A few weeks ago, both Abby and Lovelyn saw something “creepy” (in Lovelyn’s words) around dusk, slinking around the back patio. They did not see it closely but knew the animal was not a raccoon, squirrel or weasel. It was odd looking … shaggy fur, had a tail of a rat and was big and fat. My father in law suggested it was an opossum — and was he right!
Monday morning, the girls were letting the chickens out of the barn at the break of day when Lacey saw something large, fat and grey chasing one our of big roosters. It did not take long to figure out the creature was an opossum. Lacey yelled for us to come outside … the opossum was chased into a hole without an exit … the girls then blocked the entrance with a board and waited for grandpa to show up with his gun {Daddy was already at work}. We were pretty sure that this was our predator from the summer – the one that ate and killed nearly all our chickens and geese. 
Before you read on, please know I do love animals and would not want to hurt an animal without a reason. In this instance, the animal was a predator to our chickens so the death of the predator ensured safety for our hens and geese. Opossums are known to be chicken killers and egg snatchers.
Thankfully, grandpa came by and was able to kill the opossum for us. I guess it does not matter how long I live in the country – I am still a wimp when it comes to shooting a gun.
We were all a little intrigued and grossed out by the animal. It was much larger than we thought …
With the opossum out of the way, we figured were were going to be okay with chicken and duck predators for a while yet.
However, just this morning, we opened the back door and lo and behold, there was another opossum on our patio, sitting beside our firewood box. They truly are ugly creatures in person!
We have no exterior lighting around here so you will not find me trying to light the stove early mornings as it will require fetching wood from a dark patio — I may encounter another opossum, waiting for his breakfast!
P.S. We used this experience as a learning springboard for some school – we have discovered some very interesting facts about opossums since then!
1. They have the most teeth of all land animals in North America.
2. The females are pregnant for just less than two weeks – a quicker gestation time than rabbits.
3. Baby opossums are tinier than a honey bee when born.
4. Up to 20 babies are born at a time – and they can all fit on a teaspoon!
5. Possums are located in Australia – opossums are our friends in North America.
6. They are the only marsupial in North America.
by Gigi
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