Well, I have a hen setting on 28 eggs (I know,too many) that will hatch out some time next week. I know this may be a stupid question but I am wondering how the rest of you protect the chicks from barn cats. The stupid cat always seems to get in wherever it wants to. I hate the thought of it having a chicken mcnugget every day. She's got them in a stall in the barn right now. I'm thinking of running fence over the top. That may be my only option. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!! What do you guys do??

-- Pat (mikulptrc@aol.com), May 19, 2001

Answers

Pat: Whenever we let a hen go broody we move her and the eggs to a large dog kennel or one of our starter pens. These are enclosed and allow the hen and chicks some freedom to move around. Our starter pen is a wood framed box with chicken wire and a door of somesort for access to provide food, water and get to the birds.

You are correct, the chicks will disappear one by one if the cat has anything to say about it.

-- Trisha-MN (tank@linkup.net), May 19, 2001.

I've never had a cat brave enough to take on a mad mother hen, but there's always a first time. And with that many, one or two will always be lagging behind or wandering off from mom. It's a good idea to enclose mom and babies for their own protection.

-- melina b. (goatgalmjb1@hotmail.com), May 20, 2001.

Pat, I put mine in a starter pen separate from other chickens. the cats don't seem to care much about them, the mother hen is very protective! Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), May 21, 2001.

This will probably sound funny to you but oh well. A couple of years ago we had the same problem 15 cats and a batch of chicks. We didn't have any starter pens or nothing like that but a house that they could go in and out of and a big pen around it. while the hen was sitting we let the weeds grow up for the hen and chicks to play in. Well we had about 20 chicks and we noticed we had 18 and then 15 well we caught a cat scooting over our 5 foot fence well she got drug out and we put high poles (so we didn't run into it) from the goats electic fence to the chicken pen we have the bright yellow insulators and put the wire around and no more cat problems we still have the cat and we never have to put up wire any more I think she understands not to mess with the chicks!

-- lindsey (l_shamhart@hotmail.com), May 21, 2001.

Shoot the cat. Eagle

-- eagle (eagle@alpha1.net), May 23, 2001.