Want to own chickens again after 6 years…

[Brummie Pekin]

Orpingtons are fairly friendly (they are also good egg layers) and are large so maybe less likely for your cat to attack...?
Silkies that I have had tend to be very sweet also but are smaller and need a little more maintenance but are very cute little balls of fluff and very good mamas but they themself don't lay very many eggs.

Yeah Orpington’s were at the top of my list if I remember correctly from my time owning chickens, very docile and big enough to avoid cats

 

[Brummie Pekin]

You do not get guarantees with living animals. Under what appear to be identical circumstances you can get different results. I don't know what that specific cat will do under your circumstances.

For thousands of years farmers have had free ranging flocks of chickens hatching and raising baby chicks and keeping free roaming cats (basically feral) to help with rodents. The baby chicks are generally more appealing to a cat than the adults. What typically happens is that the cat leaves them alone to start with. But if a cat shows an interest in hunting a baby chick the mama hen usually adjusts its thinking. She defends her babies.

If you get baby chicks I would protect them from the cat until they grow. Once they reach close to adult size they will probably be safe. The larger the chickens the more likely they are to be safe.

You may notice I use a lot of "weasel words" like more likely, generally, typically, and such. I cannot give you any guarantees as to what any living animal will do. In your circumstances I'd avoid bantams and expect success.

Which breed to get? We all have our own personal favorites but my goals are different from yours. My suggestion is to go through "Henderson's Breed Chart"

Henderson's Handy Dandy Chicken Chart (sagehenfarmlodi.com)

and select something that you think suits you. These are just one person's opinion on the different breeds. Each individual has its own personality and can vary from breed tendencies dramatically but I don't have anything better to offer. Just like a human, two individual chickens can vary a lot even if they are the same "breed" or even raised together.

Appreciate the advice, my cat is a wimp won’t even go for a pigeon. Was just worried in terms of the fact a chicken can’t fly away too fast, was just wondering what breed would be best to be big enough not to get attacked but docile enough to make good pets and don’t mind being in a smaller garden rather than a big field. It won’t be chicks.

 

[Brummie Pekin]

Thanks for the reply, yeah will most likely go for fully sized hens

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh then just about any LF (large fowl) breed will do. With Easter Eggers you could get blue or green eggs and they're usually pretty docile. I don't think a housecat would attack a grown chicken, a chicken is about the same size as a cat.

 

[FrostRanger]

I also agree that a cat won't usually go after an adult bird, I feed the ferals here and they're afraid of my girls, and one of my easter eggers Ginkgo has no qualms about chasing any cat who steps out of line (ask poor Edgeworth who was simply wrestling with his brother Phoenix when Ginkgo chased him. Everyone was perfectly fine BTW). The cats around here are very much hunters, especially Phoenix and Edgeworth. I once woke up to feathers all over my kitchen and living room floor 'cause one of them (or Raven) caught a bird that flew in. I think especially since your cat is timid you should be fine once they get big

 

[Brummie Pekin]

I also agree that a cat won't usually go after an adult bird, I feed the ferals here and they're afraid of my girls, and one of my easter eggers Ginkgo has no qualms about chasing any cat who steps out of line (ask poor Edgeworth who was simply wrestling with his brother Phoenix when Ginkgo chased him. Everyone was perfectly fine BTW). The cats around here are very much hunters, especially Phoenix and Edgeworth. I once woke up to feathers all over my kitchen and living room floor 'cause one of them (or Raven) caught a bird that flew in. I think especially since your cat is timid you should be fine once they get big

Just wanted to ask after a while do cats end up bonding with chickens? Chase any other cats that may want to prey on them? I have loads of neighbourhood cats roaming the area although I doubt they are a threat, the only threat would be the foxes at night but il have the chickens all locked up in the coop by then.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Hi this is my first post after about 6 years, just about remembered my log in details lol. Used to own chickens around 7-8 years ago they were small pekin bantams raised them from chicks and had them for around 3-4 years until unfortunately they died after we introduced new chickens to the flock and some sort of disease spread. I’m 22 now and since then have not thought about owning chickens again until now.

Since I last had the chickens I have kept 2 parrots (both died yeah I have terrible luck) and a tabby cat that isn’t dead thankfully. My only question now is what chicken breed is best to get? I moved into a new house so I have medium sized garden (I live in the UK) and I have one cat that is not familiar living with any other animals, will my cat kill the chickens? Any help would be appreciated, I’m not looking for egg layers or for their meat just as pets.

I found out the hard way that a cat will kill chicks.............
however, if you keep them apart and then introduce them when the birds are full grown, they will be safe. i've personally never seen a full grown chicken taken down by a housecat.

as for breed, I've never been to the UK, so I guess I can only give general advice. if it's where I think it is, then i'm guessing it's cold in the winter and hot in the summer? the Plymouth Barred Rock is a very durable breed which can survive in most climates and has a very docile demeanor, slightly sassy with a lot of personality.

 

[FrostRanger]

Just wanted to ask after a while do cats end up bonding with chickens? Chase any other cats that may want to prey on them? I have loads of neighbourhood cats roaming the area although I doubt they are a threat, the only threat would be the foxes at night but il have the chickens all locked up in the coop by then.

No telling, every animal is an individual. I do doubt that the neighborhood cats will be a threat, especially if your birds grew up around them

 

[Brummie Pekin]

I found out the hard way that a cat will kill chicks.............
however, if you keep them apart and then introduce them when the birds are full grown, they will be safe. i've personally never seen a full grown chicken taken down by a housecat.

as for breed, I've never been to the UK, so I guess I can only give general advice. if it's where I think it is, then i'm guessing it's cold in the winter and hot in the summer? the Plymouth Barred Rock is a very durable breed which can survive in most climates and has a very docile demeanor, slightly sassy with a lot of personality.

Weather gets quite hot in the summer and quite cold in the winter, also can larger hens fly quite high? I have 7 ft fences around my backyard

 

[Ridgerunner]

can larger hens fly quite high? I have 7 ft fences around my backyard

There is a difference in "can they" and "will they". A lot of that is "want to". I don't know what the physical limit is for any specific hen. My Sussex, Orpington, Rocks, Delaware, and such have no problems flying up to or down from my 5 feet high roosts. They want to get up there and from watching them have no doubt they could go higher.

What do your fences look like? Does it have a solid top rail that would make a good landing place and perch? What can happen is that a chicken flies up to perch and hops down on the wrong side. Not all do that but many can if they want to.

I use four feet high electric netting to contain mine. They can easily fly over that if they want to but they generally don't. If one is trapped against the netting in a pecking order fight or is trying to get away from an amorous rooster it may go vertical to get away and land on the wrong side so they can fly that high. Since my netting does not have a solid landing place on top for them to land it works really well.

Seven feet is a high wall. The odds are pretty good it will contain your chickens, even if it is solid but I don't give guarantees with living animals. I'd try it and see if it worked. If it doesn't work put a 12" or so extension made out of wire mesh so they don't have a good landing spot. That is a common fix.