Free ranging w/ cats??

[NC Chicken Gal]

I have 2 outside cats. Both very friendly and loving, but both are....cats!!

I would love to let my girls out but I am worried about the cats. Anyone have the same situation and if so, what do I do? Can the chickens take care of themselves when it comes to a cat? I wouldn't think so, but being a new chicken mama, and doing a lot of reading, things I thought were right were completly wrong and what I assumed to be wrong is actually what I needed to be doing!

I'm so confused!

THanks for any help!

 

[Ducklove334]

we have 9 outdoor cats, and the chickens ignore them, the cats ignore the chickens,the only time there is a problem is when the chickens claim the cats food bowl, had one of our toms get into a tussle with a smaller hen today, he had her by the neck,and she flogged him in the gut and that was that, lol they both ran in different directions.

 

[LizzyJo]

I have 4 cats and the only one that was interested in the chickens when they were walking around loose was the yearling cat. She would run at them to make them run, but liked it better to just watch them. I think a grown chicken could handle a house cat that doesn't know what it's doing.

 

[azelgin]

It depend on your cat. My cat does fine with the chickens and chicks, until they gang up on him. He gets kind of annoyed and leaves. Just watch and see how it goes.

 

[LegHorn-BusHorn]

I am no expert, at all, but I think if the chicks are fairly big the cats will leave them alone. My outside cat pays no attention to them, so far, they have way out grown him, but he is no sissy. My 12 week old chicks do have a covered area they range in and the cat has never tried to get in. Now a few other things have, but they are safe in their coop. Good luck luv kiittys!

 

[paulpig]

We are letting our chickens free range with our barn cats.......The 3 roosters that we have really beat up one of the cats --no further problems..........We are newbies and really supervised the first several outings for the chickens. Our roosters are worth their weight in gold. I MUST ad that our barn cats are fed cat food daily so maybe full bellys help deter hunger pains.......but they do still stalk the chickens with the roosters stalking the cats........Best of Luck to ya.......Paul

 

[WriterofWords]

Yep, depends on the personalities involved. My Pudster, the stray tom cat that moved in outside, protects my birds with his life. That doesn't mean another cat might not snack on them.

 

[michickenwrangler]

I used to work at a ranch where the chickens and cats ranged together but separately. They never bothered one another. The cats would occasionally get picked off by coyotes but the chickens never did--they would just get run over by tractors.

 

[NC Chicken Gal]

Thanks for the replies. I just worried cause my cats do like to hunt birds. We have wild turkeys around our house and one of my cats is always stalking them! Not too many birds land on my back deck though, mostly ground moles, lizards and frogs!

I think when my girls get a little bigger I will try a few supervised outings, I just worry about getting them all back to the coop! We are on about 10 acres of cleared farm land surrounded by woods!

I see a future AFV video of me trying to round up chickens!

 

[azelgin]

Quote:
My cat doesn't seem to look at the chickens as birds. We have chicks ranging in age from 3 weeks on up. He leaves them alone, but will kill quail and dove. Not sure why.