Possum Holler

[MossRoad]

So I have eradicated about 4 possum from my 10 acres in the last few weeks. I get home yesterday and there is one out at 3:00 in the afternoon in my front yard. Thought that was odd he was out in the middle of the day. It was overcast and about 40 degrees. I introduced him to my 22 Gamo Pellet Gun which made quick work of him but what do you think? Was this guy rabid or what. Skunks seem to be on the move also. Might just be that time of year in Eastern Kansas. We still have some snow on the ground though.

Rabies in possums is very rare. If you google it, almost everything says that since they have such a low body temperature, the rabies virus might not be able to survive in them.

I've seen possums out during the day. I've flushed a few from wood piles and such, so maybe it got startled by something and started moving around.

Just curious as to why the eradiction? Some folks are concened with horses and diseases, and raiding chicken coops for eggs and chicks.

 

[bullbreaker]

When I saw the thread title thought it was about the original possum holler !!!
Possum Holler: The Little-Known Story of George Jones' Celebrity Hangout

Lets keep our words sweet we wouldnt want to disrespect the GranDaddy of all the possums ! :

Lots of possums down here in sw Fla . They are nocturnal . In my 60 years plus seen 2 giants . They always seeking overturned (by bears) trash from trash cans ,etc.

 

[hosspuller]

I have horses at home. If it weren't for EPM, it would be live and let live. But since they are a vector and danger to horses, they are non grata around here.

EPMhorse – The opossum is the host for the EPM protozoa

 

[groundcover]

They eat a huge amount of ticks , worth keeping them around for that alone.

 

[M5farms]

We have raised 100's of horses and only time we killed possums is after they were trapped and fed out to eat. I've sold quite a few when younger to folks that wanted one for special occasions.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Did you handle it with bare hands ? If your worried about rabies then you have a problem. Rabies is easy to spread, does not require a bite. Read up on it. Go see a doctor if you handled it.

If no rabies then yay.

Otherwise what is it hurting ? Unless their in a chicken pen etc their good to have around. Daylight movement when hungry enough will happen. Same for reproduction.

 

[MossRoad]

Did you handle it with bare hands ? If your worried about rabies then you have a problem. Rabies is easy to spread, does not require a bite. Read up on it. Go see a doctor if you handled it.

If no rabies then yay.

Otherwise what is it hurting ? Unless their in a chicken pen etc their good to have around. Daylight movement when hungry enough will happen. Same for reproduction.

Rabies is not all that easy to spread. The saliva of the carrier has to get into your bloodstream or mucus membrains. So a bite through your skin or saliva in your eye, nose, mouth is required. Or brain tissue, so if you blast a rabid animal in the head, and it's brains splatter into your eye, nose, mouth or open cut/wound, you could get it that way as well.

You can't get rabies from the blood, pee, poop or touching/petting a rabid animal. It has to be it's saliva or brain matter getting into you cut skin or eye/mouth/nose.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Rabies is not all that easy to spread. The saliva of the carrier has to get into your bloodstream or mucus membrains. So a bite through your skin or saliva in your eye, nose, mouth is required. Or brain tissue, so if you blast a rabid animal in the head, and it's brains splatter into your eye, nose, mouth or open cut/wound, you could get it that way as well.

You can't get rabies from the blood, pee, poop or touching/petting a rabid animal. It has to be it's saliva or brain matter getting into you cut skin or eye/mouth/nose.

I don't think you can say that unequivocally; there are some recorded and some suspected cases where breathing aerosols in high-density bat caves can transmit the disease. Rare, but possible.

 

[Toyboy]

I don't think you can say that unequivocally; there are some recorded and some suspected cases where breathing aerosols in high-density bat caves can transmit the disease. Rare, but possible.

What does a bat cave have to do with a possum in your yard??

 

[kcflhrc]

They eat a huge amount of ticks , worth keeping them around for that alone.

My chickens control the ticks very well:drink:

Did you handle it with bare hands ? If your worried about rabies then you have a problem. Rabies is easy to spread, does not require a bite. Read up on it. Go see a doctor if you handled it.

If no rabies then yay.

Otherwise what is it hurting ? Unless their in a chicken pen etc their good to have around. Daylight movement when hungry enough will happen. Same for reproduction.

Yep I picked it with my bare hands and talked to it before disposing of it. :thumbsup:

Love my Bug Buster scope on the 22 Gamo by the way, quite deadly.