Housing a feral cat inside the chicken run for rodent control?

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Evadig said:
All strays on my property are fair game for becoming pets...
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I feel that. A Manx mix queen and her kittens showed up in 2023 so I started feeding them. She had another litter last year and I wasn't planning on getting more inside cats but one day last month the 2 boys snuck in one day and my adult cat Raven was angrily tolerating them and given we were getting freezing temps I was like "OK, you can stay so now I have 3 cats, a ragdoll mix and 2 Manx mixes, all very cute, sweet and good natured
 
Possums are good to have around.They get rid of snakes and rats (as long as your coops secure)and aren't aggressive like coons. I only put out enough food to feed the feral so the possum doesn't get much to eat here
 
catfalls said:
My land is a certified wildlife habitat and I have many birds, rabbits, fox, deer and more species that live here, so just having "barn cats" on the property is too much of a danger to my wildlife population.
I've kept chickens for 16 years, in a predator-proof run and coop (never been breached by anything other than rodents and snakes). I currently have 26 birds, both full-size and bantams. I keep my bulk feed in sealed containers in a separate storage cabinet and I use peppermint and other oils and cayenne in this enclosure, so no rodent problem there. But in the coop and run I still have an ongoing rodent problem and this scented deterrent requires constant refreshing and even then doesn't really have any effect in these large open-air spaces. I've tried different types of feeders, but none work well as feeders or rodent control. I keep a few traps but, again, this is labor intensive (forever) and doesn't provide a permanent solution. Because of my protected wildlife habitat, poisons are not in the conversation.
I am a "cat person" having had indoor cats for 48 years and a few outdoor feral cats as well. To my knowledge none of my feral cats ever bothered my chickens even when they free range, but eventually I have lost all outdoor-only cats to predators. So, I have been considering bringing in a young feral cat to live inside my enclosed cat run. This cat would have access to the run and the coop, in hopes it will reduce the rodent population. Hopefully keeping it inside their enclosure would negate its ability to kill the wildlife that live on my property. I'm thinking that if a get a young feral and it becomes accustomed to the chickens, it will not harm them. My run is approx 300 square feet and has a separate enclosed area (approx 60 sq.ft) that I can use as the "cat house" when I open the run up for free-range access. I'm wondering if anyone has experience housing a feral cat inside their chicken enclosure for rodent control.
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I've always been hesitate about mixing cats and chicks. I don't want to feed mc nuggets to a cat
 

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