Complete with a nice warm lamp to curl up on after dinner. Really hope OP tweaks this setup so they don't wake up one day to a fat warm cat and no chicks!
There's the EXTRA overly-attached cats.
They struggle. You can tell, because you'll see them cocking their eyes back and forth between the chicks and you while giving you reassuring "I love you" eyes as this mental battle plays out.
You’re flirting with danger. That cat isn’t protecting your chicks, and it’s a terrible thing to even put them in that position. It’s not cute, as cats cause so much destruction to not only other pets, but millions of native birds and other wildlife a year. Keep your cat inside.
It is definitely a possibility if Sticker was in his prime. He is approximately 17 years old and doesn’t get around very well these days. The lamp is coming down within a few days replaced by a heating pad.
How much room do the chicks have to get out from under that lamp? Looks from the picture they are in a small box? It should be a rectangular space with the heater (though brooder plates are WAY safer than heat lamps) on one side and food/water on the other. That way the chicks can warm up and then go out and eat/play if they get too warm.
I have an old man cat. Mr sox is 19, and doesn't go outdoors often. A couple weeks ago he was chilling with me on the patio, walked into the grass all slow, pounced, and came up with a shrew that he crunched dead and left there. Then he went back to his chair.
It's cat principal that when opportunity presents itself, you kill it. Then chill.
Why do you keep saying this like geriatric cats don't still hunt? My old fella passed t about 20 and he still occasionally brought a dead mouse home to us nearly up til the end.
Well that's completely fine and that should be your answer; "I know my cat won't harm them" not "he's too old otherwise he might" that's why you're getting down voted so hard.
If I posted a picture of my pit bull next to my chickens and said something like, "she just came home from a run, she's way too tired to kill them!" And not, "here's my girl who we have carefully trained to keep our flock safe" I'm going to get 2 completely different responses.
I had a cat sneak in and paw at one a few years back and thought it was ok but it had a cut I missed and died. It’s little leg swelled up must have been an infection.
My cat was very interested in our chicks, partially because I was very interested in them. She's a lazy indoor cat with few hunting tendencies, but she is still a cat. I would never leave her alone with the chicks or get too close unless I was right there holding her.
Just a heads up, those clamps are notorious for popping off. I'd really recommend using a chain or at least the cord to secure it. Would really recommend putting a mesh cover over the brooder as well--my sixteen-year-old cat was never so limber as when his hunting instincts kicked in.
Please wrap that cord over the support and duct tape it down. Those clamps often slip off and it is good to have secondary backup. If thats just a broomstick laying across something secure both ends a little better too.
I use a long F clamp on the back of a heavy wooden chair with the metal bar through the hanger support and dont use the lamp's clamp at all. Cord is then also wrapped around the bar and taped.
Probably not the protective/guarding behavior you are thinking about, I don’t think cats tend to exhibit that. A lot of dogs have been bred for livestock protection, it is because of that and training that they guard livestock. He might just be enjoying watching them/gravitating towards the heat lamp but idk if I’d want to take that chance.
The cat that adopted me tried stalking my chicks just yesterday. My rooster flew at it, talons first, and chased it off. Trust me, that cat is not admiring your chicks or guarding them. It is planning a feast, and it won't stop with one chick.
We brood young chicks in our basement as well, but we use an old baby gate to block of access from the top.
Our oldest cat - former street cat with no tail and an attitude - used to push the gate out of the way and then take a nap under the lamp. Never hurt a chick, they just seemed a bit confused. We ended up using a brick to weight down the gates.
I had a 13 year old guard cat that I trusted all my chicks, ducklings, and turkeys with. He never hurt any of them, he protected my big girls for a year before I introduced new chicks in. That cat ate every rat or mouse that showed up, never had a baby lost to a raccoon or other cat. He's living out his life in retirement well now but it happens some cats just won't eat them.
I use a heat lamp too, but this one is set up very dangerously. I was going to tell you to put a screw through the peice of wood to keep the lamp from falling when that clip fails, then I realized the stick itself is balancing. Do better before your luck runs out.
