chickens and cats

[chickencuddles]

I have three young hens and every afternoon I let them out into the yard to free-range. A lot of the time this creepy black cat with yellow eyes comes from the neighbourhood and spy's on my chickens creepily. The chickens were so scared that they went berserk, they flew and ran all-over the place. once they were still in the coop when that cat came and they were so scared they were pecking the wire mesh so hard that their beaks bled. can cats eat chickens?

 

[sourland]

Depending upon the size of the chickens and the hunger/predatory nature of the cat - yes, cats can and have killed chickens.

 

[New Flockman]

The last of our "Old Guard" Manxes is a great hunter and showed a lot of interest in the first chicks we got some years back. We "claimed" them by allowing her to begin the stalk and then stopped her abruptly with the corrective sounds we use. Coupla times.. she was no longer much interested. When they became hens and started free-ranging, she went into their area, got a little too nosey (innocently so) and got chased by a RIR in full umbrage. She wanders among the new flock at will and they don't seem much bothered. We were a little worried about the chicks, but she wasn't much interested. Were more worried about the new Manx kitten, now 5.5 months old. She is very active and showed great interest in the tiny chicks. Momma Bea took care of the first encounter and we have been correcting her since. The chicks are now going on six weeks and too big for the kitten, who is now a lot more intimidated by their size. She now wanders in and out of the chicken yard without much ado, though Momma Bea still growls at her.

We have a lot more trouble with red tail hawks. Max defended against one just a few days back and had it backed into the fence, which it didn't like. We didn't see the beginning but apparently it got hold of one of the reds (lots of red feathers, but no apparent harm done) but either the red got loose or Max got her loose. When the wife got out there, the hawk was tangled up in the fence with Max. Both got away relatively unscathed (I saw a little blood on Max.). That's the third tussle for Max. Two more and he's an Ace! He's a great roo.

 

[levi krauss]

Welcome To BackYardChickens.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

I'd wait around with the water hose, that could tick a cat off

 

[levi krauss]

LOL

 

[KelsiNS]

As my papaw says, "everything eats chicken."
My outdoor cats are my chicken keepers . They hang out by the run all day. My chicks are still small so i dont tempt fate, but the cats wont even blink at my big girls .

 

[Mathew544]

Cats will definitely kill chickens, especially small/young chickens. It depends on a lot of factors but in your situation I would be very cautious since the cat is not yours and sounds like it is on the prowl.

 

[jak2002003]

I lost a few chicks to a cat this season. Also my new puppy got one and gave it to my old dog, who swallowed it down in one gulp.

Well fed domestic cats seldom bother an adult chicken, but they will take chicks if they get the chance.

Feral cats, on the other hand, will take adult bantam chickens easily, and also adult regular sized hens if they are hungry enough.

 

[RedPulletMama]

I have 2 adult cats, 1 male and 1 female, I also have a female Labrador Retriever all in the same yard as my 8 free- range chickens. The only time I ever had a problem was when my chicks were small. The cats did end up getting 2 as babies that weren't even feathered out. my dog got 1, but honestly she was playing with it and it just happened to die in the process. Since the chickens have gotten bigger than the cats and learned how to ruffle those feathers, the cats are terrified of them. Its really funny to watch. Molly (the dog) has never messed with any other chick or chicken again. She in fact helps look out for them. Knock on wood, I have not lost an adult chicken yet to any predator. I'm sure it is coming though, especially with fall headed our way. The coyotes are bad here, as are owls, and hawks, and foxes.