will my barn cats harm my ducks once they're full grown?

[The Apiartist]

it really depends on the cat's personality. If the cat comes from barn cat lineage, it is more likely to respect fowl, but house and stray cats turned barn cats can also be trained/socialized to ignore your ducks and chickens. Having a farm dog also helps. In our orchard we started with barn cats to keep rodents away. We learned of the many benefits of introducing ducks, mostly pest and weed control and fertilization. We were afraid the cats might get them, so first we brought in an Old English Sheepdog. When the dog was trained and socialized with the cats, we brought in the ducks and a couple of geese. The geese are great companions to the ducks and protect them from birds of prey. The dog keeps everyone in check so they all play nice and live together peacefully. It took a couple of years to get everything set up, but in the end everything worked better than expected. The farm feels so much more alive and even the cats seem happier even if they won't admit they enjoy having company.