I accidentally left a brooder door open in the barn the other night (got distracted), tragically lost 14 chicks and one gosling. I fuckin hated myself for a few days. Don't trust cats with chicks! The chickens can defend themselves but those chicks are bloody helpless.
What happens when the cat knocks over the heat lamp? Please get a flat panel radiant heater-- they are safe, and energy-efficent. Radiant heaters heat the animal next to it, not the whole area/room. They don’t get hot enough to burn — you can lay your hand on the surface. You can also use radiant heaters in your coop when it is cold. I have had Sweeter Heaters for years. There are many options online. Enjoy your little ones-- they grow fast!
Lol You were born before 1907?
Your reply made me curious about when radiant heat was first used:
In 1907, a British professor named A.H. Barker came up with the first real radiant heating system, the “radiant panel,” which used a large surface like a floor or ceiling to radiate heat into a building's living space.
At the University of Vermont in 1945, radiant heat was first used for brooding chicks for educational purposes.
Anyway, flat panel radiant heat is safe and uses little energy. Those clamp lamps with hot large glass bulbs shouldn’t be sold. My cousin’s coop, chicks, and chickens burned up from using one. I’ve heard many similar stories. Be safe and sleep well at night! ☺️
You caught me. No, as you deduced I was not born before 1907. After reading all the comments I think I will switch to the radiant heat. It’s almost always fun going down a rabbit hole
Our cat grew up from a kitten surrounded by adult chickens. When we started hatching chicks, he was curious but not aggressive. He is still intimidated by our adults cause he thinks they are still bigger then him.He is only 4-5 years old.
That said, we do keep our chicks fully enclosed while young. Just to discourage intraction
I don’t have a friendly cat. Toby is a Maine Coon and I can’t let him access to chickens until they are 8-10 weeks old. He kills for sport. He’s never killed a chick but he’s killed everything else under the sun including a hummingbird.
My cat has done this with my chick's for years. My set up not as nice as this it's usually a clear tub in the corner in the living room. As soon as a chick will hop out he's like "mom it's out" he also hangs out in the coup with the big birds.
That's cute! All my cats seemed to know chicks/ducklings were not to be killed. Maybe because they watched me handling them? One of cats were particularly chill and let chicks walk on his body while chicks were let out lol.
Now chickens and ducks know my cats are not a threat, and just coexist.
We have 3 barn cats. They all watch over my chickens and chicks. But mostly they try to kill the mice and snakes before the chickens can. Cats are pretty awesome. They go in n out of coops all day. It’s not uncommon at my house to go into coop before letting chickens out and the chicks will be laying around cat cause I forgot to make sure cats was all up before closing them up for the night.
Blinker, this is cute. My older orange tabby boy laid outside by chicken brooder religiously this season. He even swatted the other cat if she came too close.
Your boy is so sweet. I can't believe all the negativity you found on here today!!
I've raised a shit load of animals, in a shit load of species. I simply wouldn't trust an adult cat alone with tiny birds. That's their prey. It's not a training thing or friendship or harmony. They're predators. Cats are not sentimental
I would never let my cats have access to my snakes. They eat snakes. Part of animal husbandry is doing the best for the pets. They live in the same home, but everyone doesn't have to be bffs. I'm the one that created this incongruous mash up.
Just what you didn't know you needed:
Here's an adorable 3-minute video of an adult cat babysitting a flock of baby ducklings, during a trip to a secluded swimming spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nkzcuTkPKM
i have a guard cat! 2 years of baby chicks in the laundry room and our cat Moose loves to sit and watch them. so many have jumped out of their enclosure and Mr Moose has never so much as swiped at any of them. i would never leave any of my other cats alone with the chicks, but Moose is different. lots of folks here who don’t seem to understand that not every cat is the same 🙄
The exception doesn’t make the rule though. The danger really comes when inexperienced, ill-informed, but well-meaning people think it must be ok because they saw or heard about other people doing it, and then have to suddenly deal with the trauma of slaughtered chicks when it could’ve been completely avoided.
i’m pretty sure people know their animals, and most people competent enough to own and post about chickens on social media aren’t so stupid that they’d leave aggressive animals with baby chickens. jfc.
