Cats after chickens?

[Baxter's Chickens]

Our four chickens free range around the yard during the day, and are locked up safely at night. This evening around dusk, my husband looked out the window and saw a neighborhood cat "stalking" the chickens!
Should we be worried that this cat could hurt our chickens? I know to be careful of raccoons, foxes, dogs etc. But cats??? Really? If so, does this mean they should not be out during the day? Bummer!!

Thanks for the help!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Yep, you should be VERY worried. If your chickens are not protected from predators (including the neighbor's cat), then you have a problem. If they were my chickens and knew that a cat was "stalking" them, I would keep them locked up and safe. That's the only way to protect them.

Good luck.

 

[LT]

We have a cat as part of our family. She is a very good hunter, and we do not allow her outside with the chickens without supervision. My main concern is that she will get cornered and lash out at them, rather than truly stalking them. But for me, I would rather be safe than sorry. I love all my animals too much to let something happen.

 

[JPHorvath]

Our Tomcat never bothers our chickens; actually our cat will lay in the yard with all 50+ birds walking around him. I guess he knows that spot of the yard is free from ticks and other bugs. On occasion one of our Seabright Rooster will try to get close to him then he will just get up and briskly walk away. We have a relatively large flock of birds with some vigilant roosters that protect the girls. Since we have had chickens we do not spot any neighborhood cats trying to access our property. I suppose it is hard for a predator to sneak past 5 roosters.

 

[mcjessen]

Our chickens chase our cats. We have never had any problems with our cats even attempting to chase the chickens and they are both bird cats. I'm sure the neighbor cats don't know what to make chickens.

Err on the side of caution in keeping the chickens locked up. But if you're brave, you might just watch to see what happens. More than likely that chicken won't have any problems defending itself. Wings flapping and claws coming at the cat will more than likely scare the it off.

 

[Baxter's Chickens]

Thanks everyone. We will keep them locked up (they will NOT be happy about this!) But we will let them out when we are with them, or if our dog is out with them. He is very good with them. (Actually I think he is a bit scared of them!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i've read many posts from people saying that a cat won't mess with a full grown standard-size chicken. i've also read posts from people who have lost chickens to cats. i've never had a cat directly attack my chickens or ducks, but they have scared them to the point of injury. And perhaps if i wasn't home so much and didn't have my birds penned up when i'm not home, i would have suffered losses by now. Cats are predators and chickens are prey. Never forget that.

 

[meekasmom]

My Henrietta will attack any cat or dog that gets close to her. Our 3 cats make a wide circle around her when they are all out. It's funny to watch a hen chase a cat away. Our dog, a Basset, doesn't take any chances either since she was pecked once. I'm sure she could be killed by a dog that is aggressive but hens can be quite defensive.

 

[jennh]

I have watched "stray" neighborhood cats watch my chickens, but not try to get them. On the other hand, I would be VERY worried about little chicks, 'cause they look too much like a wild bird. If ANY animal looks like it's running, a cat WILL attack, that's their instinct.

 

[Impress]

I must be lucky, my cat lays in the nesting box. I have actually seen my BO lay an egg on her head before.