Ducklings and Outdoor Cat

[samuelsonfarm]

Hello! We are anticipating our FIRST little ducklings this week from Metzer farms. We have a wonderful indoor/outdoor cat who is a very good hunter. He brings home mice all the time, although I've never seen a bird. Has anyone had any experience training a cat not to hunt the ducks, especially when babies? Any tips for a newbie? Our cat is very sweet and cuddly, but we've never had to train him, he has always been a very good cat. I am worried that he'll try to eat the babies!! The ducks will be in a brooder in the laundry room where kitty eats his food, I'd like to be able to have them peacefully co-exist, is this possible?

 

[Going Quackers]

How exciting! well, i have a farm cat and he generally doesn't challenge the ducks but those have mamas sooo that makes a difference.

You really cannot IMO "train a cat" to not use his own prey drive, some have very strong instincts others wouldn't move for a temptation lol

Best bet, is to ensure he cannot get access to them, predator proof that brooder, ensure the ducklings cannot put their heads out, make sure the cat cannot access nor put his paws in.

I have 3 indoor cats, they are beyond bored with all the ducklings/chicks in the house, they barely pay any mind now BUT i still take massive precautions, my crate holding my calls right now has extra wire run about it so they cannot get their paws in nor can the ducks get their heads out.

Your cat maybe fine but best to err on the side of caution and treat him like any other predator.

 

[samuelsonfarm]

So far our cat is completely uninterested in the ducklings- SCORE! I still keep them on lock down though. Our cat has been bringing us lots of extra "treats" in the form of headless and tail-less mice. I guess he's trying to make peace with us, poor fellow. Love him so <3

 

[Going Quackers]

So far our cat is completely uninterested in the ducklings- SCORE! I still keep them on lock down though. Our cat has been bringing us lots of extra "treats" in the form of headless and tail-less mice. I guess he's trying to make peace with us, poor fellow. Love him so <3

aw, so sweet! my barn cat is a DSH solid black!

 

[Nebraskagirl]

Hey there! Congrats on the ducklings. We have two outdoor barn cats and they are KILLERS! They bring home rabbits, mice, snakes, frogs, toads, birds, moles, etc. We got adult ducks first and they quickly learned the ducks would put them in their place. They NEVER bother our adult ducks; the ducks would chase and nip a little if they came too close. When we hatched our two ducklings and put their brooder in our garage, we placed a wire cover over it just in case the cats got interested. The cats were allowed to see the ducklings, smell them and watch us interact ***SUPERVISED*** and as the babies got big enough to venture outside, we supervised their interactions with our two barn cats. The cats would get curious at first, but we made them keep their distance. Now the ducklings are almost seven weeks old and are allowed to free-range all day, and our cats never give them a second glance. In fact, I saw our female barn cat use one of the ducklings as a "cover" (she hid behind the duckling) and sprang after birds near the feeder. It was funny!
What I am trying to say is observe and NEVER leave a cat alone unless you are sure you can trust them (only when the duckling is older!) We just got lucky and all of the animals get along. Hopefully you will be the same.

 

[samuelsonfarm]

Thank you so much for the feedback! I love reading about other people's experience with ducks. It's all new to me, and so very exciting. I grew up in the city in California, moved to Michigan 10 years ago, and just one year ago moved into this home where we have 5 acres and lots of space to have a little farm. I love it so much. I always dreamed of living on a farm, and I'm sort of living my dream right now. I can hardly believe it. Wife to an amazing and loving husband, stay at home mom of 3 beautiful children, a wonderful and docile outdoor cat and 13 precious baby ducks. Could life be any better than this? I think not.

 

[Nebraskagirl]

Thank you so much for the feedback! I love reading about other people's experience with ducks. It's all new to me, and so very exciting. I grew up in the city in California, moved to Michigan 10 years ago, and just one year ago moved into this home where we have 5 acres and lots of space to have a little farm. I love it so much. I always dreamed of living on a farm, and I'm sort of living my dream right now. I can hardly believe it. Wife to an amazing and loving husband, stay at home mom of 3 beautiful children, a wonderful and docile outdoor cat and 13 precious baby ducks. Could life be any better than this? I think not.

Ahhhh, that's great!!! Congrats!!!! Ducks are awesome! So is living away from the city