Will a domestic Cat have a go at Chickens ?

[lucylockett]

Yes it was definitely our cat and we saw him yesterday prowling around our chickens (they are safe behind a fenced area). We kept the cat inside last night and I let him out at 7am when I go to work but he is so miserable and I get a very broken sleep from his meowing all night. I guess the best option is to talk to the neighbour and try to come up with a solution that will work for all our animals. Thank you for your comments!

[pauco]

Yes it was definitely our cat and we saw him yesterday prowling around our chickens (they are safe behind a fenced area). We kept the cat inside last night and I let him out at 7am when I go to work but he is so miserable and I get a very broken sleep from his meowing all night. I guess the best option is to talk to the neighbour and try to come up with a solution that will work for all our animals. Thank you for your comments!

Talk yes, but dont let them browbeat you. They are as responsible for the welfare of their Bantoms, as you are for your cat. Cats are hunters, thats what they do As soon as they leave the comfort of our homes, and step over the doorstep their mind goes into hunt mode, he/she may well be a big softie playfull bundle of fluff too us, but outside they are hunter-killers.

paul.

[lucylockett]

Yes I totally agree. Cats are hunters and they love being out at night. I do get on with the neighbour but he has been here for years and always kept his chickens this way. I think I am going to talk to him and suggest we have a bell on the cat's collar, chop all the lower branches off the trees they roost in and maybe build a wooden platform/collar thing round the tree just under where they roost. If that doesn't work I will try the infra sound thingy! Its very distressing to think the cat is unhappy. Thanks to everyone who has commented!

[pauco]

Good luck, hope all ends well And you have a happy hunter

[julesapple]

This is a link to a thread I posted earlier this year;

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...eve_50461.html

Whilst our cats never touch our chooks, the chooks have become used to cats now and they no longer react to them - be the cats ours or not. Thankfully, the cat in the thread doesn't live around here any more.

Jules

[angelat]

hi there

I was so worried about my cat when we first got our chickens as he is a softy indoors but a neighbourhood bully outside!! When they first arrived he liked to stalk them with me keeping a really close eye on things. As they got bolder if he got too close they would blow themselves up large with their wings outstretched which scared him. im sure they must have pecked him at some point as now he knows the boundaries, he is very careful when walking past them but sometime sits for hours on their house just watching them. they even all eat together at times if i take treats out to them. i am so sure he would not attempt to lunge at them and he is a tough domestic cat so im sure yours will be alright!!

[mr darcy]

one of mine is a neutred ginger tom who weighs 10kilos and has the paws of a small tiger,even he gives my hens a wide berth, and since Sox the Silky attacked the dog's head,(when the dog had Cleo) there's alot of respect going round and Sox now expects to be called Sir Sox, what with his bravery award etc.....

[jessmorris]

RH Quote: Possibly a sparrow hawk Eliza, although bantam chicks at 6 weeks are smaller than large fowl. I think I lost one to a raptor of some sort recently. I let 12 bantam growers out for a run round, and only 11 returned. No feathers, no sign of anything. They were too big for a cat to take. Last week saw 4 buzzards circling above my bantam layer enclosure, so am keeping a close eye out.

Same here - when I had a fair amount of chicks this spring, a sparrow hawk hung around for a few weeks. I think the 'peeping' sound attracts them - they're dead easy for a sparrow hawk to pick off as they are very agile birds.
JM

[Hilary B]

RH Quote: Possibly a sparrow hawk Eliza, although bantam chicks at 6 weeks are smaller than large fowl. I think I lost one to a raptor of some sort recently. I let 12 bantam growers out for a run round, and only 11 returned. No feathers, no sign of anything. They were too big for a cat to take. Last week saw 4 buzzards circling above my bantam layer enclosure, so am keeping a close eye out.

Same here - when I had a fair amount of chicks this spring, a sparrow hawk hung around for a few weeks. I think the 'peeping' sound attracts them - they're dead easy for a sparrow hawk to pick off as they are very agile birds.
JM

Anything too big for a cat to take is going to be too big for a sparrowhawk. They are very small (as hawks go), no bigger than a kestrel, weight maybe a little over half-a-lb. Anything more than 2-3oz in weight would be too big an addition for one to fly off with.
A buzzard, maybe, but I doubt one would come down into an enclosure (unless it was VERY large in comparison to fence height), they aren't so handy at taking off in a restricted space.
Not that it would stop them taking a hopeful look...
Chicks are probably another matter, a sparrowhawk can't be expected to know that these particular little bundles of feathers are not 'fair game' so the answer is to make them feel unwelcome by emphasising the human presence.
Most raptors which hunt feathered things will leave feathers about, they tend to 'pluck' their dinner, so unless the prey is small enough to fly off with a significant distance, you WOULD find feathers.

[riccardo42]

My experience indicates that most cats like to occasionally wiggle their backsides and maybe make a short dash towards the chooks but as soon as wings are flapped they back off. There are cats who will bring rabbits back from a good hunting trip so one has to know the local cat population.
I had one taken by a falconer's falcon and a sparrowhawk does keep an eye on the place but no trouble from him so far.
I've been expecting to see a fox licking his lips but apparently the local farmers (who raise pheasants) make sure there are no foxes in the area, I assume by shooting.

[baldrick]

If a cat isn't used to chickens, then they may well have a go, especially when they are small. Chickens if they aren't used to cats, will tend to be scared of them.
When they have been around each other for a short while, usually this turns round the other way, with the cats being scared of the chickens and the chickens either ignoring totally, or scaring the cats off.

agree with this. I only ever have a problem with young adult cats. We had a white one stalking the bantams for ages and I couldnt leave them out without Baldrick The Chicken Dog on guard. White cat got in with the big girls and hasnt been seen since but Young Black Cat is now showing an interest. I do worry about very old or poorly chooks tho and they are shut in or have a dog on guard. Foxes concern me more, but I think there is a chance an inexperienced cat could seriously hurt a chook before getting beaten up. My husbands cat came home with a chicken years ago so it is possible. you can tell when a mog means business or is just looking anyway.

[RichmondHens]

My 8 month old kittens tried it on with some young leghorns - they got thoroughly trounced and driven out of the pen by the chickens! Now whenever the kits follow me down to their enclosure and are bold enough to come in the pullets chase them out pecking their bottoms.

[elizajay]

A friend of mine in Johannesburg - city of high fences plus electric security fences on top - told me his Abyssinian cat brought a duck home from a house a few doors away.

[kathyd]

Lucy - couldn't your neighbour put up a high fence around his trees with one of those outward sloping top bits so your cat couldn't jump over? Don't know how big the space is of course, might be hugely expensive, but it could be worth a discussion? I think they're recommended for foxes unless you use electric fences.

(oops! The previous post arrived while I was typing this! Maybe not such a foolproof idea then!)

[nellie-m]

Most cats will leave chickens alone (chicks are a different matter...) but even though it's rare you will get the odd cat that finds out how to catch bantams. Once they had success you've got a problem.