[Helenaj]

Hi everyone

On Thursday my hens were the victim of a cat attack. Next door to where I have now moved my hens has 3 feral cats that are huge. One of them decided that my elderley Barnevelder would make a nice lunch and I arrived at the aftermath to find a solitary wing pointing upwards and a chewed carcass. To say that I am upset is putting it mildly as she was one of the first birds I owned and was over 5 years of age.
I didn't intially realise it was a cat attack until I saw one of them trying to get into my compound and the hens panicking like mad - it was obviously this cat that had got in before.
I've put a scarecrow in there and it has spooked the cats and kept them away for a couple of days but I've noticed that they are hanging around again.

Any suggestions as to what I can do to deter them? I can't cover the area because it's too big (1/4 acre)

[traacyken]

hi there are some natural and chemical cat repellants cant remember the names but worth googeling and giving them a try xx

[8doubles]

A good lurcher is a natural cat repellant !

[Epona_4]

My girls have a jack russell body guard......he has a pathalogical hatred for cats and foxes bless him

[barley]

HOW AWWFUL 

we have dogs so most moggies avoid our garden 

I like you let the chooks range in 1 acre plot but since loosing some to buzzard attacks we now put the girls away when were not out there in a purpose built run with top covered - it is also fox proof etc

I know its sad to cage them but their safety is paramount when were not there , sorry that's about my best suggestion

unfortunately chooks are vulnerable to many predators - foxes buzzards mink rats and sadly cats and dogs will kill

maybe you could build a secure run within the compound

[Helenaj]

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately where I keep them is not near my house and we work all day so they are in a fox proof run - I just didn't give cats a thought!
I have two Jack Russells who hate everything furry with a vengence and whenever I'm up there in the evening they are with me putting their scent everywhere.

I wonder if some sort of additional "floppy" fencing would deter them, the same they have on pheasant runs - make their footing unsafe. I'll have to have a chat with our local gamekeeper.

[barley]

not sure on legality's but what about those mild electric shock fences that cattle farmers use - they connect to a car battery

the breeder my chooks came from used them round her pens to deter foxes

[ANHBUC]

If you can attach two lines of thick fishing wire above your fencing that will stop them getting their balance.

So sorry for your loss.     Could it be that a hawk got the hen and the cats just helped themselves after the kill?

[Neelam]

I can recommend those spikes from this company:
http://www.cactus-products.com/

I have put them on top of our backgarden gate and the fence next to the neighbor as there is one neighborhood cat around who isn't scared of our killer bunnies at all and as we do have 3 litters at this time I cannot allow a cat to pay us a visit. It worked out so far and is easy to fix at a reasonable price. You can either use them as a triple spike in width or cut them in smaller stripes depending on how you need it, they also can be bend easy after putting them in hot water for a short time, so they are quite flexible in use.

Hope you'll get rid of those predators soon!

[Helenaj]

If you can attach two lines of thick fishing wire above your fencing that will stop them getting their balance.

So sorry for your loss.     Could it be that a hawk got the hen and the cats just helped themselves after the kill?

Thanks ANHBUC. I was on the look out for a goshawk that nests a bit further down and has taken hens from a friend's field, but this was definately chewed and not stripped as a hawk would do it. I'm positive that it was a cat attack. These three cats are wild and sleep in the barn of the stables next door. I'll try the wire over the fencing because if they can't get a footing on it they won't be able to get over it and get in.

Fingers crossed that it works!

[ghost61]

If the run is fox proof, how did the cats get in? Foxes can climb, so if there is no roof on the run, it could have been a fox perhaps?

[Sassy]

If the fishing wire doesn't work and I think it should go with the suggestion for electric fencing. At any significant height cats jump onto and off they do not jump over