bakerh74 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Hi I am a new to owning chickens. My Eglu was delivered last monday. WE let the chickens out to roam at the weekend and as I am off work today I have let them out in the garden. The neighbours cats are fasinated with them and keep chasing them around the garden and trying to pounce on them. Pepsi particularly doesn't like this and gets upset and starts clucking like mad. Will they be ok advice please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna_0 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Hi Welcome to chicken keeping! I would just keep an eye on it with a water gun..we had this problem in our old house where the local hunting cat (brought us pigeons, mice etc) was stalking our two bluebelles. This happened for a really short time because one of them squared up to the cat and chased it the length of the garden and through a hedge. You'll be surprised how scary they can be to predators! I think there have been instances of chickens been got by cats/dogs, but I would play referee until you know the cats won't touch them. Hope this helps - Silkie/polands- Lady Penelope & Poppy - Pekin Bantams Fleur & Little Pickle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopsie Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 My cat Suki thought it would be a good idea to pounce on the chickens.. but only once! They scared the life out of her and now she keeps guard over them and chases away any other cat that comes near!! Hope your problem doesn't last long but Donna's right - they can be scary birds when they want to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Shirl Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 The cats will soon get the measure of your hens when they turn on them. Dogs are a different story though. ..... A water pistol or a hose pipe on full pressure will get rid of the cats........ Good luck with your chooks Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francesca88 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Hi! I wouldn't worry about them too much to be honest, once they've settled in a bit they'll soon show the cats who's boss! I've got five cats and nine chickens, including a black maran who chases any cat who comes within 6 feet all the way down the garden and over the fence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheChookKeeper Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Our cat is, and always has been terrified of the chooks... as everyone else says, when they are scared (properly - like, in fear of immediate death!), they can put on quite an impressive display. We used to have loads of other peoples cats in the garden... then we got the chooks... after a few squarks, flaps and manic running around the garden sqwarking at full volume, the cats decided they were too much like hard work, and went back to catching mice! We still have a few brave ones who come to stalk them from the other side of the chicken-fence... getting the ducks fixed that! Gerald, bless him (our boy duck) gets VERY upset if he thinks a cat is coming to distract his women from... "other business". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vix_Chicks Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 I was worried abou tthis too...as my cat kills and eats anything that moves!! lol However, all 3 of the cats (all males!) now just do their bit to protect the chickens. A friend's dog came over the other day, and we were all very cautious. Barney ( black and white cat) was not having any of it. He puffed himself out and launched at the dog. Needless to say, the poor labrador is now frightened to come to our house!!! I'm sure your problematic cats will soon too learn to love the girls!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcatz Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Hi, has it worked out okay with your cats? One of my cats walks among the chickens like a farm cat. Has never touched one. the closest he got was to the tiny silkie who stood her ground and clucked at him. The cat wanted her to move, but she wouldn't. So he had to walk around her. The other cat is scared of the chickens and goes out of his way to avoid them. The NEW chicken actually chases him into the catflap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fur 'n' Feathers Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 We have 2 new cats that chase our hens if they have the chance... and one of them DEFINATELY would attack regardless of pecks. Our previous cat let them preen him so it makes it more confusing for them. Our 2 also gang up to"hunt" them together. It's fascinating but we can see the danger. We won't let ours out without being physically present and we are finding that a water pistol works wonders to give the cats a clear message. Whilst we would hope our cats & hens will settle down together we're taking no chances. They are so quick there might be an injury & resulting vet bill. When we went to collect our newbies we were recounting this to our supplier. She responded that it was the second time that day she heard about cats being a threat. An earlier customer had had heir bantams killed by a cat. She voiced that she'd never heard of an instance like that before but ageed with us that caution is the operative word. Prior to getting our current moggies we would have said let themget on with it, but it really is about individual cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsquid Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 I've read this with interest. Since the chooks arrived, one of our three cats has more or less camped out beside the run - they are being kept in for 5 days because we are advised to do this when they arrive. He is a very good mouser and has caught woodpigeons before as well as smaller birds. He is quite a big cat. He definitely has that predatory look on his face that reminds you of a lion closing in on a wildebeest. We have squirted him with a water pistol when he gets too close and he is now moving away from the chickens for a while. However I'm pretty sure he will still go for them when they are let out. They are pretty big - bigger than anything he's ever caught before - but I do worry that he'll have one before we know what's happening. A lot of close supervision will be needed, I think. I think we will literally have to only let them out when we can restrain Ozzy, but I'm also concerned that this will make them more desirable to him, cats being perverse creatures and all. I'm also concerned that he will be good when we are around but revert to being a cat when we aren't! So, how should we handle it when the chooks are let out? Blodwyn definitely wants to get out, and I want to let them FR just as soon as we can. Of the other two, Squeaker is scared of them and keeps as far from the run as possible. Willoughby, who has learning difficulties, has looked at them, decided it is one more thing on a list of very many things that he doesn't understand, and is now completely ignoring them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brown Betty Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Funny isn't it cause our cats have always completely ignored our chooks, the dog barks a bit when we get any new ones but only for the first day, and then only till we send him in. He'll do it to any new animal we get, maybe he's just saying hi to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vix_Chicks Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 I love this picture of Mac (the Maine Coon) and Hetty so much I thought I would post it again... just shows feathers and fur can be friends!!! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Shirl Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I have never seen it and and there will be a lot of folks out there who have not. It is a lovely photo simply beautiful. Animals are very special. Thanks for putting it on again. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Thats one very beautiful cat. He reminds me very much of my recently departed 14yo moggie; he was a long coated very large boy and several people said they thought he had MC in him. His colouring was nothing like Mac, but his head, tail, ears, coat and general relaxed slouch position were very similar. An unexpected memory on a Monday morning -thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vix_Chicks Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thank you. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsquid Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Since we let the chickens out, Ozzy has shown remarkably little interest thanks to some assertive looks from Blodwyn and the fact that they go round in a gang anyway. He is quite predatorial when they are in the Cube and sits on top, but once out, he isn't so interested! The other two cats are either frightened (Squeaker) or completely ignore them (Willoughby). I suspect that soon Ozzy will be snoozing with the chickens in the sunshine and wondering what all the fuss was about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsquid Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Today they have been out for quite a while, relatively unsupervised. Ozzy tried stalking them but they kept surrounding him, which he found very unnerving. He then tried to chase Megan who turned on him and chased him away! So I think the chickens can more than look after themselves. Poor old Ozzy has now been taken to the woods to chase the mice in the barn, and hopefully restore some of his hurt pride! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 The neighbourhood cats have been taking a worrying interest in ours lately. They've been sitting on top of the cube and trying to get them through the WIR as they get up in the morning (the commotion almost certainly woke the neighbours for a couple of days running before 6am). The girls are all pretty much big enough now that I think they'd be able to handle a cat nose-to-beak when they're out playing - but Keema is so tiny, he's the perfect prey for them. Last weekend we took delivery of an Advanced Cat Scarer, plonked it on the roof of the WIR so that its signal covers our fenceline, and we've not seen a cat since! The terrors were coming from a fair distance - the neighbours behind and beside us don't have cats, I wouldn't be cruel enough to block their access if they did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docsquid Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Ozzy is brave enough when they are in the run, and sits on top of it too (they don't mind him in the slightest). Let the chickens out and it is a different story. I don't think he's used to "dinner" that chases him! I would worry about a smaller, less pecky chicken, and we do have the advantage that our three move around as a little mob at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
