I couldn't find one of my white silkie hens tonight. As I was scouting around with my flashlight, the yellow and white cat jumped over the fence. Then I spotted my poor chicken. Apparently he had her by the neck and was trying to pull her between the fence and gate. She was just stuck there not moving.
Now I have two problems. Is there anything I can do for the hen? Looks like he's punctured her neck. There is a little blood, but she got up and walked to her pen. She was staggering but she went. Animal bites hold a lot of infection, I know from experience on that one. With puncture wounds you are supposed to make them bleed if you can. I don't think that will work with her. Any advice on doctoring her?
I also have eight eggs I was about to put under two broody hens.
If it isn't one thing it is another. Any advice? Oh let me think... you will say.. get electric fence.
This message was edited Sep 16, 2009 2:42 PM
Cat predator in the backyard
I don't know that ordinary electric fence will work for cats. We have several feral/barn cats that stalk our hens, but our hens are all large breeds and the cats never try to attack them. Chicks would be a different story, and I keep them cooped.
As for the wounds I would clean them well and then give the hen some systemic antibiotics for a few days.
Hope someone else can be of more help.
Chickens tend to recover well from wounds, so I think porkpal's advice is dead on.
I am not sure what you can do to discourage the cat. Once they get it in their heads to hunt something they are pretty relentless. There is electric poultry netting which might help if you know where the cat is coming in. Unlike electric fencing, with the netting they can't simply avoid a couple strands of electrified wire.
Thanks for your reply Porkpal. Guess you are up late too.
My fence is wood and about 6 feet high. The cat jumps on the 2X4 at the top to jump over. I was thinking if I put some electric wire up there they wouldn't be able to do that anymore. The squirrels will be mad though. They love to come in the yard and eat the chicken feed.
I just brought the hen in, she has a bit of her skin off the neck. I put some neosporin on her wound. She's just sitting here by my chair. I don't really have any antibiotics to give her.
Are electric fences safe? I mean, do they ever start fires or anything?
One thing for sure, I will have to keep a close eye out now, and get them in when the sun goes down right away.
Thanks Catscan.
This may be more work that you want to go thru, and, of course, it would be on the outside rather than the inside :)
http://www.feralcat.com/fence.html
Not that I'm doubting you, but are you sure it was the cat? I may be misunderstanding, but if the cat jumped out, and the chicken was being dragged out (I'm assuming from the outside?), maybe something else started the whole thing? Cats don't usually carry off their prey unless startled or threatened, and if the chicken was already inactive and past screaming, it may have been attacked earlier, by something else. Cats are opportunistic, and will check out possible meal sources, but to kill even a small chicken would _usually_ be more than they care to tackle. Chicks, yes, but even the ferals around here quit trying when they get some size on them.
Whoever the perpetrator, I hope you are able to foil it/them....
Save The Chickens!!
I've had several people try to give us kittens. They say we really need to have barn cats now that we have chickens. I have been leerie to take on that and now I'm convinced to not get a cat. I'd be afraid it would stalk the chickens or chase them around.
I'm sorry this happened to your chicken. I hope it gets better. I think I would try sitting out a couple evenings and discourage the cat from coming over the fence by using one of those big squirter guns. Shoot some stinky water at him. Maybe put deer repellent Liquid Fence in it. Won't hurt the cat but will make him smell so bad he won't want to come into your yard again.
If you started with kittens and have standard chickens, Loon, I don't think you would have any worries. My standard chickens chased all the feral cats out of our yard. I think the problem occurs more with strange feral cats and bantams and chicks.
I thought at one time a cat was killing and taking my Silkie chicks--then I found it was actually the California Jays, which are in the garden year round, but were taking the chicks to feed their babies during the Spring.
They never seem to bother the chicks during the rest of the year.
Loon, I don't think its all cats, I have 6 cats and they NEVER bothered the chickens. Even when the chicks were very young. One of the cats has even taken to sleeping in the chicken coop. Just teach the cat when its young that the chickens are off limits and let them get used to each other. They will become friend.