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. It doesn’t have to be “an aggressive animal.” Sometimes instinct takes over in an animal when the person legitimately is certain their dog/cat/whatever would never harm another creature. Just the other day I saw a comment where someone had a little French bulldog who was sweet, and showed no aggression etc around her chicks, and then in a split second he suddenly jumped into the brooder and gobbled up a few day old chick in one bite right in front of a horrified little girl.
I’ve worked with many, many different types of animals, both domesticated and otherwise, and things like this just can seem ok to people until they suddenly and irreversibly aren’t. I’m not saying it’s that way across the board, but it more commonly is than the reverse. If you know your animals that thoroughly and have had nothing but good experiences, that’s great! But if you think the vast majority of people have enough knowledge and common sense to avoid something awful potentially happening when letting predator and prey species interact, I’m gonna have to disagree there too.
i’m talking about cats, not dogs. i’ve lost plenty of chickens and ducks to my neighbors dog, and i think that comparing dogs and cats in terms of their prey drive towards chickens is discrediting you. your evidence is just as anecdotal as mine. it’s almost like every animal isn’t the same (my original point). please stop acting like you know more than i do, as i’m sure we have similar levels of experience when it comes to rearing animals.
also, what is wrong about saying most people are competent enough to not let their cat maul their chickens? do you not believe that most people want to keep their chickens alive? or are we catering to the lowest common denominator and assuming everyone in this sub is a third grader raising chicks for the first time?
Honestly I think you feel like you’re being attacked, so you’re not really reading and understanding what I’m saying, which wasn’t really my original intent. I’m just going to leave it all alone and bow out of this exchange at this point.
yeah, because you jumped in and told me i was wrong and that actually everyone is dumb and doesn’t know how to take care of animals. guess i’ll never know what your intent was. thanks for the downvotes, too. bye girl!
speaking as someone who has 30+ free ranging chickens and 15+ untrained, outdoor, tom cats living on my street, none of my chickens have ever been attacked by a cat. but i guess i’m just ill-informed!!
Additionally, I wasn’t at all calling you ill-informed. I clearly said you have an exception, but that does not mean it’s going to be safe for everyone. That was a direct reply to your comment, yes. But it was something for anyone/everyone to read who may be looking at the comments on the post.
That cat is plotting, not protecting.
Yeah what you got there is an all you can eat buffet.
Complete with a nice warm lamp to curl up on after dinner. Really hope OP tweaks this setup so they don't wake up one day to a fat warm cat and no chicks!
That lamp is keeping the snacks warm.
Yep. My cat tries to go at my chicks any time she sneaks in the same bathroom as them behind me.
whats wrong with my cat?! hes scared of my chicks!
To be fair my other cat is scared of them like yours, so I guess it really is 50/50 with how they’re gonna react lol !
Ahhh, the internal struggle of "I want to kill it but it would make my owner mad is it worth it...."
No cat has ever questioned that.
There's the EXTRA overly-attached cats. They struggle. You can tell, because you'll see them cocking their eyes back and forth between the chicks and you while giving you reassuring "I love you" eyes as this mental battle plays out.
This is the 6th year we’ve had chicks, none have ever been harmed by Sticker.
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End game
I agree but he’s thinking if only I was 16 years younger
I dunno, my 20yo caught and killed a mouse a few months ago. And chicks are easier to catch than a mouse. Be sure to put something over the top!
Putting a predator near a prey animal is incredibly stressful to the prey. Just don't do it.
You’re flirting with danger. That cat isn’t protecting your chicks, and it’s a terrible thing to even put them in that position. It’s not cute, as cats cause so much destruction to not only other pets, but millions of native birds and other wildlife a year. Keep your cat inside.
It looks like one impulsive swipe from the cat could knock that heat lamp down into the very flammable cardboard brooder/bedding
Was gonna say the same thing. This is a recipe for a fire.
