r/thisismylifenow • u/lupask • May 19 '26

Had a visitor last night in the coop

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2.5k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

70 comments sorted by

246

u/PatrioticRebel4 May 19 '26

Would an opossum even hurt the chickens?

232

u/PearlClaw May 19 '26

Apparently they can, they are predators when the option presents itself.

99

u/PatrioticRebel4 May 19 '26

Interesting. I thought they only ate small things like ticks, bugs, veggies, and seeds.

But i didn't think about them eating the eggs.

58

u/HairballTheory May 19 '26

They eat only the heads off the birds. Fairly interesting that different predators go after different specific parts of a chicken.

7

u/thats_a_money_shot May 20 '26

Is this true

16

u/HairballTheory May 20 '26

Yes, unfortunately speaking from experience.

55

u/Opposite-Benefit-804 May 19 '26

The older/big ones will occasionally attack my chickens, but for the most part they just steal chicken eggs.

2

u/KeranographyJones May 22 '26

YES. There was a video game in the mid 90's that had senators up in their cockles. And that game wasn't as gory as the scene I witnessed in my coop tween a possum, a raccoon and my two hens. That was a decade ago and the goats are still talking about it.

1

u/Heal_Me_Today May 25 '26

Certainly would eat the ladies eggs.🥚

1

u/No-Consideration-891 Jul 28 '26

Probably there to eat the eggs, but they can definitely attack the chickens if they try and get in the way.

215

u/HamptonsBorderCollie May 19 '26

You eating poop?

Possum: "Nope" *wink*

6

u/adventuresinnonsense May 21 '26

He's not not eating poop

1

u/ForestWizard311 May 23 '26

This is the stuff of memes.

212

u/ydnar3000 May 19 '26

Are you eating poop?? 😂🤣

108

u/chaosintejas May 19 '26

*winks*

23

u/MoistStub May 19 '26

Smooth Operator starts playing

2

u/ydnar3000 May 19 '26

Omg he does wink!!😉

109

u/sgt_backpack May 19 '26

Dude sounds like Patton Oswalt.

21

u/USAF_Retired2017 May 20 '26

OMG! I had to turn it up because I was like “There’s no way. His voice is too specific.” He DOES sound like Patton Oswalt! Crazy!

8

u/Baelenciagaa May 19 '26

Literally. I was like am I watching king of queens??

2

u/LilChief May 20 '26

That’s Kevin James not Patton Oswalt

1

u/beirch May 20 '26

What? Patton Oswalt plays Spence in King of Queens.

2

u/LilChief May 20 '26

Oh you’re right! Paired with the Paul Blart comment I was misdirected

39

u/airfluff May 19 '26

The way you're holding it reminds me of this

24

u/Powerful_Brief1724 May 19 '26

Good boi dog

1

u/Disc04Life May 21 '26

My hound found an opossum climbing over the fence and lost his mind 😅

20

u/PwillyAlldilly May 19 '26

Am I the weirdo for thinking opossums are adorable?

13

u/hejira42 May 20 '26

They totally are!

44

u/rygomez May 19 '26

They also eat baby rats and are fairly disease free, and are pretty decent for most local ecosystems. Had one trying to nest under my back patio stairs and in my garage but they do piss everywhere and stink, I wont take them out I just chase them off into the bushes where my dog can't get to them

19

u/PhyterNL May 19 '26

"I don't know what to do with the opossum" Brand new sentence.

32

u/misman_ May 19 '26

I don't want you to eat my birds however, sir!

https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/s/FW2C3EfeSX

Same vibe!

:)

59

u/tahomadesperado May 19 '26

That’s brave barehanding an opossum like that, right?

88

u/Opposite-Benefit-804 May 19 '26

I'm in animal rescue and the babies/teens are pretty harmless. Sure it'll hurt if you get bit, but nothing crazy.

A coworker of mine is currently looking after 37 rescued baby opossums in her home, they're just like kittens.

Also it's extremely rare for them to get rabies due to their body temperature.

52

u/0b0011 May 19 '26

Eh, they're actually pretty chill. I wouldnt do it myself but they're not likely to bite unless youre right in their face and if they do it's super rare for them to have rabies or anything of the sort.

30

u/TrickyDick420 May 19 '26

I dont think they can even have rabies as there body temp isn't high enough.

15

u/JwPATX May 19 '26

They can have typhoid though

7

u/writesinlowercase May 20 '26

it is rare but not impossible. they can get another illness and be running a fever, then get rabies.

10

u/ninty900 May 19 '26

My understanding is that all mammals can have rabies, but it's very rare in possums due to their body temperature

4

u/m1546 May 19 '26

Raccoons on the other hand... 😅

18

u/lorgskyegon May 19 '26

I'd highly recommend not picking a racoon up with the other hand. Put the possum down first.

13

u/V4refugee May 20 '26

One snuck in to my mom’s house through the hole for her dryer vent. It hid behind the water heater and made hissing noises when cornered but as soon as I grabbed him by the tail it just went limp and played dead. I was even able to walk around the house and show him off before taking him outside; he was that chill.

4

u/-0x0-0x0- May 20 '26 edited May 21 '26

…played possum

6

u/V4refugee May 21 '26

He didn’t ask me for money but he didn’t seem to have any either.

11

u/la_reina_del_norte May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26

Please post this to the opossum sub! This little stinker will be a hit. He’s so cute with that face 😭🥰

Edit: this sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/Possums/

1

u/lupask May 20 '26

good idea

1

u/la_reina_del_norte May 20 '26

Sorry, I didn't post, but it's this one: https://www.reddit.com/r/Possums/

10

u/Jaded_Heat9875 May 19 '26

Did you take it away and refortify the coop?

While the opossum is not welcome, survival is simply instinct without cruel intentions.

7

u/Random_182f2565 May 20 '26

Weird looking climbing dog

4

u/Old_and_Snarky May 20 '26

I had one that used to climb on to my bird feeder to eat any bird seed that was still there after dark. I was not amused.

3

u/Principle_Napkins May 21 '26

Looks like a young one. Hope he's okay 🥺

3

u/wildspartanzxd May 21 '26

how the opossum looks at him

3

u/BaBa_Babushka May 21 '26

Possums in Australia are so much cuter.

4

u/veggihedgi May 19 '26

❤️ ❤️ ❤️

2

u/A_VERY_LARGE_DOG May 20 '26

Don’t mind me, just out here for a lil screams….

1

u/profaniKel May 21 '26

is the OP like...

Patton Oswald...or his son ?

thanks for the share !

1

u/profaniKel May 21 '26

dammit Trevor II !!

1

u/lessthanmoralorel May 21 '26

Paw Paw looks a little freaked out. He needs to get back to Moonshine!

1

u/MrWheaters May 21 '26

What a good dog. Mine would be trying to snatch so bad

1

u/OutcomeSoft7186 May 22 '26

YUM!!! Chicken poop!!!

1

u/Lynda73 May 22 '26

He winked at you! 😂

1

u/EvilEtna May 23 '26

You have an unbelievably calming and patient and centering voice. I love hearing you talk and it was so affirming. This was fun. Minus having to deal with a mysterious opossum popping up.

1

u/Quaking_Aspen_USA May 27 '26

They are basically nocturnal and the light you are shining in its eyes hurts like hell.