Mystery of missing chickens solved

[kstaven]

Ok folks. Lets keep this civil. The I'M RIGHT AND YOU ARE WRONG gets us all nowhere fast and digresses into a situation that forces us to close threads and give warnings. I would rather not do this, but if I have to, I will.

 

[DuckLady]

To back kstaven up, I wish to point out that the rules for this forum are stricter than the rest of the board.

Since it seems many have not read them, here is a link
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5808

I have cleaned this thread up of the judgemental and flame posts and we will expect that if you cannot add anything helpful to the OP's situation you will refrain from posting.

 

[ole-crone]

We have 5 "feral" cats in our household and one that was born in the bedroom. Of the five, one was a baby when it was rescued and put up for adoption by the humane society. She's was quite the hunter in her day but now spends her time huddled between my eyes and the computer screen - trying to drive me crazy. Yes, she killed the occasional bird but she was worth her weight in gold for rodent control.

Two and three were born to a wild mother in the ceiling of our root cellar. We managed to tame the litter after the mom disappeared and gave most away.

Four was found frozen to the concrete driveway at a friend's house. We thawed him out on a rice bag, he forgot that he had been wild and is the most loving cat I've ever known. His name is Lazarus.

Five was found crying behind our refridgerator last summer. Yes, in our house! I have no idea how he got there. We keep the back door open so the dogs can come and go and he must have been a curious little fellow. From his size, I suspect that he is the offspring of the feral cat that is a pain - he loves to pick fights. We named his son Bucky and he's brought home a bird but now he mostly ignores them.

Eventhough Bucky's dad is a pain, he doesn't bother our chickens - he mostly stays out in the pasture or alfalfa field, hunting mice. I'd probably feel different if he constantly stalked birds at our feeders. I guess we're lucky enough that the field mouse population gives these feral cats something useful to do.

We keep our cats neutered but they are both inside/outside (if they want). We have a lidless tub full of baby chicks now - and they leave them alone.

I don't think I could ever kill a cat just because they killed a bird. The cowbirds and magpies kill more baby birds than our cats. I guess I just see them as doing what they do naturally. I discourage it and for some reason that seems to work.

 

[legacyln]

Quote:
Used to help an animal rescue group and agree totally. There are too many cats. We trapped TONS of them. We'd re-home the tame ones and
euthanize the ferals. There are a limited number of homes, save the homes for cats than be sucessfully adopted and integrated into a family!

 

[kartking22]

Well said gila_dog. There are many predators that love to eat chickens because of the fact that they are slow and dumb. Preditors target these easy prey because of that fact. We, as keepers of the flock need to educate each other on how to keep these preditors out. Education about the preditors in your area is the key to keeping the chickens and all birds safe. My list of preditors in this area include and still counting.......Racoons, skunks, rats, weasels, mink, pine martins, badgers, red tailed hawks, owls, bald eagles, chicken hawks, bob cats, lynx, mountain lions, coyotes, wolves, fox, Black bears, also need to mention the neighbors cats and dogs. My cats included. It's almost impossible to keep them safe from everything. Just concentrate on the biggest preditors in your area and set up your enclosure accordingly. Just remember that free range is a free lunch for any preditor in the area. I learned that mistake too. Keep them safe or expect some loss. Actually, expect loss while learning to keep them safe......
It's all a learning experience. I thought that I knew everything too and they showed me a new way to get my birds. LOL I'm still finding ways to counter thier tactics. Wish me luck to fend them off. If you need some ideas to fend off preditors on my list, let me know. I can try to help but can't make any promices.