I think I’ve whined here before about the less-than-stellar egg laying by my hens. I did suspect at times that something might be taking eggs, but didn’t have any proof.
Until tonight.
On busy evenings like tonight (Abbie started obedience classes tonight), I don’t get out to pick up eggs until after dark. So there I was, gathering up eggs, with several of the cats “helping” me. I leaned down to grab a couple out of the lower nest boxes, noticed something fuzzy sitting underneath them, and thought, “Hmm, we don’t have any cats that color.” Knelt down to get a closer look, and the beady eyes of a possum blinked back at me.
I made a beeline for the house.
Matt asked, “Did you pull it out of there?”
Uh, no, it’s a wild animal.
So I went back out with Abbie to see what she’d do. She sniffed the possum out right away but was more interested in eating chicken poo than flushing out varmints. I got her back on task and she barked fiercely…while wagging her tail. Then all of the hens started to cluck and get excited which I think Abbie liked, because she kept looking over her shoulder at the hens and then barking at the possum ever more fiercely.
But the possum had too good a hiding place and wasn’t going to budge. So eventually we gave up and went back to the house.
Matt asked, “Did you poke at it with a stick?”
Uh, no, once again, it’s a wild animal.
Matt said, “I’m going to tell the blogging world that you’re afraid of a possum.”
I’ll do you one better. I’ll tell them myself.
To be continued…
Oh no! I have it on good authority that if you poke a possum with a stick, it will run down said stick and onto YOU! Plus they have rabies.
Good one! Brett dealt with a possum last week. We saw it sitting by the back door (next to the cats who could have cared less – – hey, it’s furry with a long tail). By the way, a Ruger 9mm with laser site is much more effective than any stick. Gracie thought it was pretty cool to look at the next morning: “that’s one UGLY cat, Mom.” Priceless!
I have come nose to nose with a possum … it hissed, I ran (and screamed)! Those are some very ugly animals! I wouldn’t mess with a possum … you couldn’t pay me enough!
How did it get in the chicken coop anyway?
Cool story. Can’t wait to see what happens next..
I wouldn’t stick my hand in there. I like being able to count to ten! Instead I would send in a dog. I asked them just now and they say “possum’s soft on the outside, crunchy on the inside – yum!” 🙂
We had a possum in our barn and it ATE OUR CHICKENS!!!We lost 6 hens,4 chicks and 2 turkeys before we figured out what was going on. We thought a wild cat was getting in the barn late at night but just never saw one around anywhere. One night Hubby went out and there was a possum, eating what was left of a hen. A .22 rifle ended it’s meal.
We had a possum in our barn and it ATE OUR CHICKENS!!!We lost 6 hens,4 chicks and 2 turkeys before we figured out what was going on. We thought a wild cat was getting in the barn late at night but just never saw one around anywhere. One night Hubby went out and there was a possum, eating what was left of a hen. A .22 rifle ended it’s meal.
We have a ton of possums here in the ‘burbs… especially, it seems, in our backyard. You would think they’d learn that it is “the yard of death” — since my little border collie, Ellie, has personally eliminated 3 possums, and chased off countless others. But still, they return. They like the garden, I think. Between the possums and the racoons (who I swear to god have more nerve than most people I know), it’s like my own little Wild Kingdom back here.Trouble is, it’s pretty dark in the yard, so often at night when I let the dogs out, they’ll high tail it after something, and I just have to pray to God that they don’t get bitten — because honestly, I don’t think I’d be able to stop them from going after whatever lurks out there.The only thing worse is when they roll around in the stinky possum leave-behinds… god they reek! So far, though, the possums have lost every time — although they are big critters — I’ll bet some of the ones I’ve seen have weighed at least 15-20 lbs. Yuck!
It must be dispatched, forthwith, before you lose any more chickens. They’re actually pretty dangerous, very bad tempered and impossible to catch. Like others have said to save the chickens the possum must go.Here’s a chicken/possum joke for you…..Why did the chicken cross the road?To prove to the possum it COULD be done.
I was like linda and I ran and screamed when I saw rhe possum in the coop. Then my wife made go back in and get him out 🙂