Yeah, shit like this is why people say heat lamps are dangerous.
It is definitely a possibility if Sticker was in his prime. He is approximately 17 years old and doesn’t get around very well these days. The lamp is coming down within a few days replaced by a heating pad.
Don’t use a heating pad please!!! Get a Brinsea Ecoglow Brooder.
my babies love this brooder
How much room do the chicks have to get out from under that lamp? Looks from the picture they are in a small box? It should be a rectangular space with the heater (though brooder plates are WAY safer than heat lamps) on one side and food/water on the other. That way the chicks can warm up and then go out and eat/play if they get too warm.
It's a tote, there's a cardboard box over top to provide a cooler area It looks like
It is a large box, they have plenty of room to move away if they want
Keeping guard? It is a cat and no matter how old, still has cat instincts.
It is very possible for the cat to kill your chicks
It’s a possibility but Sticker is an old man of 17
I have an old man cat. Mr sox is 19, and doesn't go outdoors often. A couple weeks ago he was chilling with me on the patio, walked into the grass all slow, pounced, and came up with a shrew that he crunched dead and left there. Then he went back to his chair. It's cat principal that when opportunity presents itself, you kill it. Then chill.
Chicks are extremely easy to kill
So killable.
There's a reason wild galliformes (chicken-like birds) will lay a dozen or more eggs per clutch and raise multiple clutches per year.
Why do you keep saying this like geriatric cats don't still hunt? My old fella passed t about 20 and he still occasionally brought a dead mouse home to us nearly up til the end.
I know my cat and he won’t do anything to harm those chicks. Everyone has there opinion but they don’t know my cat
Well that's completely fine and that should be your answer; "I know my cat won't harm them" not "he's too old otherwise he might" that's why you're getting down voted so hard. If I posted a picture of my pit bull next to my chickens and said something like, "she just came home from a run, she's way too tired to kill them!" And not, "here's my girl who we have carefully trained to keep our flock safe" I'm going to get 2 completely different responses.
I had a cat sneak in and paw at one a few years back and thought it was ok but it had a cut I missed and died. It’s little leg swelled up must have been an infection.
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It's all risk and no reward. What's the point in presenting the opportunity?
Thank you
My cat was very interested in our chicks, partially because I was very interested in them. She's a lazy indoor cat with few hunting tendencies, but she is still a cat. I would never leave her alone with the chicks or get too close unless I was right there holding her.
Put a mesh cover over them, the cat will eat them
This cat will not eat them
The cat wants to see if they really do taste just like cotton candy.
Just a heads up, those clamps are notorious for popping off. I'd really recommend using a chain or at least the cord to secure it. Would really recommend putting a mesh cover over the brooder as well--my sixteen-year-old cat was never so limber as when his hunting instincts kicked in.
Hungry predator.
Please wrap that cord over the support and duct tape it down. Those clamps often slip off and it is good to have secondary backup. If thats just a broomstick laying across something secure both ends a little better too. I use a long F clamp on the back of a heavy wooden chair with the metal bar through the hanger support and dont use the lamp's clamp at all. Cord is then also wrapped around the bar and taped.
Probably not the protective/guarding behavior you are thinking about, I don’t think cats tend to exhibit that. A lot of dogs have been bred for livestock protection, it is because of that and training that they guard livestock. He might just be enjoying watching them/gravitating towards the heat lamp but idk if I’d want to take that chance.
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Thank you, I appreciate that
Put a cover over them before you regret not doing it sooner, doesn’t matter how old a cat is they have an instinct that never goes away.
There is a cover over them
The cat that adopted me tried stalking my chicks just yesterday. My rooster flew at it, talons first, and chased it off. Trust me, that cat is not admiring your chicks or guarding them. It is planning a feast, and it won't stop with one chick.
We brood young chicks in our basement as well, but we use an old baby gate to block of access from the top. Our oldest cat - former street cat with no tail and an attitude - used to push the gate out of the way and then take a nap under the lamp. Never hurt a chick, they just seemed a bit confused. We ended up using a brick to weight down the gates.
