Grrr Cats

[Ma Noob]

Im not very happy at some of our neighbourhoods cat care, or lack there of. So far we have lost 3 chickens to cats and 1 died a day after an attack, im guessing from shock. I also have a chicken that is lame.

We lost two after the first attck, one of which was a hen. After the first attack we started locking them in at night with a board. The cat then knocked that down and got hold of another one. I was able to confirm it was a cat attacking the chickens because i heard a noise as i got up one morning only to run out and see the cat running off, saddly it was too late for chicken number two, another hen. We were lucky i thought i had lost two hens but one must have got away as i found it in the garden.

The after fixing the board properly into a proper door with a lock (that hopefully at cat cant open) the cat must have caught on we were locking the door and attacked another one in the early evening after dark. By the time i got home from work at 10pm it was too late. Another hen gone. I have two roosters one of which is a bit slow and unsteady from the second attack got away, which makes it a little more frustraiting. We had even blocked the hole they got in the first time. but it has snuck in through the bird netting.

Im so annoyed cause i know whoes cat it is and i know they wont give a stuff. I can get traps from the council but I have to pay for that. I have already lost 3 egg layers that ive been raising and feeding that i will need to replace and then have to pay for traps as well!

We never had this problem with our first two chooks and they used to just roam around the garden. Have other people had this sort of problems with cats? Our chooks are about 12 weeks old, I dont want to loose anymore, Out of 8 im down to 4 and only 2 of them are hens

 

[PurpleChicken]

We were just talking about roaming cats on another thread. You have a right to be frustrated. If a neighbors dog was running free it would be a different story.

Once chickens get to full size it's hard for a cat to kill it. There just aren't many stories of cat attacks.

Some would say shoot the cat others would say you need to fortify your coop.

Are you sure it's the cat? Other predators such as raccoons and weasels are more dangerous to chickens and more likely to get into locked coops.

Best of luck with this. It's too bad we don't eat cats in this country. At least then they would have a purpose.

 

[denim deb]

Sorry you're having to deal w/this. Most of my chickens are at a friend's farm. She has several cats, not one of which will mess w/the chickens. The dogs, though are a different story.

 

[jjthink]

I am so sorry about/for your birds

I have only experienced cats adoring or fearing chickens, never once an aggressive move (even from ferals, one of whom fell madly in love with my birds and protected them). Wish I could say the same for dogs

That said, there are occasional reports of it happening. For now, the only way to keep your remaining birds well is to put them in lockdown and face making a fortress of their run and coop. If not a cat next time, it will be some other predator (it is possible perhaps it was another pred last time and the cat was just seen at the scene of the crime?).

JJ

 

[Ma Noob]

Im in australia so no racoons or weasels here, which is a good thing from what i read. It is definatly a cat, The neighbours down the road let theirs run feral and i caught one in the coop, unfortuntaly it got away before i could get hold of it. Saddly the damage was already done. shame i wasnt up 10min ealier, the dog would have been out and we probably still would have a chicken.

Someone here suggested foxes (she is a big cat lover and i dont think she wanted to acknowlege it may have been cat) But if it was a fox the whole flock would have been dead, and foxes wouldnt make it to where we live.

The chooks seem safe enough now that there is a lock on the door, just need to heard them into bed before dark. I think they are a bit traumatised after the last attack though, especially cause it was so early in the night. One of them really doesnt seem herself anymore and they are so jumpy.

Our cats get pretty big here. We live in a town on the edge of outback South Australia and some of the cats here that have become feral out in the bush are massive! I just wish the cat laws were as strict for dogs

 

[Ma Noob]

Forgot to add, We have no trouble with our dog, Our previous chickens used to steal the dogs food ad all sorts and they never fussed, the chooks would get the odd bark if they were too close but nothing more.

The dog and the rabbit when it got out saddly was a different story

 

[minnie1]

One of my young ladies got cat attacked two days ago. I found her just inside the woods behind our house. She was fine one minute then she was missing. A stray cat that has been hanging around awhile was eating her. Her head was eaten off. My sister that has chickens also told me it was a skunk if the head is off but this happened in the middle of the afternoon, and all I saw around was that cat. I thought it would be safe having them loose and the cat never bothered them before this so now I only have them out of their fenced in area when I'm outside. I never thought the cat would attack them its always just watched them. Now I'm down to four RIR. I'm a nervous chicken mother now, I count their heads through out the day when I'm home, even if they are held up in their coop cage. Don't trust any animals around your chickens.

 

[ZombieChickens]

We just had our first cat "attack" the other night too!

I believe it is the same cat that has been seen killing many many many birds, moles, mice, even a full grown black bird. I know that's what cats are "supposed" to do, but then, aren't dogs "supposed" to chase and kill cats? I have a dog. Can my dog kill your cat? Jerks. Anyway, luckily all of our girls were ok. Lost some feathers. Were slightly traumatized and didn't lay until late in the day yesterday. I now have a live animal trap with some cat food by the coop. Hopefully I'll catch the jerk.

 

[nzpouter]

just like any other predators... the only sure fire method to stop them coming back is to shoot them.

 

[Ma Noob]

Quote:
Thats exactly what the cat has been doing with ours too. Eating the heads first and then getting into the rest, no skunks here either so its wasnt one of them. I just have to bury all these headless chickens!

Thought i had lost another one this morning, until i found one of the chooks was unburied. That might have been the dog though

Just as well he leaves the live ones alone