Cats - Are they a danger?

[Anonymous]

We keep our 3 hens in the back garden, and let them out of their 'coop and run' to roam freely in the garden. It is all fenced off to a height of at least 4 feet. There are quite a few cats in the neighbourhood and was wondering whether a cat would attack the young hens. One cat in particular uses our back garden as a thoroughfare to next door.

 

[Davidd]

Hi, if they are only chicks/growers then i would be careful about letting them out unsupervised- but fully grown hens ( large fowl , not tiny bantams) should be fine with cats.
regards, David

 

[victorias poultry]

I have 3 cats and never had a problem with chicks or adult birds being attacked by them, infact the cockerels sometimes chase the cats

 

[Anonymous]

The hens are just coming into lay so they're not quite fully grown yet. But perhaps I'm worryng too much. Thanks

 

[Davidd]

Well they should be big enough and will be fine-
my farm neighbours cats will kill anything they can catch- they have killed rabbits, ducks, pigeons, chickens, and even came home with a fully grown green woodpecker :shock: (alive and released with no problem) so, i think it depends on the cat.
regards, David

 

[snifter]

I'd think they would be ok. However, as Davidd said, it can depend on the cat.

If you are concerned about cats you can always use a deterrent (the spray or a pulse device or good old fashoined squirting them with water if they come into the garden).

 

[Anonymous]

hi, when i first got our hens our cat used to stalk them all around the garden.he only ever jumped them once and the shock of that soon put him in his place. :lol: when our chicks hatched a month ago we were worried he would revert to his old ways but even though he showed a lot of curiousity he never tried anything.what we have noticed since the chicks are outside now is that if our cat or the neighbours cats shows up all the hens seem to gather round the chicks as if they are protecting them the truth is the cats are bigger chickens than the hens :lol: so i would think you have no worries cara

 

[dawn]

Both my cats run away from the chickens, and one is a superb hunter bringing down mice, rabbits etc. If he sees my smallest pekin hen he drops to his tummy and slinks away. The chickens chatter if they see the cats and will chase too and they are all bantams.

3/4 neighbourhood cats cross our garden and the fields next to us and a feral one lives in the churchyard next to us but neither we nor the many free range chickens next to us have had any problem, and the chicks come out with their mums next door to free range at a few days old.

 

[Anonymous]

We have a Patterdale terrier (killer of all small things with fur or feathers) who is 100% fine with our chickens.

I know she's not a cat but the point is that not all animals act as you would expect them to.

 

[Anonymous]

A few of our neighbour's cat have wandered through our garden and have only taken a passing interest in the chickens. So after an initial worry I think the cats are fine with them. Now that the hens are approaching adulthood they are nearly the same size as the cats.

I have noticed though that when a cat is in the garden, the hens stop what they are doing for a few seconds, turn to look at the cats, before continuing with their pecking and scratching on the ground.