Barn Cats and Barn Chickens?

[Willow's Meadow]

I have a big barn and 17 chickens. Next year I want to adopt 2-3 cats from the local shelter(as they have about 30 there right now, and are a no-kill shelter) as barn cats for my barn. My chickens are 9 weeks old right now but by next year they should be pretty big. We have a lot of mice in are barn so thats why I want them......plus we might get a couple horses next year(and what's a horse barn without barn cats????? riggghhhttt

). Would my chickens be old enough/big enough that the cats wouldn't bother them? My chickens have a section in the barn as there coop(so they don't just run around the barn).

 

[Akane]

I've only had one oversized feral bother my chickens. My indoor/outdoor cats did make off with a few quail but I haven't even lost newly hatched chicks to cats. They are uninterested by the time the chicks are big enough to go outside or with a hen watching over the little ones. Even my cat who will bring in crows and bats prefers pretty much anything to chickens.