MY GIRLS ARE SOOO BRAVE!

[cherrychicken]

last night i went out to have dinner w/ the chickens. i had already let them out so i didn't have to do it with my food in hand. so as i came out from the kitchen were i was getting my food, i saw a large black cat crouched in the grass eying my chickens! i was too stunned to do anything for a second, but in that moment one of my black cochins softly called to the rest of the flock and they began to chase the cat! i love my babies! they're so brave!

p.s. there are lots of feral cats around here. once i saw possibly the same black cat on top of the chicken yard. there was alot of yelling going on

 

[cherrychicken]

also, i need your opinions on if i should trap it and take it to the shelter or leave it happy and not uthenized (however you spell that) for sure!

 

[cherrychicken]

i am sooooo proud of them!

 

[LilBizzy]

I would honestly suggest trapping it. First of all, you dont know what it might carry as far as disease or bugs. And you don't know when it might get hungry enough to get one of your girls.
I've see alot of feral cats, and I don't think they are really happy. They have to find shelter from wind, rain, cold and hot sun. They have to scrounge for food. They have no one to pet them, or love them, or help them when injured or sick. Then, from constant inbreeding, they start getting sicker, weaker, and otherwise less than good. Sometimes euthanization , a quick and easy death is much easier and more humane than letting them continue that not so nice life.

But hurray for your girls! Yes, they are brave.

 

[cherrychicken]

ok thanks!

 

[Ladysonja]

We have two young ferel cats eye balling our coop/run and girls. They moved in about two weeks ago.

The poor thing, was eating chicken feed that I put at the end of the drive way for the unowned free ranging rooster.

I think the darn cats got the last free range hen because there is a terrible oder coming from the woods behind my coop and I think she was hatching a batch of eggs.

Honey is going to set the live traps tonight. My girls and chicks are pretty secure. We put the last bit of hard wire and buried it around the bottom of the coop this morning.

If possible, I'll take them to the shelter. It depends on how ferel it is and how it acts.

I would seriously think about setting a live trap. The girls may have been able to chase it off once, but ...

Good Luck...

 

[cherrychicken]

thanks

 

[EliteTempleton]

Thanks for asking the question, I've often wondered for a moment(usually when I see them) what affect they have on an ecosystem. Now I have that answer and a wonderful solution I did not expect:

Trap-Neuter-Return(TNR). No worries it seems that it is easy enough to find a vet who will Neuter and Vaccinate them for free or at a very low cost.

http://www.metroanimal.org/feral/main.shtml has some great info about the feral cat issue. Including:

"Eradication has failed to reduce the feral cat population, but has increased euthanasia figures in the United States dramatically.

Cats are removed, but the food source – rodents, dumpsters, etc. – remains. Thus, the surviving cats have less competition for food. They will breed several times a year, quickly recolonizing. The removal creates a vacuum, which can be followed by an influx of an equal number of new cats. With the new cats, fighting and nuisance spraying increases as the new cats compete for a place in the community. In little time, you are back to square one.

An established colony will defend its territory to protect the food source, limiting the addition of new cats to the group; for this reason, leaving spayed and neutered cats in a colony is the best deterrent to population growth. The TNR approach stabilizes the colonies and eliminates many of the problems people find annoying about feral cats. Spraying and urine odor abates; mating yowls are eliminated; and fighting is reduced. "

They also have an article about trapping them, but I found that I liked this article's suggestions a bit more.

This link is pretty informative about the issue as well, but also includes some contact info concerning information on Low Cost Spay/Neuter.

Now I am off to ponder catching the few feral cats in my neighborhood....