Are cats a major predator?

[phi3]

Take as much safety measures to ensure that ANY kind of predator cannot get in, had to learn the hard way.

The only predator I have to deal with is cats (dogs, if the chickens get over the fence, by which time is too late), However they have gotten in and killed several of my birds. (Chicks that were roughly 5-7 Weeks, and several quail).

I'm going to look for some cat repellent, if such thing exist.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Take as much safety measures to ensure that ANY kind of predator cannot get in, had to learn the hard way.

The only predator I have to deal with is cats (dogs, if the chickens get over the fence, by which time is too late), However they have gotten in and killed several of my birds. (Chicks that were roughly 5-7 Weeks, and several quail).

I'm going to look for some cat repellent, if such thing exist.

Pellet gun. If an animal is killing your bids then a pellet riffle would stop the cat in tracks. Bury it in the flower garden or leave on owners steps. With pellet riffles of today the norm is 800-1000 feet per second projectile and incredible accuracy. Legal in urban settings and ultimate end game for pests that don't abide to electric fences or their owners.

 

[randr ranch]

I'm going to look for some cat repellent, if such a thing exist.

I've heard of people being successful with coyote (or other predator) urine as a repellent. I also heard rue does a good job keeping cats away, but couldn't get it to grow where I needed it. I used thorny branches on the ground around most of the chicken coop. A nice thick border kept the cats at bay. Then you only need to worry about the pathway you use to get to and from the coop.
Once I tried chile powder in my garden. It kept all the cats away and I thought it was amazing, until we had a windy day. I had itchy, watery, puffy eyes. I should have thought that one through before trying it.

 

[jimbob86]

Quote:

They have a very severe allergy to near supersonic lead pellets ...... if you can catch them on your property. The surviving feral cats around here get real scarce if they see me coming.......

I found cat tracks in the snow on my tractor this AM ...... might be time to invest in some traps.

 

[cluck333]

It really depends. If you have small chickens, a big cat, or a very hungry and sneaky cat, you might. But in most cases they won't. My own cat was even scared of my chickens for a while, even though he's huge and bigger than them! The funny thing is, when they are 0-4 weeks old, he'd have them for lunch.