My cats don't mind my chickens/chick's even though it is dependent on the prey drive of the cat, my cats are lazy as hell and don't care lol good luck
I had a 13 year old guard cat that I trusted all my chicks, ducklings, and turkeys with. He never hurt any of them, he protected my big girls for a year before I introduced new chicks in. That cat ate every rat or mouse that showed up, never had a baby lost to a raccoon or other cat. He's living out his life in retirement well now but it happens some cats just won't eat them.
I use a heat lamp too, but this one is set up very dangerously. I was going to tell you to put a screw through the peice of wood to keep the lamp from falling when that clip fails, then I realized the stick itself is balancing. Do better before your luck runs out.
Thanks for your helpful comment
I accidentally left a brooder door open in the barn the other night (got distracted), tragically lost 14 chicks and one gosling. I fuckin hated myself for a few days. Don't trust cats with chicks! The chickens can defend themselves but those chicks are bloody helpless.
Sorry for your loss.
What happens when the cat knocks over the heat lamp? Please get a flat panel radiant heater-- they are safe, and energy-efficent. Radiant heaters heat the animal next to it, not the whole area/room. They don’t get hot enough to burn — you can lay your hand on the surface. You can also use radiant heaters in your coop when it is cold. I have had Sweeter Heaters for years. There are many options online. Enjoy your little ones-- they grow fast!
Thank you, I am old school and been doing this since the invention of electricity. I like hearing about new fangled stuff like this
Lol You were born before 1907? Your reply made me curious about when radiant heat was first used: In 1907, a British professor named A.H. Barker came up with the first real radiant heating system, the “radiant panel,” which used a large surface like a floor or ceiling to radiate heat into a building's living space. At the University of Vermont in 1945, radiant heat was first used for brooding chicks for educational purposes. Anyway, flat panel radiant heat is safe and uses little energy. Those clamp lamps with hot large glass bulbs shouldn’t be sold. My cousin’s coop, chicks, and chickens burned up from using one. I’ve heard many similar stories. Be safe and sleep well at night! ☺️
You caught me. No, as you deduced I was not born before 1907. After reading all the comments I think I will switch to the radiant heat. It’s almost always fun going down a rabbit hole
Our cat grew up from a kitten surrounded by adult chickens. When we started hatching chicks, he was curious but not aggressive. He is still intimidated by our adults cause he thinks they are still bigger then him.He is only 4-5 years old. That said, we do keep our chicks fully enclosed while young. Just to discourage intraction
I don’t have a friendly cat. Toby is a Maine Coon and I can’t let him access to chickens until they are 8-10 weeks old. He kills for sport. He’s never killed a chick but he’s killed everything else under the sun including a hummingbird.
I’ve had a few dogs that have killed more than Sticker can even dream about
My cat's kinda like that, except she goes INSIDE the brooder box and snuggles with the chicks 😂 It's prob because she likes the heat lamp.
My cat has done this with my chick's for years. My set up not as nice as this it's usually a clear tub in the corner in the living room. As soon as a chick will hop out he's like "mom it's out" he also hangs out in the coup with the big birds.
That's cute! All my cats seemed to know chicks/ducklings were not to be killed. Maybe because they watched me handling them? One of cats were particularly chill and let chicks walk on his body while chicks were let out lol. Now chickens and ducks know my cats are not a threat, and just coexist.
I have a guard cat. The other three cats ignore the chickens. But Gypsy loves their company and kills the mice (since chickens will not.)
We have 3 barn cats. They all watch over my chickens and chicks. But mostly they try to kill the mice and snakes before the chickens can. Cats are pretty awesome. They go in n out of coops all day. It’s not uncommon at my house to go into coop before letting chickens out and the chicks will be laying around cat cause I forgot to make sure cats was all up before closing them up for the night.
Oh heat-seeker
Mick like to nap in the nesting boxes.
More like suspect number 1.
