EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

[mlm Mike]

Shalom Mike
The problem with feral cats is the huge impact they have on small wildlife animals. They aren't part of the natural ecosystem, so they are out of ballanc.

I understand feral cats are an issue.

 

[mlm Mike]

They may be terms but barn, feral, outdoor, etc. shouldn't be terms that precede the word cat.
In addition to the devastating impact on wildlife @Akrnaf2 noted, any veterinarian will tell you to keep your cats in the house. Nothing good can happen to the cat when they are allowed to roam outside.
We have cats, my son has cats, his girlfriend has cats. None of them have ever been outside. They don't get worms, disease or dead from cars and run ins with wildlife or domestic animals.

My small animal vet and livestock vet have barn cats. My current cat came from my small animal vet's barn. They really don't venture far from the barn and keep the rodent population under control.

 

[Akrnaf2]

Hello, my darling Westley!
I agree that they likely have it.

 

[Akrnaf2]

I understand feral cats are an issue.

Almost an 1.5-3.7 BILLIONS birds issue!( annualy in the US alone !
)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/29/cats-wild-birds-mammals-study/1873871/

 

[mlm Mike]

My cat, Captain Louis Reanault:

He was moving around a lot, so difficult to get a good picture.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Here's our cat, Monro.

DH found him in the middle of the road in the center of the town he was working in (he was test driving a car). He was probably only about 4 weeks old, covered in fleas, violent, and very obviously feral. He brought him home, I cleaned him up and since he was too small to eat solid cat food, I had to mix kitten milk in with it to soften it up. DH named him after the garage he was working at then. Monro fully believes that he is a dog and HATES cats. He's been with us for almost 13 years now. He still likes to try to get outside (and succeeds occasionally). He never seemed to outgrow that desire to be out but he's a house cat and a wimp lol.

Here he is last November, making sure to mess up everything I was working on.

His favorite place to nap is the dryer. He will meow pitifully until someone will pick him up and put him in it. He'll stay there for hours if we let him

Hanging with dogs. Sparkles (first pic) has been gone for about a year now. Monro has definitely shown that he really misses having a companion. The other dogs, we were babysitting for a few days. Each time we were puppy sitting, he was in heaven! Insert a cat though and there's hissing, spiked fur, hiding, and hatred in his eyes.

 

[BullChick]

Irresponsible is living on an acre, and allowing your cats to kill your own birds as well as mine. Letting them scratch up a baby, not having them fixed, let them poop on vegetables, break windows, pee on the Harley...
I love cats, and barn cats on a farm are a different matter.

 

[Uff Da]

@Uff Da I know you likely know it, but I am reminding you in case (is that okay?). Laying flat makes the earache worse. Elevating the head of the bed is recommended.

With 7 children, my mother never knew.

I did know that, but I actually appreciate the advice all the same!

Re: outdoor cats...I have rather strong views on this one.

Growing up we had a small farm. When we bought it, it already had several barn cats that came with the place. Over the years, they reproduced to over 40 animals. I loved them. I became a cat lady for life--and yes, I'm certain I do have toxoplasmosis, between the cats and the gardening. However, there was lots of sadness to this situation. We couldn't keep up with them. I remember my parents discussing what to do about it on the regular, because they were suffering. They were inbred, we couldn't afford enough feed, and they were vulnerable to predators and illness. I became a competent cat EMT at a young age, because I was constantly trying to save them from their various maladies.

At college I studied for a biology degree, and took several classes that focused on wildlife. I learned that cats are the #1 threat to songbirds--even more than climate change, pollution, and loss of habitat. They also are a major threat to other species.

I told myself I would never let a cat be an outdoor cat. Well, I failed. I have three cats, and all of them go in and out. Blame the kids and my husband. If I didn't give birth to the kids, I would swear an affidavit to their having been born in a barn. They never shut the dang doors.

So, I researched, and found a type of collar that has some evidence of reducing predation by cats, to birds at least. They look like big clown collars. You can buy them on Amazon, but all they are is a tube of brightly colored cotton that slips over a collar to form a big, visible collar, so I make my own (and have an open offer in my local birding group to make anyone who wants one for shipping costs!). As far as I can tell, they help.

I also am very active in the promotion of spaying and neutering, having grown up with the costs of unfixed outdoor cats.

So, I'm in the "keep your darn cats inside!" group, but rather ashamedly have cats that go out. In huge, goofy clown collars. I hope it helps enough for our local wildlife.

 

[Sally Sunshine]

View attachment 2020561View attachment 2020562ok got the call this morning picked up s cheapy box of babies. All but one seem to be doing well
Total of 29 in the side that was a mix of Delaware and white Plymouth rocks, I had ordered 15 Delaware and 10 white Plymouth rocks so I am very happy with that number. It looks like their white rocks are smoky colored?
I ordered 25 RIR and there were 27 so far very hsppy

So cute!! Rocks are great birds

 

[Sally Sunshine]

I did know that, but I actually appreciate the advice all the same!

Re: outdoor cats...I have rather strong views on this one.

Growing up we had a small farm. When we bought it, it already had several barn cats that came with the place. Over the years, they reproduced to over 40 animals. I loved them. I became a cat lady for life--and yes, I'm certain I do have toxoplasmosis, between the cats and the gardening. However, there was lots of sadness to this situation. We couldn't keep up with them. I remember my parents discussing what to do about it on the regular, because they were suffering. They were inbred, we couldn't afford enough feed, and they were vulnerable to predators and illness. I became a competent cat EMT at a young age, because I was constantly trying to save them from their various maladies.

At college I studied for a biology degree, and took several classes that focused on wildlife. I learned that cats are the #1 threat to songbirds--even more than climate change, pollution, and loss of habitat. They also are a major threat to other species.

I told myself I would never let a cat be an outdoor cat. Well, I failed. I have three cats, and all of them go in and out. Blame the kids and my husband. If I didn't give birth to the kids, I would swear an affidavit to their having been born in a barn. They never shut the dang doors.

So, I researched, and found a type of collar that has some evidence of reducing predation by cats, to birds at least. They look like big clown collars. You can buy them on Amazon, but all they are is a tube of brightly colored cotton that slips over a collar to form a big, visible collar, so I make my own (and have an open offer in my local birding group to make anyone who wants one for shipping costs!). As far as I can tell, they help.

I also am very active in the promotion of spaying and neutering, having grown up with the costs of unfixed outdoor cats.

So, I'm in the "keep your darn cats inside!" group, but rather ashamedly have cats that go out. In huge, goofy clown collars. I hope it helps enough for our local wildlife.

And here I thought little boys with bb guns were the threat to songbirds