Free ranging w/ cats??

[annek]

I have 6 cats. One catches wild birds a lot unfortunately but totally ignores my birds. Don't put them together until the birds are a good size though. I don't worry about my cats at all. Dogs are another story, one of my dogs has killed one of my birds.

 

[NC Chicken Gal]

My chickens are still young, ranging from 8 - 11 weeks old. I want to let them out so bad, but I am scared to, especially with the kitties!

 

[greenthumbmama]

Quote:
This is the same at our house. We have 2 cats, both are in and out, but one actually hunts. He's brought in dead birds and even full sized squirrels! I am hoping that when our chicks get to be big, the cat won't hunt them.

 

[gritsar]

The evil spawn, also known as Killer Kitty, is not allowed around the chickens. She's goes for the throat on the first chicken she catches every time.

 

[PunkinPeep]

At first my cat thought the chickens wanted to wrestle - like the puppies used to. But he quickly figured out that that's not o.k. ....with the chickens or anyone else.

Now the only time they pay any attention to each other is when i give the chickens some treats, and the cat tries to take their food. I think it won't be long, though, before the birds will let him know who's boss. Right now, they just let him eat it and squawk a bit.

 

[popcornpuppy]

Hi, I have 3 chickens that are 1 year old, 2 cats that are 7 months old, and 12 chicks that are 2 weeks old. We got the cats to keep the mice out of our coop. (It's actually a shed that we converted to a coop.) Because we had the older chickens before we got the cats, the cats grew up around the chickens and don't go after them. Our roo is 3x the size of the cats! He is not afraid of the cats and the cats have enough respect for him not to bother him. When my husband puts the chickens to bed for the night, the cats follow him to the coop to check on everything. We have the chicks in the house right now, and the cats DO show alot of interest in the chicks. We are trying to introduce the cats to the chicks slowly and under strict supervision so that the cats learn that the new chicks are part of the family. I would say, to answer your question, (as some others have already stated) that it depends on the personalities involved. It would also depend on the size of your chickens. Smaller chickens are more easily preyed upon by any number of preditors, and larger chickens are more likely to be able to defend themselves. Peace and harmony are attainable.
I forgot to mention that I have 6 golden retrievers....bird hunting dogs. They all get along with the chickens and one of our female dogs wants to be mother to the chicks! Natural enemies can live side by side peacefully.

 

[LizzyJo]

azelgin--
How did you get that picture of my ex-husband?

 

[70monte]

We have about six barn cats around and two are kittens. The kittens like to stalk the chickens sometimes but the chickens are quite a bit bigger than they are. The full grown cats act like they are scared of the chickens. So far no problems and hopefully it will stay that way.

Wayne

 

[kezabel]

Quote:
My cat like to hunt birds too but she isn't interested in the chickens at all. She is scared of them really, when she comes into the yard where the chickens are she makes a wide birth to get around them, she usually follows the fence line just incase she has to make a quick escape because one of our bantam hens chases her lol Thats a funny sight. We only have 4 bantams so they are only small but she is scared of them, We did have a kitten who was too curious and she kept getting close to the hens but she learnt her lesson because they pecked her nose

 

[vpeterson]

My cat is a hunter. He will kill and eat chipmunks, wild birds, rabbits, etc. He is afraid of all my chickens both standard and bantam. He even leaves the two week old meat birds alone. I think that he knows that we will not tolerate chicken hunting. Other cats come into the yard and leave the chickens alone as well.