If your neighbors cat has killed your chicken it’s not a nice feeling!
It shouldn’t happen and your neighbor should know about this
But on the other hand, if their cat is an outdoor cat their is not much they can do unfortunately
Here’s the good news though
You can actually stop your neighbors cat from killing your chicken
How?
You’ll discover everything in this article
Here’s what you’re going to learn
- How to protect your chickens from your cat
- Are cats dangerous to chickens
- Can you shoot a cat for killing your chicken
So if you’re interested in protecting your chickens from cats then you’re going to love this article
Sound good
Let’s get started!
How To Protect Your Chickens From Your Cat?
Cats won’t attack full grown chickens
Why?
Because although, a cat would win in a fight with an adult chicken they can still get hurt
Especially if it’s an aggressive rooster
You see, cats are hunters and they hunt birds and mice
But when it comes to chicken they would rather hunt a baby chick
It makes it easier for them
This makes baby chicks a prime target
So you need to keep an eye on your chicks
Now let’s look at different ways you can protect your chickens from cats
First you should try to keep your chickens indoors
It’s just much more safer for them and protects them from predators
If you can’t do this then you need to get a chicken coop
This will keep your chickens safe in their coop
Are you a DIY person?
Try this guide to learn how you can build a chicken coop yourself (You’ll save money and have fun at the same time!)
The guide is “Building a Chicken Coop”
You can learn all about it by clicking here
This is one way of keeping your chickens safe
Cats won’t be able to get into the coop especially if you’re building it yourself
High Fence
High fences will work in keeping your chickens safe and also from stopping your chickens escaping too
If you can install a high fence in your garden, high enough a cat can’t jump over it, that should do the trick
You can get something like this
You can get this over on Amazon by clicking here
Are Cats Dangerous To Chickens?
Cats can be dangerous to chickens
They are hunters and will hunt birds and chickens are birds
They may not attack a full grown chicken but the baby chicks can be in danger with a cat lurking about
Even adult chickens can be in danger if the cat is hungry or a stray and wants food
That is why it’s important to keep safety measures in place to keep your chickens safe
It’s not just cats you should worry about
Their are other predators out there that attack chickens
Such as
- Foxes
- Owls
- Dogs
- Hawks (When do hawks hunt chickens?)
- Badgers
- Weasels
That is why I think a chicken coop would serve best in keeping your chickens safe
If you can keep them indoors that would be better
Do Cats Steal Chicken Eggs?
They would steal eggs and eat them too
A chicken parent have reported seeing their chicken eggs being eaten by their cats
So if your chicken eggs are missing, chance are it could be a cat
Can You Shoot a Cat For Killing Your Chicken?
I don’t think this is something you would want to do
The cat could belong to someone like your neighbor and you shooting it can cause real problems
It’s not a nice thing to do to shoot a cat
Cats are hunters so it’s in their natural instinct to hunt chickens
It’s just something they do
Your neighbor can’t physically stop their cats coming into your garden especially if they are an outdoor cat
It’s your job to keep your chickens safe from predators
If there are hawks in your areas, this is something you need to be careful of too
You can check out my article When do hawks hunt chickens? where I go into detail on how to protect your chickens from hawks
Before I wrap up here’s another article which I think you will find interesting
How to stop crows eating chicken food?
What To Do With a Dead Chicken?
If you do find your chicken unfortunately dead due to an attack from a cat then you need to immediately remove the dead bird from the coop
Use caution when removing the dead bird by wearing rubber gloves and wash carefully after handling the body
Now when disposing the body, you can take it to the veterinarian who may have to cremate or dispose the body so worth a chance but do expect to pay a fee
You can call your local solid waste agency and see if they allow a hens body to put in the trash
If it’s legal to do so where you stay, you can bury your chicken too
I know it will be hard but this is life and it’s a way of you saying goodbye to your bird (think about the happy times you had with your chicken)
You should bury your chicken at least several hundred feet from the coop
A hole should be dug which should be two feet deep
Also burying your chicken will allow the nutrients in the body to be recycled in the soil which will help trees and grasses grow
It’s like her final gift to you and the world!
Wrapping Up
If your neighbor cat has killed your chicken it can be a sad time
Make sure to dispose the body carefully with gloves and washing your hands
You can create a safe space for your chickens by protecting them from cats and other predators
You can build a chicken coop or build a fence which will hopefully stop cats attacking your chicken and other predators too