things are going so far.



I also had to replace the battery on my electric fence. Since it takes two days to charge the battery, this will be day two with a known preditor and a downed electric fence. Keep an eye out for a review on that fence charger. As you might expect, I'm not really happy.



Hopefully tonight will be the night I get him.

Riki

 

[Mattemma]

I love doing the roounds each day to check my traps! I have a carrot and apple in one.The squirrel trap has some corn and BOSS.

 

[rikithemonk]

What's the point of trapping squirrels? I'm surrounded by them and they don't seem interested in chickens at all.

Riki

 

[centrarchid]

In some areas they steal feed stored as grain / seed or do damage to buildings. Squirrels can be pretty good at getting into feed storage containers that otherwise keep out mice and rats. They can also pilfer feeding stations. I would likely have similar problems if not for activity of dogs.

 

[rikithemonk]

Quick update.

Still haven't caught him. Last night I replaced the tuna with peanut butter and jelly. Made a trail to the trap. I guess I'm not a very good trapper because I just can't catch him. This guy may have experience with have a heart traps.

Riki

 

[centrarchid]

Oppossums nightly route might be influenced by where it obtains regular meals. If last visit to your yard did not yeild a meal, then regular and predictable visits not expected unless your yard is along route between den site and a reliable feeding area / water supply. We must remember the lives of the predators out their usually do not revolve around our chickens, chickens are simply targets of opportunity.

 

[rikithemonk]

UPDATE

I apologize to everyone for the huge delay in updating this thread. The last couple of weeks, the flu has been doing the rounds here at the house and its been hard to get motivated when your tired, groggy and drugged up.

OK, so there we were. Possum stalking my back yard and nothing, as far as catching it, using have a hearts. I rethought my trap locations. I moved them against walls and edges, rather than leaving them more in the open. I also turned the cages so the spring door faced away from the house. I think this helped a lot. And lastly, I bated the traps with honey buns or Cinnamon rolls. I tore pieces out of the rolls and left a short trail into the trap.

The early morning of Friday the 30Th saw my first catch. I awoke to find a possum the size of a cat in one of my cages.

I was over joyed because I had finally solved my predator problem. Foolish, I know. I cleaned the yard of all scat because It was the scat that warned me of the problem in the first place. The next morning I found more scat in an area that I knew for a fact that I had cleaned. I took this as a sign that there may have been a mate and I reset both traps. On early Wednesday the 5Th, I awoke to find this larger possum in the cage.



OK......Now I was wise enough to not get excited and simply reset my traps. Thursday morning I woke up to find one of the traps knocked over onto its side, and the other trap moved with dig marks under it. It was also empty of food and the door was unsprung. My heart sank as now I thought that I was dealing with a raccoon. The cage traps had both been tossed around and it wasn't likely that a possum could have done that. Friday afternoon I reset the traps again near the fence line and behind the shed. I also placed concrete blocks onto them to weight them down and make them harder to move.

I was rather worried about my girls because I don't have a automatic door and we would be out till near midnight attending a party. As you can imagine, when I got home this evening I quietly snuck out of my porch with a flashlight and my BB gun to check on things. Lookie what I found behind the shed.




Three in one week

Riki

 

[littleoak]

They all look like young ones. There are probably more if it's a family. You should be getting a bigger one soon.