My Coop Project (Pic Heavy)

[3 Golden Girls]

Paint job looks super.
Sorry you lost some of your chicks to the cat.
We have trapped cats easily in a cage similiar to yours. I just used a cheap smelly moist cat food.... took them to the SPCA.
Have trapped a few coons in the past too and those rascals smell the worst of any animal we ever trapped. Boy they stink!

 

[aggiemae]

20 POUNDS!!! That is a big cat! He doesn't touch the chickens?

I trapped another coon this morning. He is much bigger than the one I got last week. He will not be alive much longer. These suckers must be checking my coop every night waiting for me to slip up. It is a creepy thought!!

Sal

Yes, my cat would kill a chicken if given the opportunity... as would one of our four dogs... and the hawks that nest in the pines at the back of our property... and the cougar that roams the abandoned hospital up the road...


Um...its what raccoons, and hawks and cougars and even feral cats, do to SURVIVE. It's your responsibility to keep your pets safe and it seems to me that, as the intellectually superior being , you could figure out a way to do so without killing wild animals.

 

[slabcrappy]

WHOA! I missed quite a bit today. Yeesh.

1. I do contain my free range chickens in a 4 foot chain link fence completely surrounding my backyard.
2. My chicks are contained to another fenced in area within the completely surrounded chain link fenced in back yard.
3. I have no idea who owns this cat so talking to them is not an option.

So, they are double fenced in and were when this marauding cat came into my chick area and carried off two of my babies. To say that I am not properly protecting my flock is ignorant. But whatever. This is an open forum and everybody speaks their opinion, and sometimes they are wrong. If/when I trap this cat, it will go to the SPCA. There is a cat that comes over and hangs out with my chickens. She is super sweet and we welcome her over. But this black one I saw yesterday is the culprit of 2 of my babies being killed. I want to catch it.

Why is it that there are leash laws for dogs but absolutely nothing for cats??? I am thinking of getting an outdoor kitten and raising it with my babies so that it loves chickens but keeps rodents and other cats away. Has anyone done this or think it is a good/bad idea?

Sal

 

[slabcrappy]

Thank you all for the compliments! It is icing on the cake for me, as I love the functionality of the coop and the kind words are very encouraging. It took the birds 3 nights of me carrying them to the new coop at roost time for them to get it. The 4th night, they all went into the new coop on their own. It took them 5 days to get the fact that they are to use the nest boxes in the new coop to lay their eggs! So it took 5 days after opening the new coop to them for them to be 100% committed to it. I feel pretty good about that. During those days, it seemed like they were not going to get it, but looking back, that seems pretty good. Anyone have good or bad experience with switching coops after your birds were used to the old one?

 

[teamsunbelt]

I have moved a few around lately. They have coop and run. I leave them locked in for at least 5 days before they are let out to free range again. If they return, great. If they get mixed up, it is 5 more days. The only issue we have is a OEGB that never goes back with her rooster. She always finds another coop to get in.

 

[LaurenV]

WHOA! I missed quite a bit today. Yeesh.

1. I do contain my free range chickens in a 4 foot chain link fence completely surrounding my backyard.
2. My chicks are contained to another fenced in area within the completely surrounded chain link fenced in back yard.
3. I have no idea who owns this cat so talking to them is not an option.

So, they are double fenced in and were when this marauding cat came into my chick area and carried off two of my babies. To say that I am not properly protecting my flock is ignorant. But whatever. This is an open forum and everybody speaks their opinion, and sometimes they are wrong. If/when I trap this cat, it will go to the SPCA. There is a cat that comes over and hangs out with my chickens. She is super sweet and we welcome her over. But this black one I saw yesterday is the culprit of 2 of my babies being killed. I want to catch it.

Why is it that there are leash laws for dogs but absolutely nothing for cats??? I am thinking of getting an outdoor kitten and raising it with my babies so that it loves chickens but keeps rodents and other cats away. Has anyone done this or think it is a good/bad idea?

Sal

I got a kitten last year in September or August and it was always around my chickens. It is curious about them but has never tried to approach one or has tried to eat one or anything. I say to give it a go!

 

[aggiemae]

Quote: Actually some communities do have laws for 'cats at large'.

Getting a kitten to raise with your chickens is a great idea. Cats are very territorial and their presence will keep other cats away. In our case females cast seem to be better mousers and more territorial but I am sure other people have had different experiences. The one suggestion (aside from prompt spaying of any outdoor cat) I would offer is that you provide the cat with a litter box, it takes some maintenance but a clean dry place to dig will keep the cat from crapping in your garden.

 

[fillmore]

I say trap the cat and kill it

Just recommended having a conversation with the neighbor to resolve the situation like adults. he messes with the wrong person and they may end up doing something as bad, or worse, to get even. does the neighbor even know what happened? novel idea here, but maybe give him a heads up to remedy the situation. based on nothing but posted photos, the setup appears to be in the middle of suburbia protected only by a 3' chain-link fence. it doesnt take much common sense to determine there may be some security issues.

 

[TonySorrento]

Let 's look back and see where this all went bad ...
...an assumption that said OP knows who's cat it is and another one that states the OP wouldn't talk to the neighbor first before trapping said feline ... then a threat that if you try and protect your birds from the neighbors pet, the neighbors will kill your birds ....

Yes, my cat would kill a chicken if given the opportunity... as would one of our four dogs... and the hawks that nest in the pines at the back of our property... and the cougar that roams the abandoned hospital up the road...


Um...its what raccoons, and hawks and cougars and even feral cats, do to SURVIVE. It's your responsibility to keep your pets safe and it seems to me that, as the intellectually superior being , you could figure out a way to do so without killing wild animals.

Now Aggie, here we have a condescending remark towards the OP ... followed by an allusion to the OP being irresponsible and possibly not intelligent ....


Here I have to apologize for my comments about cats ... I should have been more specific .. I really meant to target ONLY the offending stray cat .... of course I would talk to the neighbor if I knew whose cat it was, and I like barn cats especially ... so I will take the beat down on my cat statement and try and clarify it ... I like cats and appreciate them ... I would kill one that threatened my birds if the owner didn't help keeping it away ...



~Edited by staff to remove rehash of removed posts~

 

[TonySorrento]

Originally Posted by TonySorrento

Removed*

Al ... my apologies for the "it's just a cat" comment .. I am actually very fond of cats .... I appreciate you calling me out on that .... I was frustrated with a few other comments from other posters and let that show in my post...like I said, I like cats ... my neighbor has plenty of them roaming around keeping the mice population down .. and I like that alot! :