Rasing a kitten with chicks

[CONCRETEBOX]

Hi All,
I was thinking of getting a kitten the same day I pickup my chicks. The plan would be to raise them togeter in the brooder and then later they would live together in the coop. The point being, the kitten would bond with the chicks and as an adult cat protect them from preditors and also be a mouser.

Anyone have any experience with somthing like that?
-J

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

I love this idea, but a young kitten ready to be away from mama is going to be rough with the chicks. Instinct will just be too much. But if you could get an extremely young kitten and hand feed it, maybe that would help. But a kitten ready to leave Mama will kill a chick even if they are just playing.

 

[SilverBirds]

I recently got two kittens. I don't have chicks right now, but they've done really with my big birds. The chickens were really weary to start off with but they do really well now. As long as you supervise them together, they should be okay. Good luck!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Pretty sure yhe brooder would be way too hot for a cat, first of all

 

[SB907]

I foster bottle baby kittens and my current foster has been around my chicks since before her eyes opened, so is used to the sounds/smells/etc. She absolutely wants to play with them and plays far too rough for me to allow that. I would not hesitate to raise a kitten around older, bigger chickens that could defend themselves, but I would not let a kitten around chicks smaller than them without extremely close supervision. One play-bite is all it takes.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Raise them together in the brooder? I wouldn't. It would be too hot and crowded. And besides, the kitten would most certainly attack the chicks. (Probably playfully at first).

Also, it is cruel to take a very young kitten away for its mother and siblings.

 

[CONCRETEBOX]

Thanks for the input, y'all.

 

[RubelliteRose]

While it wouldn't be a good idea to raise a kitten in the brooder, you could still give the kitten supervised time outside of the brooder so they will be used to each other. We brood inside using 2 extra large dog crates with screening on the bottom half. We let our dog in the room so she and the chicks could see each other, but not touch.