UPDATE: Daughter flushed varmint out of the chicken coop tonight. Cat?

[ralleia]

or coon?

We had to run to the grocery store tonight, and it was just starting to get dark and chickens were going in to the coop after free-ranging this afternoon.

When we got home it was full dark and she went to lock up the coop while I unlocked and started to unload. She came running up to tell me there was something black and "not a chicken" in the coop. I grabbed the dog and we all ran back there, but it had fled. It was in the coop when she got there, and fled into the chicken run in a panic when she went in, crashing into the fence until it ran back into the coop and found a door.

She said it was black and "had a poofy tail." I have noticed a black and orange undersized possibly calico cat hanging around my property for the last week. I've considered borrowing a live trap from animal control and trying to trap her.

Would a feral cat have the nerve to go into a coop? What would a scrawny cat be able to do to a chicken? Could it be coon?

What to do to really determine its identity?

In any case, I want that feral cat gone.

 

[fishman65]

poofy tail sounds like coon. they will go into coop anytime they want. they have no fear. was probably just scoping out your buffet. If it was a cat they can be killers too.

 

[good ole boy]

i agree sounds like a coon. or maybe the stray cat, or maybe a skunk looking for eggs. either one is a menace. i say trap them or shoot them to avoid any losses

 

[MysticScorpio82]

my guess would be coon.

 

[ralleia]

Thank you all! I somewhat suspected it might be a coon, since the cat I saw didn't look bold enough to enter a chicken coop. I think I'll get a live trap, and then figure out where I'm to deliver anything that I might catch. At the very least it would be nice to be able to cart that feral cat off to animal control.

 

[fishman65]

do it quickly...predators don't wait once they find a new buffet. I usually don't relocate any animals that i trap. Don't like to make my problem someone elses problem. Also have had same animal come back and was twice as hard to trap. But whatever you chose do it today.

 

[ralleia]

Quote:
Oh, I am very much against "trap and release." For all I know, my current problem is the result of somebody deciding that my acreage is "rural enough" for their purposes.

All my mousetraps are kill traps (I've even heard of people doing catch and release with mice!) and the only reason I'm doing a live trap here is because there's always the possibility of catching someone's dog, cat, child, or one of my chickens!

If the local feed store doesn't have an appropriately-sized and strong-enough trap we might be forced to special-order, though.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

You have a commode in the chicken coop?

 

[ralleia]

Quote:
It took me almost a full minute to figure out where that comment was coming from--HAHAHAHA!

Nope, just a bidet for the ladies. Keeps the eggs nice and clean.

 

[ralleia]

UPDATE: My daughter noticed a half-grown white and orange cat laying in the horse pasture, watching the chickens as the chickens free-ranged. I was out planting some trees, and the hens started raising a ruckus, so I ran over there to see what was the matter. The little cat was half-curious about the chickens, and was trying to stalk them, but the chickens (who were also curious about the cat) would start squacking every time the cat made any sudden move. This caused the cat to stop suddenly in consternation.

I hung out there for a while and befriended the cat, who is half-tame at least. I offered her some good canned food but she only nibbled at it, so she can't be overly hungry.

She is also hanging out by our trash and recycling cans, so it's probable that she blundered into the coop that night. Cats aren't supposed to run free here, so if she continues to loiter here she'll be handed over to animal control.