Training cats to leave chickens alone

[mamacazz69]

Is there methods to teach young cats to leave chickens alone? I have 3 kittens who are recently moved outdoors, and the two males are very interested in my flock. They have chased my two bantams, and stalked the others. They also are interested in the call ducks, but they are in a pen right now so they haven't chased them yet. It seemed to help when I threw a bucket at one who was stalking the banty roo.

At any given time, we have 2-7 cats/kittens around. Our momma cat is very protective of our flock & teaches the kittens to be likewise & not to mess with the chickens. (We had the momma cat long before we got chickens.) I've seen her lure them near the fences, to which the chickens react in similar fashion, & all it takes is a quick peck or two. I believe the momma cat sees that we care for all of our animals the same & she takes the responsibility to teach her kittens. Then all of our cats become protectors of the flock. We have actually lost more cats to would-be predators, stray cats included, than chickens. Our kittens are occasionally curious about the chickens & will closely observe them. However, if they get too close, either chickens (usually hens) or momma cat, will set them straight again. Peace.

 

[atxlluv]

Is there methods to teach young cats to leave chickens alone? I have 3 kittens who are recently moved outdoors, and the two males are very interested in my flock. They have chased my two bantams, and stalked the others. They also are interested in the call ducks, but they are in a pen right now so they haven't chased them yet. It seemed to help when I threw a bucket at one who was stalking the banty roo.

Is there methods to teach young cats to leave chickens alone? I have 3 kittens who are recently moved outdoors, and the two males are very interested in my flock. They have chased my two bantams, and stalked the others. They also are interested in the call ducks, but they are in a pen right now so they haven't chased them yet. It seemed to help when I threw a bucket at one who was stalking the banty roo.

 

[atxlluv]

When we first had kittens, we put them in the barn with the chickens. Since the chickens were bigger, they learned to leave them alone. We have black australorps, so they are fairly large. Our cats don’t bother them. If they try, they get pecked and don’t try again. Even the cats that didn’t start in the barn leave the chickens alone. If they approach the chickens, it usually ends badly for the cat. The last time a cat tried something, she came out of the barn with a bloody gash on her face and no chickens were harmed at all.

 

[Fairview01]

Feed the cats more. Fat cats get lazy and ignore everything except food in the bowl.

 

[tohbi]

i caught the neighbors cat in a live trap, didn't want to kill it so sprayed it with a hose to discourage it. didn't work, cat was back within two weeks. now, it's too smart to be trapped. i've lost too many animals to cats. i'd like to get rid of it.

only humans exceed cats in a desire to kill for sport.

 

[Fairview01]

i caught the neighbors cat in a live trap, didn't want to kill it so sprayed it with a hose to discourage it. didn't work, cat was back within two weeks. now, it's too smart to be trapped. i've lost too many animals to cats. i'd like to get rid of it.

only humans exceed cats in a desire to kill for sport.

Have a go with a bobcat sometime. I'll trade a bobcat for a dozen feral house cats any day.

 

[random_user]

Is there methods to teach young cats to leave chickens alone? I have 3 kittens who are recently moved outdoors, and the two males are very interested in my flock. They have chased my two bantams, and stalked the others. They also are interested in the call ducks, but they are in a pen right now so they haven't chased them yet. It seemed to help when I threw a bucket at one who was stalking the banty roo.

Sorry to just see this (5 years later--what a way to bump a thread), but this is a GREAT time to train your kittens.

First, if you have flock guardians (aka flock guard dogs), introduce your kittens to the dogs as a member of the pack. A good flock guardian/pack can help train the kittens what is and is not appropriate behavior. And if your kittens are included into the dog pack (yes, it is absolutely possible to socialize your kittens so they become part of a pack of well-socialized dogs), with a little luck, your cats will actually learn to protect your flock.

Second, if you do not have flock guardian dogs, you will need to introduce the chickens to the kittens and visa versa in the role of the alpha/leader. A good roo or lead hen can also let unwelcome predation behavior from kittens be quickly squelched with a few harsh pecks. Anything more or repeated by the roo/hen would need to be corrected by you (the alpha) so the chickens also learn what is tolerable and unacceptable behavior.

Last, distinguish if your kittens are demonstrating stalking or herding behavior (yes, I'm serious about this). If you have working dogs (like border collies or Australian shepherds), and your kittens observe their herding behavior, it is possible that the kittens can pick up on this and try it out on something that is closer to their size ratio.

It sounds like the behavior you described is more stalking with intent to eat prey/chickens, so intervening as a strong and gentle leader to and socialize both your chickens and kittens will be important.

One idea would be holding each kitten gently while walking up to one of the gentler hens, getting down on your knees while still holding the kitten in your arms, let the curious chicken come up to you and investigate the kitten and let them sniff each other while talking in a gentle voice and petting the kitten. This lets the kitten know this is okay behavior. Cats respond very well to positive reinforcement and confidence is developed when they feel safe in a task.

Hope this helps!

P.S. Wide berth socialization of kittens/puppies with your farm animals aka kitten/dog/chicken/duck/goose introduction does wonders for not just your cats, but also your chickens. The result can be cats who think they're flock guardians along with the dog flock guardians. The most fun is when the cats actually work in teams with the dogs to herd chickens and then take this to heart to try to herd wild birds--wild turkeys dont like to be herded LOL.