Neighbors cats

[painter chick]

Thank you Gypsygirl!!!

I totally agree, my cat was a Chicago stray who I got when he was 10 weeks old. He was fixed and for the first three years of his life wore a harness and was on a run line.

Now he has a large fenced area, this is for the safety of our birds and also for his own safety, as we get loose dogs, coyotes, fox and the neighbors wild cats and we have over 200 acres. We remove wild cats when needed, and I just hate doing it but if people would just fix there cats and dogs alot of the over population of pets and the sad lives these poor animals live in could be corrected.

My own sister lost a sweet cat because she refused to keep it in the house and I know a coyote or something got her it's just sad

 

[Davaroo]

Everything loves a chicken dinner. Prepare accordingly.

Thats all you gotta know.

 

[palabeco]

As long as you don't have young chicks I wouldn't worry about the cats, My chickens free range and I have 3 cats (2 are ferral) On the first cat/hen encounter, the hen lowered her head and charged after the cat, after a few times, the cat knows who is boss, now they share cat food and chicken scraps , eating side by side.

 

[kstaven]

Personally I would be concerned about feral cats. We have lost more Large Fowl to cats than any other predator you can name.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Today I was canning some strawberry jam and my chickens were free-ranging in my back yard. I went out to check on them, only to find my neighbor's cat... trying to get onto my back porch for my own cats' food. Thank goodness the cat is more interested in dried cat food than in chickens!

 

[blurose]

I don't allow my cats outside, period because I like birds too. However, my son's cat keeps running out the door. She found herself in the chicken yard about year ago and, man, she couldn't get outta there fast enough. She was terrified of those huge feathered, beadieyed, pecking monsters. (serves her right) I don't worry about rodents (mice or rats) because my chickens kill any mice they happen to catch in their yard, and the ground-squirrel family under the house keeps the rats away. I mean, I used to have a problem with a rat or two moving in under my house in the fall, until the ground squirrels moved in and now, no more rats living under the house. The chickens even chase off the ground squirrels from their part of the yard as well as the wild songbirds that might decide to fly in for a visit and a nibble.