New chickens and other pets

[LVchicks]

Has anyone successfully introduced a cat to chicks/young chickens?

Our chicks will be in a brooder in a secure location that our two cats (one indoor/outdoor, another outdoor/semi-feral) cannot access.

Here's the thing.
My indoor/outdoor cat has almost zero prey response. The only things he ever goes after are lizards, spiders and scorpions. He is very calm, sweet, affectionate and a bit of a push over...our 5lb outdoor cat is his 'grandmother' and she pushes him (a solid 15 lb boy) around like a kitten. Yes, he is still a cat and therefore a threat but he doesn't worry me like the real feral tomcats (two in the 'hood) and hawks and such. He is territorial and will stir it up with the two toms if pushed.

Don't laugh but has anyone ever had any success in "training" a cat (I realize that is a bit of an oxymoron) to be a bit of a guard cat? To see the chickens as part of his territory and chase other predators away? Or to at least not see half grown/full grown chickens as lunch?

I do have a dog. He is a lab/greyhound mix and while such a good boy, is dumb as a box of rocks. Guard dog?? LOL!!! No. anyone and anything is just a playmate. Ever seen this meme?

This would be my Murphy. I fully expect him to either a) be afraid of the chickens or b) wanna play (where he could accidentally hurt a chicken). He will be useless in protecting them. Even the squirrels aren't afraid of him. They will come and eat out of his dog bowl while he lays there and watches them. He is on a 40 ft line during the day. The chickens would have to get within his reach for him to bother them at all.

 

[thebanthams]

chickens are so hyper that they like to fly and hop around, it will get cats so excited ! You can try to introduced them, but I will keep an eye on them in case theres feathers in their mouths! My small dos (yorkies) dont care about them, all they care about is eating their poop and rolling in it ! My border collie wants to eat them. she likes to chase them off.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I believe that a cat is a cat and that a cat will always be a cat regardless of how much time you invest in training a cat to violate its basic nature. If you doubt me, then I wish to point out what happened to Sigfried and Roy.

 

[Kitty990]

we kept our cats away from our girls until they were large but we interduced them together a couple of time under close watch when they were chicks. this is better done with two people. if we lost control of the cat or a chick fell huby was there with the spray battle or there to get the chick without letting the cat go. he has a party cool in temperment but he has been around rabbits before the chickens. we didn't lose control of him but we had to correct him from pawing the chicks. when training/playdates we kept Sukoshi, our cat, in our lap und let the lil chicks walk on the table in front of him. sniffing and getting close was okay but the moment he lifted a paw we just gently lowered it for him. if he wanted on the table and jumped up we place him on the floor. he got the hint und now he is going to be 6 on Feb 16 und the chickens are about five month fully grown. we did train him not to attack the rabbits when they were young but we were always there und if he did misbehave we had the water und clapped our hands. now my cat does not go after any animal we interduce to him as 'friend'. he follows me in und around the chickens coop und does not attack. but as for a graud... (laughs too hard). i see him hanging out with the stray under the heat lamp in the run area (greenhouse) just chilling.

as for dogs... i don't like them, don't trust them. normally anything that moves is a 'toy' this include the mailman/sellsman. interduce the new family members to any animal you have und keep up on them. let him understand the chickens are 'friend/family' not 'toy'. if you keep a close watch and make corrections when needed then they can live together as a 'pack'. try the two person tag team with your dog too, make sure you have him leashed to something if he tries to leap. you might want to inforce the sit und stay command if he is playful. when you do this expect some oops' to haben. grandmutter had an issue with one of the farm dogs, where she, the dog, would kill anything cats, chickens... anything small that was not penned, she went after the cafes too. after biting a cousin und i grandvater took care of her... the farm way.

 

[LVchicks]

we kept our cats away from our girls until they were large but we interduced them together a couple of time under close watch when they were chicks. this is better done with two people. if we lost control of the cat or a chick fell huby was there with the spray battle or there to get the chick without letting the cat go. he has a party cool in temperment but he has been around rabbits before the chickens. we didn't lose control of him but we had to correct him from pawing the chicks. when training/playdates we kept Sukoshi, our cat, in our lap und let the lil chicks walk on the table in front of him. sniffing and getting close was okay but the moment he lifted a paw we just gently lowered it for him. if he wanted on the table and jumped up we place him on the floor. he got the hint und now he is going to be 6 on Feb 16 und the chickens are about five month fully grown. we did train him not to attack the rabbits when they were young but we were always there und if he did misbehave we had the water und clapped our hands. now my cat does not go after any animal we interduce to him as 'friend'. he follows me in und around the chickens coop und does not attack. but as for a graud... (laughs too hard). i see him hanging out with the stray under the heat lamp in the run area (greenhouse) just chilling.

as for dogs... i don't like them, don't trust them. normally anything that moves is a 'toy' this include the mailman/sellsman. interduce the new family members to any animal you have und keep up on them. let him understand the chickens are 'friend/family' not 'toy'. if you keep a close watch and make corrections when needed then they can live together as a 'pack'. try the two person tag team with your dog too, make sure you have him leashed to something if he tries to leap. you might want to inforce the sit und stay command if he is playful. when you do this expect some oops' to haben. grandmutter had an issue with one of the farm dogs, where she, the dog, would kill anything cats, chickens... anything small that was not penned, she went after the cafes too. after biting a cousin und i grandvater took care of her... the farm way.

I think that is what we'll do. A little introduction and then take it from there.
Murphy has had the opportunity to hunt/kill all kinds of things and he doesn't. After our last dog who had an over-the-top prey response and would hunt and kill anything that moved (we re-homed her before we moved to TX), this dog is a breath of fresh air. The extent of his hunting is to bark at scorpions in the house, he tells us so we can come kill them. Good boy. I'll have to introduce him to the chicks for no other reason than he'll stand at the garage door (where they will be brooded) and bark once he smells them. Whenever I am holding an animal in the garage (stray, injured etc...) he barks until he can see what it is, once he checks it out, he settles down