Will feral cats eat my chickens?

[SnowyChickenMomma]

I have 8 adult hens almost 2 years old and I have a rat problem. I heard getting a barn cat would be a good idea. Right now the shelter only has this 8 month old feral and they said I could have it. What do you think?

I was going to get it tomorrow afternoon and plan to let it live in the run. I lock my chickens in the doghouse every night so they would be safe at night but during the day the cat and chickens would be around each other. I leave the gate wide open during the day so my chickens can free range if they want to but I lock it at night I'm hoping to encourage the feral to stay in the pen at night to catch the rats. I have a doghouse for the cat to live in also separate from the chicken one of course but within the same enclosure.

Here is a video of the rat if you are interested

Anyone ever have experience with this?

 

[Hazelbunny]

If you have small chickens there is a chance but I had a cat that would try to take down my hens but in the process he got a peck to the face and never bothered them again.

 

[lcwmt]

I have 8 adult hens almost 2 years old and I have a rat problem. I heard getting a barn cat would be a good idea. Right now the shelter only has this 8 month old feral and they said I could have it. What do you think?

I was going to get it tomorrow afternoon and plan to let it live in the run. I lock my chickens in the doghouse every night so they would be safe at night but during the day the cat and chickens would be around each other. I leave the gate wide open during the day so my chickens can free range if they want to but I lock it at night I'm hoping to encourage the feral to stay in the pen at night to catch the rats. I have a doghouse for the cat to live in also separate from the chicken one of course but within the same enclosure.

Here is a video of the rat if you are interested

Anyone ever have experience with this?

in my experience, cats will stalk chickens (full grown) but quickly get put in their place and stalk other things instead.
If I had rats, I'd get a feral barn cat asap.
I would not leave young chicks loose with cats though, they are too vulnerable. That said, our Catahoula quickly taught our then adult cat that the chicks (in brooder, then in their grow out coop) that they were totally off limits.

 

[Njroosters]

In my experience, no. We have several feral cats and the chickens coexist with them quite well. With the cats we have ZERO rodent issues. Might even try feeding them to keep them close.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Feral cats will kill young birds. Lost a 6 week old chick to a cat years ago. Had no idea it was living under an outbuilding. Was watching the birds have a ball jumping to catch an insect hatch. In a blink of an eye a cat launched out from under the structure they were near and dragged a bird back under. It was that fast and shocking to witness.

 

[SnowyChickenMomma]

I understand that ferals will kill young chickens but I'm looking for an answer to my question which is do they pose a threat to my adult chicken's?

Hope I don't come off as a witch it's hard to tell tone in writing I know just want some good answers

 

[pintail_drake2004]

Don't risk it, shoot the feral cat.

 

[Chelseyb123]

My neighbors have a cat that left outside all year around. I have yet to have any problems. I don't lock the coop. But my dogs usually scare it away. So I think its 50/50 some might an some might not care about them at all.

 

[JaeG]

I wouldn't put the cat straight in the run as it will need to be locked in 24/7 for at least a week to ten days to ensure it views your property as home. You also need time to gauge everyone's reaction to each other. Your chickens could more than likely view the cat as an intruder and attack it as a flock, especially if it's in their run. Or they could be terrified and start flapping about which would make the cats instincts kick in, putting your birds at risk.

Some rat bait might be the better/faster option. We have many neighbourhood cats, as well as the odd feral passing through, and also many rats which become a problem in early summer, requiring us to put out bait to get the population under control.

 

[Chickassan]

It honestly depends on the cat, I've seen both sides. I had a cat kill and mostly eat a rooster and my current cat is terrified of chickens. @JaeG makes a very good point, your flock might kill the cat it is really quite possible.