Is this a good idea?

[Krugerrand]

Did you build a owl nesting box? If you can get barn owls ... they shouldn't be big enough to want to take on a chicken.

 

[NestingMillenial]

I hope this works and look forward to hear the results! Keep us updated

Just adding my two cents against barn cats here: if you don't have any, don't get them! Cats are certainly going to keep unwanted critters at a minimum but they kill everything else in the process. It doesn't matter that they are fed, it doesn't matter that you think you trained them to kill only one type of critters, and it doesn't matter that you don't see them kill anything else, they will hunt indiscriminately. It's just a fact, there are plenty of studies on this out there and no cat is an exception. And even if they don't kill (which again, they do!), they displace wild populations for a long long time. There is a huge amount of documentation out there on the damages feral or even just outdoor cats do to any and all biodiversity. If you have a cat and like nature even just a bit, make it an inside cat.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I hope this works and look forward to hear the results! Keep us updated

Just adding my two cents against barn cats here: if you don't have any, don't get them! Cats are certainly going to keep unwanted critters at a minimum but they kill everything else in the process. It doesn't matter that they are fed, it doesn't matter that you think you trained them to kill only one type of critters, and it doesn't matter that you don't see them kill anything else, they will hunt indiscriminately. It's just a fact, there are plenty of studies on this out there and no cat is an exception. And even if they don't kill (which again, they do!), they displace wild populations for a long long time. There is a huge amount of documentation out there on the damages feral or even just outdoor cats do to any and all biodiversity. If you have a cat and like nature even just a bit, make it an inside cat.

So your solution to the problem of existing Feral cat's is what? Feral cat's are wild animals, they can't live indoors, it's not possible or they would be adopted out as indoor only cats. The Feral Cat coalition provides the spaying and neutering of Feral cat's to not further the problem of colony's and then people like me provide a safe home for the unwanted cats. The only other solution for them is death which would seem based on your concerns for other animal life, like a vicious cycle of deciding in nature what should and shouldn't live? If you have a solution I'll be happy to pass the idea on the Feral Cat Coalition.

 

[NestingMillenial]

My solution is to not add feral (or outdoor) cats ^^ That's all I was saying here.

But if we want to talk about trap-neuter-release programs, there is also ample documentation showing that they do not work when it comes to decreasing the number of feral cats - they reproduce fast enough that only missing a few is enough to basically render the whole effort useless. So yes, I'm afraid that human trapping and killing would be the only way to go, if one wanted to address the feral cat population problem in any meaningful way. But again, I was actually not telling anyone to go and kill any cat, I was just trying to encourage others to not add to the population of cats that are outdoors, that's all.

I think the idea of encouraging barn owls nesting is actually a pretty good solution here, and one that does not come attached to the same problems a feral or barn cat would bring. My family always had barn owls nesting around our property and we had bantam chickens that were free ranging all day (regularly with chicks) and we never had any problem with the owls going after either the adults or the chicks, so it seems it would work out well!

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

We just despatch them if we get them, the message is out there now

Same here, once they find the chicken feed they think its an all you can eat buffet. I live trap them and dispatch them.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I was just trying to encourage others to not add to the population of cats that are outdoors, that's all.

Unfortunately the cat is already out there, outdoors. It's just been relocated in a Feral barn cat program which does not add to the population. The volunteers that round up the Feral cat's, spay/neuter, then adopt out are nothing short of saints. Personally, I don't follow being pro nature/animal life but then having your list of "well not this animal though." It doesn't really make sense. So I might question even relocating the cats and just saying nature should figure it out.... Yet, the colonies are usually creating some major disturbance and that's how they are discovered. I'm not 100% is disagreement with you I just think it's very complicated. I also don't agree that spay/neuter programs should just stop. I spend alot of time on the Big Island and Covid has made the feral cat population and problem much worse with lack of spay/neuter services.

