We caught the varmint .. now what ..

[jadip4]

Y'all.

I had a broody hen that hatched out 9 adorable EE fluff balls for us on April 15. I shut mama bird and babies in our chicken run by themselves until the babies got a little bigger. Sunday night something climbed the post to our run, tore a 4" hole in the bird netting at the top and helped themselves to the buffet of 8 of the chicks. 3 years with this setup with no problems. Lesson learned the hard way. Don't get comfortable, folks. Mama .. my very best lovable broody hen .. appeared to try to fight off the attacker and initially survived. Didn't have a scratch on her, just missing feathers. She started going downhill Monday afternoon. I attempted all the supportive care I could, but sadly she passed last night. Remaining single baby is now out with the 4 week old birds trying to figure out its place among 20 new not friendly friends. I gave it plenty of hiding places till the bigger chicks lay off.

Meanwhile we set a trap and have the wildlife cameras out to catch this thing. Stinking opossum. Nights 1 and 2 it stole the bait. Last night we caught it ..
Currently SHE is still in the trap with at least 2 babies crawling all over her. First intent was to lethally dispose of the culprit. The little ones complicate the situation. What would you do??

 

[Criticalicious]

First off, I don't believe the little ones complicate the situation because they are the same threat as momma. Secondly, I would follow the laws in your state regarding wildlife. Check whether you're allowed to kill or relocate them. If you can't find info on Google, try calling some local wildlife relocation or pest control companies. They will know what your options are, and might be willing to come take it off your hands (for a fee I'm sure).

I assume you've started locking everybody up in their very secure coop at night to prevent further losses through the bird netting?

 

[jadip4]

Yes .. it's a danger to personal property therefore we have the right to kill it. Was considering having hubs take it up the road a few miles (where no one lives) and relocate her.

Coop locked down tight and run will be getting a hardware cloth lid put on it. Would like a line of hotwire while we're upgrading.

 

[Tortoise]

First I am so sorry for your loss.
If it were me, I would relocate them as long as that's an option. I would and could never kill an animal for being an animal.
She had babies too feed. She was doing what she needed to do and your enclosure was easy pickings. With the improvements your doing, next time she or any other will move on once they realize its not an easy entrance.

 

[Gray Farms]

If you release her do it MILES away. Otherwise she may come back.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Personally, I don't know if I could dispatch them. But if you feel like you must, just try to do it as humanely as possible.

 

[Peppercorngal]

I am so sorry to hear about your little hen and her chicks. Heartbreaking to say the least. Obviously you will need to put a chicken wire top on your run. Like you said the bird netting worked, until it didn't. Also after you fix your top you may want to surround your run with 2 feet of very small hardware cloth so those little nasty possom and raccoon hands can't reach through and strangle your chicks. If you don't have one already I suggest a wire "apron" with rocks on top to insure critters can't dig under either. I can't advise you on your caught critter. . . . Sorry for your loss.

 

[jadip4]

Run is 6' tall encased in hardware cloth with a 2' apron. Double locked door. Costs got higher than we intended and we skimped on the ceiling. Figures, right.

I had to go pick up DD from a study group. Hubs will deal with our captive when he gets to the house. I left it in his hands ... as he's not as soft as I am. I don't even want to know the outcome. It's just been a crappy week.

Thx all for the condolences. Gerty was a great hen.

 

[Peppercorngal]

Run is 6' tall encased in hardware cloth with a 2' apron. Double locked door. Costs got higher than we intended and we skimped on the ceiling. Figures, right.

I had to go pick up DD from a study group. Hubs will deal with our captive when he gets to the house. I left it in his hands ... as he's not as soft as I am. I don't even want to know the outcome. It's just been a crappy week.

Thx all for the condolences. Gerty was a great hen.

It just figures doesn't it? The one thing you tried to save a buck on is the one place the critters got in. Damn. This is not fair at all. What's DD? Daughter? Your husband will have to kill the critters, you know that, all of them. To take them somewhere else and drop them off is illegal here in California: it's just putting your problem on someone else's doorstep. You don't want to do that. They are just animals after all, that have caused you pain and heartbreak and money. Again, so sorry for your loss.

 

[danceswithronin]

Honestly I have a soft spot because I have rehabilitated several opossums through wildlife rehabilitation. Even if I knew one individual was going after my coop, I would probably remove it with a live trap and take it to the middle of a wildlife preserve and let it go. I have rehabilitated many wild animals and that's what I always do. I don't really care if it's legal to do so or not. Nobody's business if I want to dump an opossum out in the middle of the woods where it actually belongs. Nobody is ever going to prosecute you on something so petty.

The reason they're going after our livestock is because we're diminishing their natural habitats, so I feel personally responsible for the welfare of wildlife no matter how inconvenient it might be to me. It's not their fault they're hungry and desperate - it's partially ours (as a species).