sarahtucker81 Posted August 16, 2017 Share Posted August 16, 2017 Hi all. I have 3 chickens and 4 cats. Chickens have been here for 2 1/2 months with no issues until now. One of the cats has suddenly started getting bullied by the chickens - so much so he doesn't want to go outside at all now. They are fine with the other cats so I can only assume he did something stupid to them and he hasn't forgiven them. So they have to stay in their run now so I can get his confidence back up to go outside again. But any recommendations - if we keep them in a couple of weeks will they forget whatever it was he did? It's a real nightmare.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 17, 2017 Share Posted August 17, 2017 I used to have two cats. Wellington was a famous hunter, and very early on in my chicken-keeping he couldn't help himself, and started stalking a chicken in the garden. The hen stood up tall, flapped her wings and screamed blue murder, and poor Wellington slunk away very chastened. After that, every time he went in the garden the hens would shout at him, and he would dash past the run even when they were enclosed, and give them a very wide berth. My other cat has never been bothered by the hens - they will walk past her on the lawn, and she shows no interest in them. I'd just carry on, your cat will probably never quite get over it but he'll be fine - he will just go to great lengths to avoid them! As you say, you'll need to build up his confidence a bit but I'm sure in time they will co-exist - I don't know what your free-ranging set up is, but you may need to ensure there is a 'corridor' so he can get past them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