 

[NestingMillenial]

I understood the OP as saying they don't have a cat yet so adding a cat would be adding a cat, even if the cat is pulled from somewhere else.
The damages a cat causes on biodiversity are not instantly reversed even if the cat is moved, and chances are the cat would be coming from a place where there are already many cats, so one less would most likely only be a marginal change anyway. So for OP to adopt an outdoor cat would effectively just be spreading the problem as it is.

I understand where you come from, but where I would disagree with you is the fact that cats are a part of nature. They are as much a part of it as we are (or any domesticated breed for that matter), which is not much at all anymore. Cats have been heavily selected by us, they have not evolved with the current environment, which means the current environment has not had the time to evolve the proper mechanisms needed to survive a cat either, which is why we see that well documented biodiversity collapse when feral or outdoor cats come in a new place that was free of them before. In that respect, an outdoor/feral cat is closer to an invasive species (in how it can damage an environment it is not a part of). So since their presence is our doing, it is thus our responsibility too, and we can't just hope that nature will deal with it, unfortunately - especially that said nature is often not in peak condition these days, and might find it hard to deal with one more thing.

But hey, I am not heartless, I know it's easier said than done. My bf has a feral cat and I would never want to have her killed, even if I know (and see) what she does. It's a sad situation all around. I don't think of people rescuing cats as evil doers by any means, but I think it fair to encourage someone who, as I understood it, does not already have a cat in their backyard to not put one there.

 

[Captain13]

I don’t know if this will work on ground squirrels but it does seem to work on grey squirrels. We have had problems with squirrels and mice eating wiring on farm equipment and even one of the trucks. Spraying with a mixture of peppermint oil and water repels them pretty effectively. Since using this method, we have had no wiring chewed on a tractor or vehicle.

Now, two years ago we had a lot of moles and ground squirrels come on to one edge of our property. While mowing one day, I saw a rat snake that disappeared into a hole as I approached. Within a couple of weeks, the moles and ground squirrels were no more. I realize you don’t want a snake near your coop but if the squirrels keep handing around, eventually a snake will show up and go to work.

 

[JeanetteDunn]

We are too rural for barn cats as well as we don't have a barn and are next to a busy street. These are literally backyard chickens. lol (on an acre of property)

I've been selectively tossing a few of the dog's chicken treats out when I see neighbor cats out there. Makes them come around more often, and help out; especially at night. Unfortunately, my beagle hates cats, but helps with rat catching. I have recently acquired a high grade slingshot. I am honing my skills. I keep snap traps inside the chicken coop. Saw a family of them in the storage cabinet in there. Going to shut the chickens out and bug bomb the coop with the rats in there. Then I have to wash the coop out, but I have to do that anyway.

 

[JeanetteDunn]

I have a dilemma... over the last month, ground squirrels have been getting into the coop, eating the feed, and eating/stealing the eggs. I fortified the coop, sprayed pepper powder/paste in and around the coop, and mixed it into their food. I collect the eggs often. Because we let the chickens out into the yard, the front door to our coop stays open.

Because they are ground squirrels, they are burrowing under our outer perimeter fence line. I have a natural pepper spray I put in the holes will put something large in the hole and then fill in the hole. Because it's the outside fence line, and I don't care how out of control it gets, I planted mint (which should help with other animals).

But after all that, the squirrels still feast. I even allowed the crows back into the yard to help with the rodent population (upside-down fake crows really do work to keep them out of the yard!).

My question to the wonderful chicken fandom, I wanted to put up owl nesting boxes on the other side of the outer fence where there is an open field (where there is a huge ground squirrel/ rat population). Chickens stay locked up at night, no large predators can get into the coop.

Is this a good idea?

I had an armadillo making tunnels in two flowerbeds on one side of the house. Tried trapping, moth balls, etc. Finally got a large container of cayenne pepper and dumped it in the holes. It left. I'm going to put cayenne pepper around in the coop and see if that keeps rodents r-u-n-n-o-f-t!