looking to get a barn cat and need help!!!!!!!!

[Skyesrocket]

I love this! Good thinking! I usually let my roo or broody momma's teach a new kitten. I'm going to try this out.
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[zzGypsy]

wish I could claim credit for thinking this up, but I learned it from a guy who breeds chickens professionally.
also, important to note that if you want the cats not *terrorized* by chickens, it's best to wait until kitty's furry little brain has seized on hunting them before executing the maneuver. otherwise the poor critter may just think chickens are crazy and eat cats for no reason...

 

[HudokFarm]

HAHA, love your idea Gypsy!

We have 12 barn cats. Most either wandered onto our property and just stayed because they like it. It started with 2 females who were not spayed immediately. Thus the large population on our farm. But we have NO rodent problems!

Our cats have ALWAYS been terrified of the chickens and give them a WIDE berth when they are all out roaming at the same time. Cats are not dumb, after one run-in with a chicken they will know to leave them alone. When we first got them, our (full grown) chickens went after any cat within 20 feet. They are a little more comfortable with them now, but still don't let a cat within 5 feet. At that close, our cats are either tippy-toeing around the chickens or running for their lives. One of our cats has a scar on his nose from a close encounter with our Little Red Hen. Chicks are obviously a different story. Our chicks are raised inside until they are fully feathered and fully-beaked.

Getting a shelter cat is a great idea, but some shelters do have policies that require adopted cats to be indoor only or specify that they cannot become barn cats. Most in my area have this kind of clause. You could also check Craigslist to see if any local barn cat owners have kittens to give away. Did you know that the American Shorthair is the world's best mouser? Saw it on Animal Planet, so it must be true!

Just remember, if you have barn cats and horses both do NOT leave cat food out all the time. It can lure oposums whose droppings can carry the organism responsible for the development of EPM in horses.

 

[OkChickens]

HAHA, love your idea Gypsy!

We have 12 barn cats. Most either wandered onto our property and just stayed because they like it. It started with 2 females who were not spayed immediately. Thus the large population on our farm. But we have NO rodent problems!

Our cats have ALWAYS been terrified of the chickens and give them a WIDE berth when they are all out roaming at the same time. Cats are not dumb, after one run-in with a chicken they will know to leave them alone. When we first got them, our (full grown) chickens went after any cat within 20 feet. They are a little more comfortable with them now, but still don't let a cat within 5 feet. At that close, our cats are either tippy-toeing around the chickens or running for their lives. One of our cats has a scar on his nose from a close encounter with our Little Red Hen. Chicks are obviously a different story. Our chicks are raised inside until they are fully feathered and fully-beaked.

Getting a shelter cat is a great idea, but some shelters do have policies that require adopted cats to be indoor only or specify that they cannot become barn cats. Most in my area have this kind of clause. You could also check Craigslist to see if any local barn cat owners have kittens to give away. Did you know that the American Shorthair is the world's best mouser? Saw it on Animal Planet, so it must be true!

Just remember, if you have barn cats and horses both do NOT leave cat food out all the time. It can lure oposums whose droppings can carry the organism responsible for the development of EPM in horses.

I have a barn cat that found us a few months ago and I feed her on a shelf about 4ft up. the shelf is about 2 ft wife and 6 ft long. We feed her a little food almost everyday to make her hunt her own food. We see her catch birds and mice and she has gained weight since she came here. During the summer we will probably feed her everyday to every other day to keep the rodents out. We believe she was an inside cat at one point because she is so calm and is a great mouser! She is fine with the chickens large and small, even baby chicks. I have them in brooders with wire tops and she just looks at them. When I go to feed them early in the morning she will stand on the floor and look over the edge at the chicks. I don't thing she is neutered but we are planning to have that done this summer. Check with some local farmers or Craigslist.

Nate