Cats & Chickens, I need some advice.

[gracefilkins]

I have chickens who I love having around. My flock currently has 13 full grown chickens, I also have a broody hen who should hatch a chick any day now. I also have 15 4 week old chicks that will soon start their introduction into the flock.

And I have cats, 4 full grown, and mama just had 4 babies. I keep the cats around as mousers, we have a huge problem in Colorado with pack rats too. I have had packrats try and build nests in our cars and they steal everything and anything. My cats have never bothered my chickens, now chicks I have never let them be around.

We live on 35 acres and I also have 3 dogs, 1 border collie who loves the cats, cuddles them, herds them she is awesome. A sheepdog who wants to play with the cats and they do not care for her. So my cats are in the fenced yard around the house so they are not harassed by the cats, this is where I also garden and my gardens are now a litter box. No matter what I have done to keep them out of the gardens.

SO I have decided to move the cats to another area so they can do their job and I can have gardens but I worry about my chickens. We have a caged area for the cats my son built, they have shelter to protect them from the elements and their own safety zone where their food is protected. I put them on the side of a shed to further protect them from the elements. However none of the cats want to stay there because of the stalking dogs.

I was considering moving them behind my rabbit hutch which is right next to my chicken coop and behind a small portable electric fence. Here they will be safe from the dogs and elements, can do their job but will they bother my chickens?

Just curious if anyone else has had a similar setup and been successful, will they all of a sudden become chicken killers, or will they stay to chasing mice and rats. Anything would help because I want to be able to garden and have chicken and cats.

 

[Deerling]

I don't know if this will help or not, because I don't really understand keeping cats in a fenced or caged area, but we have two indoor/outdoor cats and a flock of chickens that were hatched in February. Yesterday one of our cats went out to lay near the chickens and they chased him away. Usually our little polish roo stalks the cats if they come near the chickens. We also have chicks in the house and after telling the cat "no" once he has never bothered them, he just ignores them. This cat is a hunter and brought us 14 mice in a day, once. He also has killed baby bunnines (sad) and moles, ground squirrels, lizards and snakes, and songbirds. So anyway, he isn't leaving the chickens alone because he doesn't hunt, just because he's a good boy.

Hope that helps!

 

[gracefilkins]

Oh I do not keep them fenced, we simply created a safe place for them that is fenced. It has a cat door for them to get in and out, but there cat house is in this area and so is there food. Just to help give them a spot undisturbed and to make sure other animals on the farm or other animals in general from getting to their food.

 

[Deerling]

Oh I do not keep them fenced, we simply created a safe place for them that is fenced. It has a cat door for them to get in and out, but there cat house is in this area and so is there food. Just to help give them a spot undisturbed and to make sure other animals on the farm or other animals in general from getting to their food.

Oh I see! That makes sense. I would still think it would be fine, but maybe move them over at the start of the weekend so you are around to moderate for a few days. Are the chickens in a secure coop at night? That's when I would worry most, I would think the hens would be alert enough during the day.

 

[gracefilkins]

Oh yeah their coop is secure. I may just give it a try and see how they act. I just want to make sure I am doing right by my chicks and cats.

 

[thomasboyle]

We have 2 cats, and they all were taught to respect the chickens, so they ignore them now. When they were younger, both started stalking a chicken, and in one case, the chicken charged the cat, pecked it and the cat was shocked and went running. The other one stalked a chicken, and the chicken reach over and pecked her on the nose, and she went running. The cats are all excellent hunters, so they are not wimpy house cats. They quickly learned the chickens were not to be messed with. I would watch and see.

 

[redsoxs]

Without knowing why exactly, my cats and chickens get along great - in fact the chickens boss around and chase the cats! I even have huge tom cats. Beats me?

 

[twolittlechooks]

One of my cats sleeps in my brooder...

 

[woodmort]

I've had cats for as long as I've had chickens--only problem I've ever had was when the chicks were still in their fuzz--one of our cats killed two. At the time I was brooding the chicks on the floor in the cellar and someone left the door to the room open--once the chicks feathered out the cats ignored them. Other than that the cats and chickens get along just fine--actually the chickens are safer than the cats as the roosters--and some of the hens--will chase the cats. Right now we have a 2-yr old neutered tom that turned up here (we had him neutered) who hangs out with the chickens and, I swear, guards them.

 

[coloradoalice]

We have 3 cats all indoor/outdoor and I don't trust them around the chicks but once the chicks are 6 weeks or so I put them out and everyone has always been fine. We've never lost a chicken to a cat *knock on wood*. I think unless your cat is exceptionally large most regular sized chickens are about the same size as a house cat and they intimidate them if they need to. I'm not sure how I would feel with smaller chickens though, I have all full-sized and mostly heavy breeds so they just aren't a temptation to the cats.