Urgent Advice Needed (cats Attacking My Hens And Ducks)

ChurpyChicken

Songster
10 Years
Sep 19, 2009
136
1
109
Buxton/Leek
Hi Everyone,

I'm having a major problem at the moment.

First a local lady from up the roads cat keeps coming around my chickens, yesterday I went to the back door and there it was eating the chickens food, which was abit worrying as they are all free range and it could attack them at any point so I opened the back door and the cat then chased my hens and one flow onto next doors shed! It then continued to keep coming back, we have tried chucking cold water on it but it will not go away, we have 3 dogs which are excellent with the chickens (to the point the hens ride on there backs!!!!) and I let them out when it comes but it seems to then try to take on the dogs, or hid behind the wall.

Also 2 stray cats keep emerging, last night there was a white and black ones coming around trying to get into the hen house, I believe this may be really hungry as they are very skinny and seem to be strays.. If I can catch them I will take them down to the cats home or find them a really good home.

The 2 cockerels do there best, stand on the wall and crow at the cat and bulk there chest out. But nothing seems to get rid of these cats.

How can I stop this?

I have thought about putting cat food out, or is this going to encourage them?

Thought about one of the alarm sensors that is suppose to hurt a cat/dogs ears so they don't come around, but it would upset my dogs.
 
Put out some cat sized Havahart traps, bait them with canned cat food and cart the little darlings off to the nearest animal shelter.
 
Low powered BB gun. Make sure it's not a high powered one, they can be badly hurt by one. My neighbor had her cat shot by a high powered BB/Pellet gun and he almost died because it actually penetrated and went into his lung.

The only other thing and it's the safest way is to build them a protected run.
 
Quote:
Be careful about this. In some areas, injuring an animal with something like a BB gun is considered cruelty to animals.

Safest route is trap and animal shelter/pound.
 
Not keen on hurting the cats until they injure my hens and then I would!

I have a trap, not very big but I think it will do the job and shall set it up later this evening when the strays come is usually when it goes dusk..

I have 2 ducks they are really fat and are Mr and Mrs Duck, would a stray cat be able to kill these?
 
Well, none of the cats who decided to check out my ducks has ever done damage. Usually the ducks chase them off, but I have more than you.

A big feral tom cat could probably take on a duck. Your average house cat? Most likely not.
 
Quote:
Buy some Purina cat chow and feed the cats they will hunt rodents for you. Cats will only eat your babiy chicks. Have cats here! Rather spend money on kitty food then rat poison.
 
I say fill a squirt gun with paint. When they start coming home all covered in paint, maybe the owners will get the hint and keep them there. I seriously doubt a cat could do much to a full grown chicken, though. It'd be the chicks I'd worry about. My chickens are in a covered run because I worry about predators getting them. It'd be nice to let them run free, but I just don't want to take the chance.
 
I feel for you. I lost three young chicks to what I assume was a cat the other night. The only reason I think it was a cat was because last night I heard momma hen and got out of bed to find a stray chasing one of the young chicks. I scared it away, and the chick went back to the tree it was roosting in. I have a trap set, but the cats seem smarter than the opossums I catch. I will keep it set hoping to catch it, but I don't feel real confident.

But then I wonder, with the first incident how in the world did the cat get up in the tree and get three chicks in the time i heard the commotion and got outside and saw nothing--I mean nothing except for momma and 4 babies on the ground. The chicks just vanished. Maybe it was a opossum -- who really knows.

Our chickens are totally free range, they roost in the trees and nest in nesting boxes under a covered shelter. I was so sad when I found only 4 chicks left out of 7. My chicks seem so uneasy when they went to roost last night. They have totally changed their pattern and are roosting in different trees and bushes. They are wild so I can't catch them to put them in the nesting shed I have for them.

I wish I had better news for you, I pray you have better chances with the trap then I have had. I honestly never thought, when I got my first flock a year ago that would love these critters as I do, they are so much enjoyment. I just hate something happening to them.

Like I said Good Luck.

Sorry for the long post I have been been worried sick about them.
 

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