maxwell17 Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 my female cat pepper has started chasing our 3 chickens on a daily basis. she has always been interested in them, but now its taken an ugly turn. she never catches them, but they are worried as soon as she goes in the garden . the chickens are approx 23 weeks old and we still haven't had any eggs from them and are becoming worried that pepper is the problem please can someone advise me ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatedog Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 I'm not sure if the cats would be affecting the chickens if they haven't come into lay yet. I have 2 newbies roughly the same age as yours and they haven't started laying yet either. (And we haven't got a cat!) I know chickens can come into lay between 24-28 weeks old I think, and it may be older for pure breeds, but I'm not sure. Plus the weather is starting to turn and the days are getting shorter so that may also be delaying the start of the laying - I'm not an expert, so someone will correct me if I'm wrong, hopefully! The cats may not be helping, but I don't think they're necessarily to blame here either....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 May be worth giving your cat a squirt with water when she gets near the chickens. I think they will get bolder when they mature and will chase her back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 My cats are terrified of the chickens who chase after them whenever they see them! I expect your chooks will start to assert themselves soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallyChook Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 I'm not sure if the cats would be affecting the chickens if they haven't come into lay yet. I have 2 newbies roughly the same age as yours and they haven't started laying yet either. (And we haven't got a cat!) I know chickens can come into lay between 24-28 weeks old I think, and it may be older for pure breeds, but I'm not sure. Plus the weather is starting to turn and the days are getting shorter so that may also be delaying the start of the laying - I'm not an expert, so someone will correct me if I'm wrong, hopefully! The cats may not be helping, but I don't think they're necessarily to blame here either....... Chocolatedog is spot on - any pure breed hens that are only now coming of egg laying age may well wait until the Spring, depending on their breed. My light sussex was about 25 weeks old this time last yr and came into lay, with about 5 eggs a week right thru the winter even in those snows. The orpingtons were the same age and waited til Feb and March respectively before starting laying the yr after. I'd go with giving the cat a squirt of water when she goes near the chooks and see how you get on. We have a number of cats from various far-flung neighbours pop round here but other than setting off the cockerels' alarm calls, they dont seem to cause much of a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
