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JEAN

Are cats a threat?

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We very rarely see any cats around our house as we are in a rural location. Not sure if one of our neighbours has just got one or if one has been lured by the hens but a ginger cat (looks quite young) has been stalking the chooks in the graden for the last couple of days. Every time it sees people it runs off.

Would a cat kill a chicken or is it just curious? Never had a cat myself so not familiar with what they get up to.

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I believe it's quite rare for a cat to attack a chicken. Someone on the forum did recently have a hen that was killed by 2 cats but I think it's very much the exception rather than the rule.

 

There are lots of cats around my neighbourhood, some quite large ones. While I've seen them in the garden, none of them seem to bother my 4 chooks.

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Thanks, that's reassuring. I will still keep an eye out in case it's the exception but hopefully it's just curious.

Whenever the girls spot it they all crowd together and fluff up their neck feathers - I guess they are trying to intimidate it.

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We have 3 cats who took great interest in our chooks when we first had them and stalked them all the time. These days they take no notice however. We did have trouble with a stray cat some months ago who got into our back garden where the bantams were free ranging causing Betty to fly over a six foot fence to escape (luckily got her back that evening when we found her roosting in a tree adjacent to our property). :)

 

My yardstick is this - a cat can easily kill a pigeon - if you have bantams beware :?

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My cat is too old to bother with the chooks, but I can see how younger cats would try it on................once! :lol::lol:

Our neighbours cats walk along the fence, but never come into the garden anymore. Our chooks go rigid when they see a stranger cat, and they start whispering to each other. Before you know it, the cat's legged it! Mind you, my chooks aren't little, so Bantums may need protection.

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I've had 3 or 4 different cats from around my way attempt to attack my chooks - they are all bantam sized though except for one medium sized Silkie.

 

A cat could easily kill a bantam in my view - they only didn't succeed because each time I was by the door so I just ran out and chased them off. One very nearly caught my Poland once :x , but in turn I was very close to catching it and tossing it a good 3 or 4 gardens back to it's owner.

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