Cat meets chickens...

[usalbrechts]

Well, I finally let the chickens roam free.......for about 30 minutes until I got worried and made them go back inside!!! (let me tell you, the getting them back inside the run is when the fun really starts!!). So while they were out our cat came to meet them. It was cute, our little EE Ruth kept chasing her. I don't think our cat knew what to make of it all. Thought I'd share the cute picts.

That is Ruth (buff) after she chased Rayma (cat) away

This is when Rayma met the chicks

 

[davecash]

How cute! I wouldnt wanna take a chance of letting my chicks get too aquainted with the mangy stray cats that roam around here.

 

[Davaroo]

Neat pics. I never thought to capture my cat/chicken meetings in pics!

The thing to do is NOT chase the chickens around, trying to get them back. They usually win and you end up looking foolish.

What you do is feed them ONLY in the run. Go out several times while they are ranging and toss them their favorite treats, but only in the run. Just get one back in and feasting, the others wont be far behind. Then twice a day, make a big show of adding to the feeders when you feed them. That way, they associate the run with food. They get the idea pretty soon.

As for cats, mine wont go near chickens... which is probably why I never took pics of them together. The cats will stand off and watch the chickens, but thats it. Most well-fed housecats wont bother a flock of grown chickens. I wouldn't. The chickens, for their part dont take kindly to them and usually set up a fuss when they appear. Some tough chickens have even been known to run off the average cat.
Chicks are another matter and if they are around, the cats will be tempted, so watch out.

"Mangy" street cats and feral ones are another matter and are trapped for dispatch. I'd just shoot them outright, but I dont want to fire my .22 WMF rifle around the neighbors.

 

[Itsme]

Thanks for sharing your pics!
My cats seem to ENJOY the chickens company

I had a stray female show up a couple months back, pregnant OF COURSE!

but anyway, she had her babies in one of the nesting boxes....neat. Her and her babes ( she only had two thankfully!) will be going to the vet to get fixed and vaccinated in a couple of months. Her and her babies are still in the coop all though I moved them to the "people" side of the coop instead of the "chicken" side...lol!

 

[usalbrechts]

Thanks for the tip on feeding only in the run. I will make sure I do that

 

[HobbyChickener]

Chickens have only ever seen 1 cat. Road Runner (My Barred Cochin Roo) killed it in about 6 seconds flat, strangest thing I have seen in a long time. I was watching the coop from the kitchen window because the dogs were barking and I could tell something was out there. It slid under the door to the coop and was eye balling a younger bird. Once he noticed that it was there it was all over about that quick. Apparently he doesn't like cats any more than I do. I always liked that bird.

 

[Whirlwind]

Great pics. I have one cat Izzy she plays with the chickens. Another cat Bubba who weighs 19 lbs btw, gives them a wide birth. This morning my broody hen was out for a little bug hunting and she actually chased poor Bubba he probably won't go near them again for days.

 

[Chirpy]

I like the pictures. I wish I'd have had our camcorder going when two of my cats jumped down (at two different times) into the chicken run. I don't know what they expected (an easy meal?) but the chickens literally all came running from all sides and were on top of the poor hapless cats before they knew what hit them. You should have seen the cats... jumping straight up six feet to grab onto a board at the top of the fence and then high tail it out of there as fast as possible. None of them have ever gone into the chicken run again. Even when my chickens are free ranging the cats like to lay near them but if a chicken comes within five feet the cats run like mad to get away.

Except for Sylvestor: our oldest cat. He watches the chickens with his tail twitching ... I don't trust him.

 

[GoodEgg]

Cool pics!

We have a rescue kitten that's around 4 months old. He is a playful little guy and LOVES to chase and be chased. I've taught him "no claws" and "no bite" when playing, but I know they can get over-excited and forget.

His favorite play-friends right now are the chickens when they are out of the run. Sigh ... he loves to chase them and tackled one once. He loves it just as much if they will chase him, which a few of my red sex-links will do. Sometimes he pretends to "stalk" them, just so I will chase him, and bounces around just out of reach, teasing me to catch him. He also likes to lay in their favorite bush to graze from and leap out and surprise them when they are eating.

When the chicks get a little older (14 weeks now) I think he's in for a rather rude awakening. (Or perhaps when the roos decide he's after the hens. They don't have a clue about protecting hens yet.)

My older cat is a little afraid of them already, and has ZERO interest in hunting anything unless it's in her food bowl and not moving.

trish