We have a storage building with an adjoining chicken coop. It is predator proof, but occasionally they are out about in the yard to free range, and I can't say that we ALWAYS remember to lock them up at night. The storage building has a family of mice living under it, and I really don't want to lay out poison, knowing they might around the yard... poisoning other animals, or my one year old! So I thought about getting a cat, but of course, that means that he/she might bother my chickens and/or their hatchlings. Any other suggestions?
Cats don't eliminate mice but keep them to a lower population. If you got one you could introduce it to your chickens as a kitten and then it probably not attack them. Most cats will not kill a full grown chicken anyways.
Cats do not bother the adult chickens, and if there is a momma chicken raising them, SHE won't let them near her chicks. Some chickens also kill (and eat) mice, by the way.
My cats will shove the chickens out of the way to steal some fresh feed. They don't fight, though, and sometimes the male cat will curl up in a nest box with the teenage Silkies. My chickens have caught and eaten moles many times. I wouldn't worry about mice at all.
My cats are well-fed, but they never both my chickens. I brood my chicks in the tack room, and last year I accidentally locked in one of the best hunters with the chicks. The brooder didn't have a cover, and she never bothered them. Now I have a cover for the brooder tank. Even my Jack Russell gives them a wide berth -- he who is afraid of nothing -- except chickens! Becky
