Integrating a cat with chickens

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I'd say laying age, 18 weeks at the youngest, depends on the breed, my bantams I would never leave alone but the Sussex I've had since 10 weeks old and i never worried about them. Now they are twice as big as the cat.

As an aside I saw you said you have 3 roosters and only 4 hens. The general rule is one rooster to 6 or more hens or you risk fighting among the roosters and over mating of the hens. You might need to rehome some boys sorry

Straight run. I'm glad I ended up with at least 4 hens. By over mating do you mean.the roosters will wear the hens out?

 

[LadyoftheCluck]

Straight run. I'm glad I ended up with at least 4 hens. By over mating do you mean.the roosters will wear the hens out?

Yes, hens can become over-mated, and can develop stress conditions, vent issues, and decreased laying.

A friend of mine had a hen that was extremely favored by the boys, and the poor girl ended up with several patches of missing feathers, and bald spots, all along her rear end and her saddle. She looked like she was in perpetual molt - she ended up with a prolapsed vent and her laying was majorly affected. I'm not sure if it was a cause from all the male attention or not, but my friend thought so.

I have heard that a good rule of thumb is a 10:1 ratio of hens to roos, but I do know some folks say that anything over 4:1 will be okay.

Disclaimer: I'm not a chicken expert. (yet, I hope, lol)

 

[ChristieB]

Yes sorry I didn't see your reply, ladyofthecluck answered perfectly.

 

[growsaposy]

Not really. My Boss cat (of 3) considers the 6 chickens "his" to supervise during their free range afternoons. He watches them carefully, likes to stretch out on the grass right near them. They think he is a mighty strange looking chicken! They just got used to each other from the cat following around while I do chicken chores. Just keep an eye out for awhile. While they were chicks cats were not allowed near them. Good luck.

 

[TheChickenQueen]

If she keeps doing that when they are older they might get sick of her and go after her.

My last flock liked to chase the cats for no reason, and one of my cats is afraid of chickens including chicks

We don't have any issues other then when they are little.

 

[fatcatx]

Precautions would probably depend on the cat. Our cat will stalk younger chicks/pullets, but once they reach laying size they are more than she wants to take on and shows no interest in doing so. At that point, most chickens will put her in her place. If anything, the roos may go after her and she will be the one that needs saving!

I would keep them separated a while longer and at around 3 months, see how everyone acts under close supervision.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Not really. My Boss cat (of 3) considers the 6 chickens "his" to supervise during their free range afternoons. He watches them carefully, likes to stretch out on the grass right near them. They think he is a mighty strange looking chicken! They just got used to each other from the cat following around while I do chicken chores. Just keep an eye out for awhile. While they were chicks cats were not allowed near them. Good luck.

This is funny to me because my cat seems to be exhibiting some possible bonding behavior towards them. When I feed them garden greens in the morning, my cat parks herself next to them on the other side of the fence and eats grass.

 

[Den in Penn]

I did worry at first about unescorted chicks and cats. The broody mothers have taught them to leave chicks alone. Last few times time this broody has had her chicks out, I have often seen cats much closer the mom is, and the cats just watch at most.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I decided to go for it yesterday and am glad to report good progress. It's working out really well. The cat stalks, charges, and watches, but does nothing to harm them; and the chickens are wary and cautious, but not afraid of her. Her presence actually works to keep them together instead scattered like they get at times. She's becoming my chicken herder. I tell her to stay close enough to let them know she's there, but don't charge, just hold position. For the most part that's what she does. When she gets carried away, I pepper her with small pebbles and she gets the message. I think she's thrilled to be part of the team.

 

[jjaazzy]

I have 4 cats and started with Silkies then larger breeds, the cats don't care about the chickens even few day old silkie chicks they don't care. Was worried that cats would go after the tiny baby silkies in the brooder box but the cats go in the room and they just don't care. Been raising silkie chicks a couple of years now. No problems. Even the dogs now but that took some attitude adjustments with a couple of them.