Will my hen protect her chicks from our cat?

[Tiffany7724]

A couple weeks ago I returned from vacation to find my Buff Orpington missing. I figured someone forgot to close the coop door one night and since she can't roost as high as my other chickens that she probably got picked off. Then to my pleasant surprise as I was checking a couple known laying spots around the property (three of my hens prefer not to use their nesting boxes!) I found her tucked into some blackberry bushes on top of almost two dozen eggs!!! I checked just a couple of the eggs and they seem to be developing just fine so I'm positive I'll have a few chicks in the next couple days but they won't be in a protected area! I'm a little worried that the stray cat who adopted us will find the babies too hard to resist...will momma hen protect the babies? The cat wouldn't dream of going after a hen so it won't take too much to deter her. This will be my first experience with a broody hen hatching chicks and I'm really excited!

 

[LTygress]

The hen will try to go after the cat, yes. So if the cat is easily scared, you'll be fine. Broody hens can bite pretty hard though!