Bought a Coop for Cats, Now Thinking Chickens

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Have you thought about just sectioning off part of your garage for the cats? That's how my neighbor introduces new barn cats, and they are all but feral. He puts up a barrier in his garage near a window and leaves them in there for (I think) 2 weeks, maybe longer. They don't require much.

Another idea is to look for a used dog kennel. That's what I have for my chicken run. I saw one the other day for $200!!! I paid $600 for mine years ago. You could use it for the cats until they are accustomed to their new home and then transition it to use for chickens. You just have to add hardware cloth around the bottom of the kennel for the chickens. You could put that entire coop in the run and modify the coop to hold more chickens.

Just a suggestion. But think outside the box! Many people don't lock their chickens up 24/7. There will be a risk of predation, but you can mitigate that risk by being mindful of their habitat.

My flock (17 chickens and 5 ducks) have a shed I converted into a coop, a covered run, plus a foraging yard surrounded by electric netting and covered with aviary netting. Other people use hoop coops (my next project - easy, inexpensive, and effective) or custom built from scratch. There are a gazillion ways to do it!
 
It sounds like these cats are basically feral. Are they spayed/neutered? If not, they should be asap.

In all honesty, I would take the one that let's you pick them up and let the 3 others stay where they are. If they are that agressive now, they will fight and tear each other (and you) apart if you try to confine them.
 
Gold Eggs said:
So I bought this really nice coop with a run, but not for chickens, I bought it to contain my 4 outdoor cats so I can take them with me when moving. I had 5 cats living in my back yard without a care taker when I moved in my last house, their care taker had just died and by fate a couple of cat lovers moved in shortly after. They have become our pets and after one died by getting hit by a car we decided to move and take them with us. We are going from a more urban area with a tiny property to a more rural area in the woods with much more property. However, we have been advised by the people who helped us get them fixed that you cant just move outdoor cats, they will try to find their way back to their turf. We were told we needed to keep them confined for 3-4 weeks to have them forget about their old turf and learn the smells/sounds of the new yard and so they can get adapted.

We had looked for something to keep t hem confined but there werent many good options. There were some enclosures you could buy online but they were kind of crap for a lot of money, and building a pen from fence would have cost a lot of money. We settled on a chicken coop from the local amish place, it wasnt cheap at $1200 but its really nice and we thought maybe it would make a good house for the cats long term, or we could sell it to some chicken people.

We are getting ready to move the cats but we are thinking maybe we should look into getting some chickens and actually using the coop. However, I know nothing about this coop we bought and obviously cats are going to want to kill the chickens (plus local foxes, etc), so I also dont know if this coop's run is large enough for healthy chickens. I assume we would need to keep them in there all the time to avoid the cats getting them. Originally, I thought 2 chickens would be good in this size coop but then I read you should have at least 3.

So here is the coop, if anyone can give any insight into this coop/run and offer any insight on the cats situation, that would be great!

The side panel lifts up with 2 dividers inside, I dont know if that is for feeding or for getting the eggs. I assume since there are 3 slots in there, that its made for 3 chickens? The entire thing is about 7ft long with the run.

Thanks

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That’s made for a really small flock. About 3-4. I’d try to diy yourself a bigger run, and stick with 3-5 chickens if that’s your interest. If you want more- your going to need more space. In the run, nesting boxes, and roost.
Anyway, welcome to BYC!!
 
Gold Eggs said:
No, but it's the only thing I have got. I am really stressed out about it tbh, I am hoping we can bring them out and put them in our 2 car garage or shed so they can exercise but we have no idea how they are going to react to being put in there. Currently I could pick up 3 of the 4 and move them as I wish but I dont know if they will claw at me and run into the woods. They are cats so I cant just fence in an area.

I am hoping we wont need to keep them confined that long but I really dont know how long it will take and I wont know until I release them if they are going to run off into the woods and never be seen again. I have apple airtag trackers on all 4 of them, but that only works if someone is nearby with an iphone, if they get deep into the woods I wont be able to trap them.
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Instead of trying to let them out a couple of times a day, set up your coop in a larger run. Look for something like this:
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https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lucky-Dog-...g-Box-Kit-Pet-Kennel/1002397070?user=shopping
You can sometimes find them used. My sister got one "free for pickup." You'll need to put a top on it to keep cats in and predators out. Poultry netting works for chickens, but you'll need something a bit sturdier (and fully anchored on) for cats. And ... if you get chicks when you move, they can stay in a brooder box while the cats acclimate. By the time the chicks are ready to move out from under the heat source, your kitties will be ready to roam!
 

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