Cats and chickens?

[hiddenflock]

We will probably be getting a barn cat soon and are wondering how we can keep it from attacking our chickens. Or if it will even attack them...

 

[aoxa]

Full grown chickens? I dare him/her to try The chickens will most likely attack the cat. I would only worry around young chicks and possibly bantams. Get the cat from a kitten and raise it with the chickens. That's your best bet at keeping the cat from hunting the chicks. My two cats completely ignore the chicks/chickens. Both are afraid of them

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

Are you getting it as a kitten or adult. That makes a difference if grows up around chickens. I have adult cats and let them see and smell the chicks when in the brooder. As adults they don't bother the chickens, and if my rooster feels they are getting to close for his comfort, he chases them away.

 

[hiddenflock]

If a kitten does better we will probably have to look for a kitten/younger cat.

 

[aoxa]

If a kitten does better we will probably have to look for a kitten/younger cat.  

If you want a mature cat, look for a small mature cat. I had a full grown cat that weighed maybe 2-3 pounds. She was an excellent mouser, and was too small to do any damage to bantam chickens - and never bothered the chicks. However, I'd still watch a full grown cat around the chicks at first.

 

[canesisters]

Just my own experiences -
I had a kitten - about 7 months old when the chicks arrived - who seemed to LOVE them. He slept under the brooder when they were small and never showed any sort of aggression toward them. When they got bigger and moved out to the coop, he slept against the fence and the chickens would gently pull at his fur through the wire - like they were preening him.
The other barn cat - probably 8 or 9yrs old when the chicks arrived - is a fierce hunter. But has never showed any interest in them - doesn't seem to even notice that they're there - even when they were chicks.
I probably just got lucky, but my cats never seemed to make the connection - chicken=bird.

 

[aoxa]

Just my own experiences -
I had a kitten - about 7 months old when the chicks arrived - who seemed to LOVE them.  He slept under the brooder when they were small and never showed any sort of aggression toward them.  When they got bigger and moved out to the coop, he slept against the fence and the chickens would gently pull at his fur through the wire - like they were preening him. 
The other barn cat - probably 8 or 9yrs old when the chicks arrived - is a fierce hunter.  But has never showed any interest in them - doesn't seem to even notice that they're there - even when they were chicks. 
I probably just got lucky, but my cats never seemed to make the connection - chicken=bird.

That's exactly how my older cats are.

Though neither like the chickens, they don't seem to make the connection either.