wild cats dangerous?

[ballybayboy]

hi
its my first time keeping hens and i got 5 red stars a week ago and have been keeping them enclosed in their run and coop all the time
i don't feel this is right for them and would love to let them out to run around my garden (but hopefully not onto the road or into the fields beside my house) but i am worried that they will be attacked by the wild cats that always hang around my farm
is it safe to let them out despite the cats (which there is about ten of) ?

 

[ballybayboy]

please help guys cause i want to let them roam as free as they can as soon as possible!

 

[sonally]

How old are your chickens? Full grown? I am new, mine are 8 weeks old. We had grand ideas of free ranging our chickens. The first night in the coop, a fox dug under the welded wire run and scratched around in the run before figuring out that he/she could not get to the chickens locked in the coop.
We have hawks and raccoons and fox and stray cats here. We only let our chickens out in the lawn when we are out there with them. They have had "recreation" time for the past three days after supper. Our cat comes into the area for cuddles each night... he walked towards them once in an almost stalking posture the first evening, he got a rap on the nose for that and now avoids them. BUT. I would not want him outside with them if the chickens were not being supervised by us. I would not trust any stray cat around chickens. Maybe a good rooster could protect them..... You may have to rethink the free range idea, or make their run larger. For us, the wire/fencing for the run was the most expensive part of our build! Good luck!

 

[ballybayboy]

they are about 10 months i would say! i agree with you fully on not letting them out without supervision and was thinking about just building a run with builders security fences, which are cheap enough- cheaper than building a run, and just as efficient. all i would have to do would be to cover the spaces at the bottom of the fences!

 

[axion_lotus]

My policy is: never trust a cat, even with adult birds. Cats are patient, intelligent, agile, and their claws leave deep wounds that can easily become infected. A bird scratched by a cat may survive but can die from infection days later. Never. Trust a cat.

 

[mikensara]

Quote:
I never knew that about a cat thats really good information to share thanks

 

[PAchickenlover]

We have at least 14 cats, 5 of which are kittens. I have had one problematic cat here and that was it. I took it to another farm that would take him. Since then I have had NO more problems with the cats. They "respect" eachothers space, or at least it seams. Alot of the cats are even afraid of the chickens I think in part due to a broody hen that attcked any cat that came near her babies, and the other is my roosters. Defonitly keep a close watch on them if you do let your chicks out. But you might be surprised at the cats reaction of where the heck did that huge bird come from?
Good luck
Mollie

 

[janinepeters]

It has always seemed to me that an adult, standard sized chicken is an equal match to an adult cat. Our cats even leave our bantams alone, but I suppose I would be concerned about a large, hungry feral cat around bantams, or even smallish standard breeds, or breeds with feathered heads that cannot see well.

Nonetheless, I am sure you will eventually face larger, more threatening predators, so some sort of fencing or run is a great idea.