Barn Cats and Chickens

[Thunder344]

Hi!
I want to get some barn cats, but I am worried that they will attack my chickens. I keep finding mice in my metal trash cans that I keep the feed in. Does anybody have any experience with cats and chickens? Is their a way for me to teach the cats not to go near the chickens? Any suggestions, etc. is greatly appreciated.
Also, could I just get a spayed/neutered cat from the SPCA and it be a barn cat?

 

[3KillerBs]

Also, could I just get a spayed/neutered cat from the SPCA and it be a barn cat?

I don't know about cats and chickens, but I think that shelters usually require you to sign a contract that the cat will be an indoor-only pet.

 

[Scottin8a]

I don't know about cats and chickens, but I think that shelters usually require you to sign a contract that the cat will be an indoor-only pet.

Our barn cat is about four years old, he was rescued from a shelter. At first they would not allow us to save him (death sentence in 24 hours) apparently because it was more humane to kill him then to make him live with chickens. The manager allowed us to take him. He has lived in the chicken coop and garden ever since. He plays with young and old and occasionally rubs against the rooster knocking him over. He sleeps in the nesting boxes, sometimes on eggs. His fenced in garden is about 7800 square feet with the coop and runs 1/4 of that. They are great friends.

 

[RojoMarz]

Check with your shelter to see the rules/requirements of adoption and what they have. Our shelter offers "barn cats", in addition to house cats. The barn cats are feral or unsocialized cats.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Ours also has "barn cats". There are a couple rescues around that also deal with the feral/barn cat type kitties.

I would think most cats won't bother with grown birds but might pose an issue for chicks. A good flogging by a hen or rooster teaches them to mind their manners.

 

[rosemarythyme]

x3 on "barn cat" adoptions. Our area has a program that'll assess your needs and bring out an appropriate number of health checked, fixed barn cats for free.

 

[aart]

I keep finding mice in my metal trash cans that I keep the feed in.

Do they not have tight fitting lids?

 

[saysfaa]

Cats tend to eat what they are taught as kittens is food and not eat what they didn't learn to eat as kittens. If their mothers were mousers, they tend to be mousers. If not, then not. If their mothers were birders, they tend to be birders, if not, then not. This is why my gradndmother's cat wouldn't eat tuna. Why a lot of people on the raw feeders group have so much trouble getting their cats to eat any kind of raw meat.

And it might contribute to why some cats don't hunt the chickens they live with. And some do.

They usually react to small squeaky and/or jerky things out of instinct and can learn to play with these things, sometimes fairly effectively when they are in the mood. So, they might do the job you want anyway.

Because of this, and (mostly) because I like native song birds, I would go the route of fixing the feed storage problem and fixing the shelter for resting and for moving around that the rodents are finding.

 

[Thunder344]

Do they not have tight fitting lids?

They do. I have no idea how they get in.

 

[Chicnbones]

Hi!
I want to get some barn cats, but I am worried that they will attack my chickens. I keep finding mice in my metal trash cans that I keep the feed in. Does anybody have any experience with cats and chickens? Is their a way for me to teach the cats not to go near the chickens? Any suggestions, etc. is greatly appreciated.
Also, could I just get a spayed/neutered cat from the SPCA and it be a barn cat?