new help

[chewchew101]

Hi I am new. My family is wanting to get chickens. We love eggs and I love animals. . I have two questions ,how will my 4 cats react to my chickens (baby chickens), and how my eggs will 3 chickens produce.:cd

edited by staff

 

[LovePolish2]

Welcome from Missouri

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, chewchew101, and

! Happy you joined us! It is hard to predict how your cats will react. Some cats have a highly refined predatory instinct and will see them for what they are - baby birds! Others, if properly introduced, come to see them as part of the family. I think the toughest time you will have is when you first get the birds and they are new to the cats.You can type the words 'introducing cats' into the BYC search bar and up will pop some discussions others have had on the subject.
Your second question also isn't easy to answer. Different breeds lay different numbers of eggs. Below is a link to a chart which gives you an idea as to laying ability. Good luck in your research!

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[rachlore]

All cats are naturally designed to hunt their prey and kill it, so you will want to take all precautions. I know a friend that had these two sweet little dogs that had never jumped or bit anything and one day, the family came home to find their chickens murdered by those two innocent dogs. It was devastating. You must not be careless when handling the chickens. Anyways, after that fine warning, WELCOME TO BYC!

Hope ya have fun!

 

[thasista]

Hi from KY!

I can tell you I have 4 cats that are my mousers. They will frequently stay in the chicken barn and have never tried to bother the chickens. I don't let them near my brooder however!

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC - keep an eye on the cats while the chickens are small - it is their instinct to hunt and kill.