City chickens, killer kitty

[teriz1091]

We've got a flock of 8 young hens in our city backyard. They’re in a shed that was converted to a coop with a small run attached, all completely fenced in.
My husband wants them to be able to roam the yard. He tried letting them out once, & forgot to shut the gate one night. A cat killed 4 chicks. We set up a trail cam.

He tried letting them out today while we were home. We left to run one errand. The cat came back. We’re missing one hen.

How do you deal with a neighborhood cat who has a taste for chicken? (I think the obvious answer is just to keep the chickens confined, but hubby’s adamant they need to be able to be loose in the yard)

 

[Tortoise]

I live in the city of Chicago. I have 2 hens. They have a large run totally fenced and then an area right outside their run that is the same length as their run that has netting over it that I let them out into. When I let them go out into the regular yard, I am out with them as we have hawks and Falcons to worry about. It's better to keep them fenced then to let them out just to get killed!

 

[bobbi-j]

We've got a flock of 8 young hens in our city backyard. They’re in a shed that was converted to a coop with a small run attached, all completely fenced in.
My husband wants them to be able to roam the yard. He tried letting them out once, & forgot to shut the gate one night. A cat killed 4 chicks. We set up a trail cam.

He tried letting them out today while we were home. We left to run one errand. The cat came back. We’re missing one hen.

How do you deal with a neighborhood cat who has a taste for chicken? (I think the obvious answer is just to keep the chickens confined, but hubby’s adamant they need to be able to be loose in the yard)

Until you figure out how to keep that cat (and other predators) out of your yard, you're going to have to keep them locked up.

Did you see the cat in our yard? It's not often that a cat will kill a full grown chicken, let alone make off with it.

 

[glassdragonfly]

You could trap the cat in a live trap.My cats wont go near the chickens. Is the cat feral?

 

[teriz1091]

Until you figure out how to keep that cat (and other predators) out of your yard, you're going to have to keep them locked up.

Did you see the cat in our yard? It's not often that a cat will kill a full grown chicken, let alone make off with it.

We put up a trail cam aimed at the chickens’ run after the first incident when it killed 4 chicks who were a couple weeks old. It caught the cat going into the pen, but didn’t catch it in the act. The birds range from 5-9 weeks old, so certainly not full grown.

 

[sunrise.superman]

Sometimes trapping a cat will make it very wary of your yard. Or trap it and turn it in to animal control. If microchipped they'll contact the owners...who may get a hint after paying a fee to retrieve their cat.

I have a cat that escapes outside (5 yo boy, so...) and many neighbors have chickens, but I made sure he was a cat that had no interest in chickens, no matter the age.

 

[teriz1091]

You could trap the cat in a live trap.My cats wont go near the chickens. Is the cat feral?

I’m not sure. It doesn’t have a collar. It may be a stray neighborhood cat, or just somebody’s indoor/outdoor cat.

 

[teriz1091]

My husband found the chick’s body in the back of our yard in some bushes.

If we live trap the cat, would animal control allow me to take it in if I tell them it was on my property killing livestock?

 

[glassdragonfly]

My husband found the chick’s body in the back of our yard in some bushes.

If we live trap the cat, would animal control allow me to take it in if I tell them it was on my property killing livestock?

I would call and find out but I think they would. Then if the owners claim it they can tell them it's killing chickens.