Coop cat?

[azotter]

Can cats and chickens live together? Last night when I was doing my last check of the night I counted no less than 9 mice after one ran on me I declared war. I have some kittens and was wondering if they can live in a chicken coop safely and help the mice situation

 

[Bok-Bok The Hen]

Well from what i know dogs and cats can live together in peace if you put them together at the right age and breed. But if you want to put those 2 together i believe i need to know are your flock usually agressive do you have a rooster and how old are your chickens

 

[Sabz]

Yes, absolutely sure but it depends on the cat. You need a really good cat

I used to have a calico cat that knew which animals were mine and which were wild.
For years I had two mouse in an open-top cage. She never touched them, BUT readily ate wild mice that entered the house.
She also spent YEARS with my 3 parrots lose in the house (well actually one was a little buggie) and never touched them.
But she brought me several dead wild birds as gifts.

She lived 18 years and never made a single mistake. She would have been perfect with chickens and chicks.
But really depends on the cat's personality. I would NOT try a kitten, they might try to play and hurt the chickens, even if they would probably not kill them (or they'd die from infections after the fact).

EDIT: heu yeah, as above.. you need non-aggressive chickens too! LOL. And chickens know cats are pray, normally they are afraid of cats so be sure they aren't terrorised.

 

[scooter147]

I've done it and just for the reason you mention and to keep sparrows and starlings out of the coop.

Here is how I did it.

1. I started with a female kitten that was about 8-10 weeks old. Her name was Brigit, patron saint of chickens.

2. I put her in a plastic dog carrier on the coop floor for about a month. This way the chickens could see her and she could see the chickens. Now before anyone jumps me she got plenty of out of the box time. I handled the cat a lot as well. I did not want her to go feral.

I feed her three times a day. The first two feedings were dry and the third was a few sardines in water. She loved the sardines and this way I knew once she was given the run of the place she would come back every night to the coop for her sardines and I could lock her in the coop to mouse.

3. After the first month I moved Brigit to a wire cage, followed the same routine as number 2.

4. After the second month I simple opened the cage door and waiting to see what happened. I was very confident that nothing major would happen as in these two months the chickens basically ignored her and she ignored the chickens.

Brigit did what I wanted her to do. She became a coop cat. Mice and birds in and around the coop were rare. She spent her days wondering in and out of the coop, she found the last nest box in the corner was the best for napping.

She got a cup of dry food in the morning and her sardines at night. She would always be waiting for me to come out and lock up. I built her a shelf about 8 feet up the coop wall so she could eat without the chickens trying to eat her food.

She was spayed.


I had Brigit for almost 10 years one day she did come back to the coop for her sardines I never did find out what happen to her.

 

[thomasboyle]

Definitely. My two barn cats hang out with the chickens all the time. When they were kittens, they tried stalking the chickens, and in two separate occasions, the chicken being stalked ran over and pecked the kitten on the nose. The cat did a back flip and never tried to go after the chickens again.

 

[GreatPyrenees]

You can put the 2 together I have 6 barn cats that have been with them since 9 weeks and Are completely fine with the chickens tho do not put them with chicks.