We have 3 chickens (gave 5 to my grandma, and 3 to my moms cousin) and today an opposum came to attack. Thankfully I was just outside and was able to shoo it away. One rooster on the tail area, the feathers were pulled. Thankfully they are all okay, but it was so scary to hear all three start squaking and screaming and I had a mini heart attack. I will be more cautious and try to cover the "small" patches on the chicken coop, and if it's back, I will take action. Due to seeing it a couple times, it never attacked till today.
@NicholsCounty10 ай бұрын
Yeah they can break into a coop.
@steveconnor53886 ай бұрын
Guy you need to make a better predator proof coop there's huge space of gaps that raccoons and opossums can reach in and grab and pull a chicken apart
@NicholsCounty6 ай бұрын
Great tip!
@annlaborte788110 ай бұрын
I had the same problem! Lost 4 chickens in a week! I believe 3 of them were attacked by the hawk and the one was attacked at night where it was missing the bottom and no injury to the head unlike the other 3. We then set up a trap and got a huge possum! I live in Tennessee.
@NicholsCounty10 ай бұрын
Possum or raccoon. They're both terrible to chickens.
@Here_This Жыл бұрын
But You can't blame the intruders , You need to secure the sides into the ground with a fence . Foxes can dig under it , raccoons grab through it and pull chicken out . Possums mostly follow raccoons and eat the remains . The key is , better security .
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
I can blame them and I did. These coops are secure. The room next to it wasn't, that's where I keep my feed. It dug under from that room. Problem has been fixed since.
@cali4yall756 Жыл бұрын
2 of my chickens just disappeared without a trace they are small size chickens. We have possums around where I live. I suspect that the opposums did it, but not sure
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
Could be anything.
@Tsbikes-181812 ай бұрын
I think a fox killed the ducks 😢
@NicholsCounty2 ай бұрын
Possible.
@dedikfarm1128 Жыл бұрын
thank you sis... the knowledge from you is very useful for me as a beginner chicken breeder... greetings breeders from Indonesia
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching.
@dedikfarm1128 Жыл бұрын
nice to meet you sir....greetings of friendship from Indonesia...sharing knowledge and experiences sir
@beckyrodriguez4999 Жыл бұрын
I have what appears to be a very young possum that has set up camp in my barn cat stall for the last two weeks. We made a pretty decent size wooden enclosure with a lid to be able to change out straw, etc., for the cats in these Midwest winters. I also use a horse barn for my chickens and other fowl. The possum made a "nest" in the cat box. It even spread out straw on the floor and uses it as a bathroom. I didn't realize that the possum that I saw in the barn just before the last blizzard was even still here. My barn cats never poop on the floor, but I thought maybe it was due to somewhat frozen litter boxes. It wasn't until I saw a pile of broken eggs that I started searching for the possum. Now I have to trap it. I'm tempted to just pick it up because it's no bigger than a cat, but they do have a lot of teeth should it not just play dead. I really didn't know that they killed chickens until my farmer friends advised me to dispatch it immediately. I suck at this part as I don't have the heart to do it, but I understand why it has to be removed at the very least. Thank you for your video.
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
Yeah some people swear they don't harm chickens, but I actually seen one eating a chicken myself. If you want to pick it up do it by its tail, it won't be able to bite or scratch you if you hold it far enough away from you. I catch about 2 to 3 possums a month here. Raccoons are much worse though.
@Here_This Жыл бұрын
Never kill a Possum . They are so important for the environment . Ask a rehabber to relocate it .
@aarondriver19314 ай бұрын
Had a similar issue, and the culprit ended up being an opossum as well.
@NicholsCounty4 ай бұрын
Yeah they suck.
@BlackBird7474XD7 күн бұрын
@@NicholsCounty you suck for assuming it was a possum there is a great possibility that you have more than one predator.
@NicholsCounty4 күн бұрын
@@BlackBird7474XDokay.
@aguilar82082 Жыл бұрын
We had one attacked our pet chicken today. It didn't kill her, but did hurt her.
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
I find that they eat the heads and leave the rest. I'm glad it didn't get yours. Good luck with the injury. Hope it's not too bad.
@Here_This Жыл бұрын
@@NicholsCounty But from what I know that are raccoons ?
@ckfamilyhomestead Жыл бұрын
sorry that happened. darn possum
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
It's a part of life. Chicken life.
@BonnieHalas8 ай бұрын
I had an opossum kill one of my birds long while back too! Just found some fresh tracks recently
@NicholsCounty8 ай бұрын
Yeah they're brutal.
@emlo9103 Жыл бұрын
thank you for that info one of my favourite hen was attacked about a week ago by one and i have had to nurse back to health where im at i cant just go a to and but a trap. One day we had an absolute slaughter the possum killed five of my chickens . I do have a small game pellet gun i just dont know they come out its like 98 degrees outside so during the day it would be imposible
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
You can get those traps on amazon. You can also use a dog proof trap, they're much smaller. A pellet gun isn't going to do anything to a possum. Maybe scare it away for a day.
@Here_This Жыл бұрын
Are You sure it wasn't a fox or raccoon ? They carry away my big 10 lbs Koi . Usually it is raccoons that do feasts .
@bryanjones14 Жыл бұрын
I kill every possum i catch near my chickens
@NicholsCounty Жыл бұрын
I don't blame you.
@Here_This Жыл бұрын
😥 Why don't You make a safer fence ?
@jtunedproductions481811 ай бұрын
Because humans love to kill
@journeyfree820610 ай бұрын
Yep. Same here.
@yonii56944 ай бұрын
Opossum kiil chiken
@NicholsCounty4 ай бұрын
Yes I know.
@wirebarn11 ай бұрын
I doubt it was an opossum. They rarely attack chickens, especially full grown ones. Chicks and eggs possibly, but not adult chickens. Most likely was either a racoon or a weasel (or other animal in the weasel family).
@NicholsCounty11 ай бұрын
Caught an opossum the next day in the same spot. I've seen them attack chickens more than once on trail cams.
@autumndean32686 ай бұрын
Sadly, this myth has been spread around via facebook and its dead ass WRONG. Possums will kill your chickens. I've seen a big possum drag a chicken off into the thicket and I caught it red handed... if they can find an easy food source and they are hungry they will eat .... and not just eggs.