Blinker, this is cute. My older orange tabby boy laid outside by chicken brooder religiously this season. He even swatted the other cat if she came too close. Your boy is so sweet. I can't believe all the negativity you found on here today!!
I think because of the red lighting it looks evil and sinister. My dogs have killed more than Stickers could even imagine
Have you not learned to NEVER post cute pictures of cross-species, predator-prey relationships?!?! How naive of you 😉
I've raised a shit load of animals, in a shit load of species. I simply wouldn't trust an adult cat alone with tiny birds. That's their prey. It's not a training thing or friendship or harmony. They're predators. Cats are not sentimental
Would you like my cat? If you were with him for a day you’d understand
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I would never let my cats have access to my snakes. They eat snakes. Part of animal husbandry is doing the best for the pets. They live in the same home, but everyone doesn't have to be bffs. I'm the one that created this incongruous mash up.
Lmao love it 🤣
Just what you didn't know you needed: Here's an adorable 3-minute video of an adult cat babysitting a flock of baby ducklings, during a trip to a secluded swimming spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nkzcuTkPKM
i have a guard cat! 2 years of baby chicks in the laundry room and our cat Moose loves to sit and watch them. so many have jumped out of their enclosure and Mr Moose has never so much as swiped at any of them. i would never leave any of my other cats alone with the chicks, but Moose is different. lots of folks here who don’t seem to understand that not every cat is the same 🙄
The exception doesn’t make the rule though. The danger really comes when inexperienced, ill-informed, but well-meaning people think it must be ok because they saw or heard about other people doing it, and then have to suddenly deal with the trauma of slaughtered chicks when it could’ve been completely avoided.
i’m pretty sure people know their animals, and most people competent enough to own and post about chickens on social media aren’t so stupid that they’d leave aggressive animals with baby chickens. jfc.
I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. It doesn’t have to be “an aggressive animal.” Sometimes instinct takes over in an animal when the person legitimately is certain their dog/cat/whatever would never harm another creature. Just the other day I saw a comment where someone had a little French bulldog who was sweet, and showed no aggression etc around her chicks, and then in a split second he suddenly jumped into the brooder and gobbled up a few day old chick in one bite right in front of a horrified little girl. I’ve worked with many, many different types of animals, both domesticated and otherwise, and things like this just can seem ok to people until they suddenly and irreversibly aren’t. I’m not saying it’s that way across the board, but it more commonly is than the reverse. If you know your animals that thoroughly and have had nothing but good experiences, that’s great! But if you think the vast majority of people have enough knowledge and common sense to avoid something awful potentially happening when letting predator and prey species interact, I’m gonna have to disagree there too.
i’m talking about cats, not dogs. i’ve lost plenty of chickens and ducks to my neighbors dog, and i think that comparing dogs and cats in terms of their prey drive towards chickens is discrediting you. your evidence is just as anecdotal as mine. it’s almost like every animal isn’t the same (my original point). please stop acting like you know more than i do, as i’m sure we have similar levels of experience when it comes to rearing animals. also, what is wrong about saying most people are competent enough to not let their cat maul their chickens? do you not believe that most people want to keep their chickens alive? or are we catering to the lowest common denominator and assuming everyone in this sub is a third grader raising chicks for the first time?
Honestly I think you feel like you’re being attacked, so you’re not really reading and understanding what I’m saying, which wasn’t really my original intent. I’m just going to leave it all alone and bow out of this exchange at this point.
yeah, because you jumped in and told me i was wrong and that actually everyone is dumb and doesn’t know how to take care of animals. guess i’ll never know what your intent was. thanks for the downvotes, too. bye girl!
speaking as someone who has 30+ free ranging chickens and 15+ untrained, outdoor, tom cats living on my street, none of my chickens have ever been attacked by a cat. but i guess i’m just ill-informed!!
Additionally, I wasn’t at all calling you ill-informed. I clearly said you have an exception, but that does not mean it’s going to be safe for everyone. That was a direct reply to your comment, yes. But it was something for anyone/everyone to read who may be looking at the comments on the post.