Cat???

[gamebirdsonly]

I have lost several birds to cats all of them have been either chicks that my free range hens hatched out or my Bantams. Lost all my show girls to cats and just last couple days lost 2 bantam welsummers.

So I do not trust cats

 

[Heathero617]

My year old kitten has been sleeping on top of the cage i have the 2 babies in lately. She isnt even interested in them...all she knows is that i have a nice soft blanket up there and at night i cover the pen with it and its a good place to snooze where the kids and the dogs dont mess with her. She has seen them in the cage on the floor, stopped to look then kept on walking past. Thats not saying she'd never attempt, but I really dont worry since she fell in the pen that once!

 

[Phoenix98]

My cat just 2 weeks ago killed my biggest Barred Plymouth Rock hen. It all depends on the cat I suppose but mine is just your typical 10lb tabby. The hen he killed was probably around the same weight and was the biggest i had. He waited till about 2am when the hens were asleep and he grabbed her by the face and just mauled her.

The only thing I found that works is i went back to shutting the hens in their coop for the night before letting out the cat.

 

[Heathero617]

Quote:
I'm sure it does depend on the cat and on the birds. My daughter just brought up one time we went out to feed and sit with the birds and found one of our hens sitting side by side with the ole calico beside the cat food bowl!!! Both just sitting there like "ummm we'd like some service please" They were both calm, cool, and collected. I still to this day have no idea how the bird got there! This was when i had a 3 ft fence and they were allowed to come and go as they pleased. So she could have very well squeezed thru the door that used to not shut the whole way.

 

[Brandon97]

did you get a cat or a kitten? Kittens, up to about 18 months of age

She was rescued from a rescue centre, shes 9 months and already had 2 litters, so shes calm and placid as she learnt to be with kittens. It's discraceful. she had her first litter at 3 months old

typical 10lb tabby

She is a tabby, shes smaller than 10lbs though​

 

[Brandon97]

So far no chicken injuries from the cat!

 

[dancingsquirrel]

We have three cats, two who were born feral and one declawed foofoo kitty. Two out of three could care less about the chickens, the youngest has gotten his nose pecked a couple of times so he wants to chase them but knows better than to get too close.

 

[Gingerlilypad]

My cat has been attacked by my guineas and both my bantams. He now avoids the chickens. When I put a biddie near him, he cowers. I don't think I would trust him around them unsupervised though. I have never seen him chase or catch a bird, but he does like mice. He is a cat, with cat instincts.

 

[MomKat]

I have six cats - five are not interested in the hens at all (too much work!) The sixth, a very large tomcat and mighty hunter (he takes care of snakes for me!), got into the enclosure once. He will NEVER to that again, as one of my hens pecked him and beat him up with her wings. He gives the chickens a wide berth now!

 

[Kaitie09]

I have 9 cats, 6 are indoor/outdoor, and 3 are outdoors. We also feed the stray barn cats that come around, and there are a couple ferals too. None of them have ever bothers the chickens. Our biggest guy is close to 18lbs and he come with me when I go into the run to sit with the chickens. He just sits on my lap and looks at them. They other day, one of the smaller hens walked over my feet, and her body brushed up again the cat on my lap. Ozzy did not even try to go after her, and I think he may have been asleep. We also have a 1yr old indoor/outdoor that guards the chickens when they free range. She will lay in the goat pen(where the chickens are allowed to roam) and if a chicken strays from the group, she will fake chase it back. She pounces at it, but never gets closer than 4 feet from it. The chicken freaks out, run back to the group, and the cat lays back down. I've caught a few ferals in the goat pen too with the chickens, but they have never advanced. They just sit there and watch from a distance.