I hope this is the right thread to post in. It is a story, but also a behavior issue... hmmph.
I have a LARGE cat, Smokey. He is a decent hunter, when he feels like it. He is declawed (not my idea, we adopted him when my friend's grandma passed away).
I brought the chickens home when they were 6 weeks old.
Smokey was PETRIFIED of them. He would literally shake when (and for some time after) he saw them. He was a quivering mess. He stopped using his entrance in the breezeway while they brooded out there.
I felt awful for bringing the chickens and such anxiety to the poor cat. He is huge though, and I was afraid - until 5 minutes after I brought the peeping box home - he would try to eat them.
Now that they are older he seems to want to join the flock. He loves to lay on the coop, comes right along with the ladies when it is treat time. He has gone so far as to eat banana from my hand when they are.
He tries to sniff them and lays among them in the yard. I think he likes the company. I also think that his favorite backyard morsels come to him now, rather than him having to go looking for mice and chipmunks.
I let the birds free range in a large enclosed area where my garden is, along the fence there is a huge wall of cedar, several raspberry bushes, a cherry tree & what I was told is a crab apple tree. I stay out there with them, it is my favorite time of day. I squashed a few fallen "crab apples" for the ducks and realized, they were not crab apples. I took a bite and YUM! I was in crunching away happily when Smokey came to say "Hi".
The hens were under the tree and Smokey went to make his rounds around the yard. He walked behind the hens, about a foot or so away, and they all turned on him. He walked over, I think he thought they were making friends, and my EE rose up to peck him. The other girls - they are like a gang - started to close in on him, I got to my feet and Smokey turned and ran. They came right behind, full speed chicken run, and Smokey ran right behind my legs & they followed right around the corner. He just barely made it into the breezeway, otherwise I think they would have really pecked him. (He has a custom sized hole he made in my screen door. Thank goodness too. The chickens have never figured out how to use it.)
My chickens are bullies. They routinely roust my ducks out of their enclosure to scratch in the duck shavings, eat their food & prove they run the yard. Yesterday I saw them repeatedly charge & chase a pair of morning doves around my yard & driveway. I really think they enjoyed it, too.
Is this normal chicken behavior? Should I deprive them of their free range? I love all my animals and do not want the chickens bullying my poor cat (as funny as it was to watch this time, had they gotten him, how much damage could they do? I am guessing - enough.) Is there anything I can do to train them not to do this? I culled my roosters partially to restore peace to the yard. The chickens were the "Crips" and the ducks were the "Bloods". Do you think this kind of behavior is a precursor toward feather picking and other cannibalistic behavior or are they just making sure my big kitty doesn't try any funny stuff?
I have a LARGE cat, Smokey. He is a decent hunter, when he feels like it. He is declawed (not my idea, we adopted him when my friend's grandma passed away).
I brought the chickens home when they were 6 weeks old.
Smokey was PETRIFIED of them. He would literally shake when (and for some time after) he saw them. He was a quivering mess. He stopped using his entrance in the breezeway while they brooded out there.
I felt awful for bringing the chickens and such anxiety to the poor cat. He is huge though, and I was afraid - until 5 minutes after I brought the peeping box home - he would try to eat them.
Now that they are older he seems to want to join the flock. He loves to lay on the coop, comes right along with the ladies when it is treat time. He has gone so far as to eat banana from my hand when they are.
He tries to sniff them and lays among them in the yard. I think he likes the company. I also think that his favorite backyard morsels come to him now, rather than him having to go looking for mice and chipmunks.
I let the birds free range in a large enclosed area where my garden is, along the fence there is a huge wall of cedar, several raspberry bushes, a cherry tree & what I was told is a crab apple tree. I stay out there with them, it is my favorite time of day. I squashed a few fallen "crab apples" for the ducks and realized, they were not crab apples. I took a bite and YUM! I was in crunching away happily when Smokey came to say "Hi".
The hens were under the tree and Smokey went to make his rounds around the yard. He walked behind the hens, about a foot or so away, and they all turned on him. He walked over, I think he thought they were making friends, and my EE rose up to peck him. The other girls - they are like a gang - started to close in on him, I got to my feet and Smokey turned and ran. They came right behind, full speed chicken run, and Smokey ran right behind my legs & they followed right around the corner. He just barely made it into the breezeway, otherwise I think they would have really pecked him. (He has a custom sized hole he made in my screen door. Thank goodness too. The chickens have never figured out how to use it.)
My chickens are bullies. They routinely roust my ducks out of their enclosure to scratch in the duck shavings, eat their food & prove they run the yard. Yesterday I saw them repeatedly charge & chase a pair of morning doves around my yard & driveway. I really think they enjoyed it, too.
Is this normal chicken behavior? Should I deprive them of their free range? I love all my animals and do not want the chickens bullying my poor cat (as funny as it was to watch this time, had they gotten him, how much damage could they do? I am guessing - enough.) Is there anything I can do to train them not to do this? I culled my roosters partially to restore peace to the yard. The chickens were the "Crips" and the ducks were the "Bloods". Do you think this kind of behavior is a precursor toward feather picking and other cannibalistic behavior or are they just making sure my big kitty doesn't try any funny stuff?