If I get a kitten it will live in the stall next to the chickens inside the barn. They would be separated. How do you teach them to leave the chickens alone? I'd hate to get attached to a kitten and have it turn out to not be friendly to the chickens. Maybe I should think about it till spring.
Chickens will make sure the kitten learns its manners. Unless the kitten has been taught by its mother to hunt chickens it won't have a clue that they are prey. Chickens are amazingly assertive with other animals. And they peck hard.
Do chickens kill/eat mice?
Some do. Buckeyes are famous for it. And I think Rhode Island Reds. Others will too. They are really omnivores.
It was definitely that cat. He was in my yard, the chicken was right there injured. He has had a clean kill here before. I saw him that time as well, jumping back over the fence.
What happened was, the sun had gone down several hours before I went out to coax them into their house. When I counted one was missing, the white one. She usually sits right by the pen but won't go in until I come out. Well, apparently last night, she was there in her usual place, because there are white feathers in that area.
When he took the chicks before, he carried them over the fence to eat them.
It's definitely him. I don't know why you would question that. I saw him.
Now I have to figure out what to do. Do I trap him and take him off somewhere? Do I try to rig some electric wire? Do I use a sensor of some sort? He's definitely a threat to my chickens!
I will be much more diligent in getting them into their coop at night. When the sun goes down they just sit down. That makes them very vulnerable.
This message was edited Sep 16, 2009 2:44 PM
Silkies are like that. They don't go up and roost high like the other chickens, which makes them vulnerable.
I hate to say it but you'll have to get rid of the cat. It will keep coming back no matter what. Feral cats will attack chickens. Nice cats do not. I have lots of cats & they never bother them but they are my pets. I do have to get rid of the feral cats or rehome them that come around bc they attack the full size chickens. We live trap them then get rid of them. Works very well. Some of then I've been able to rehome to places that would fix them & they wouldn't be around chickens. They are doing well. But keep your distance after you trap him unless you know for certain he doesn't bite. Cat bites are nasty nasty things & the antibiotics are horrid you have to take for it.
I was looking at these spikes you put on fences, and sensors that emit some frequency that the cats hate. Also, they have sprinklers with sensors that spray water when an animal comes around. That won't always work in the winter with the freezing temps.
I thought I'd just try and get some things that would keep that cat and any other animal that might want to come around, out.
This sensored sprinkler gets high ratings: http://www.amazon.com/Contech-Electronics-CRO101-Scarecrow-Motion-Activated/dp/B000071NUS/ref=pd_cp_hi_0
Here are the fence spikes: http://www.livesafe.co.uk/Prikka-Strip_webpage.htm
These sensors with the sound frequencies are getting mixed reviews, 3 out of 5 stars usually.
http://www.everythingforpets.com/catwatch_electronic_deterrent.pet/use.id.5.item_id.1299.dept.0/
Seems somebody told me awhile back to get a sensor that would beep in the house when the cat was on the fence. Maybe I should look back in these threads and see if I can find that.
This message was edited Sep 16, 2009 2:46 PM
LfJ, just stiffen your backbone, borrow a live trap from Animal Control and trap the cat. Find someone who will shoot it for you or let AM do it in the end. It isn't worth the heartache you are going thru now or in the future. If the neighbor makes a fuss remind him/her that since he/she took care of the cat when it was injured that showed intended ownership(? check the laws in your country on this)and that he/she is now responsible for any injury or deaths in your poultry flock caused by the cat.
Hi Leaf,
Thanks for the advice. I fell asleep earlier and when I woke up the sun was down, and I felt terrified that the cat was back trying to kill my chickens. I rushed out and saw no sign of the chickens. They were all in their coop. Even the young ones, who are three months old, who never go in their pen at night. They always huddle by the garage, and I have to pick them up and put them in. Not tonight, they were ALL in the pen waiting for me to lock up. Which I promptly did.
Obviously they know the danger too.
You are definitely right about the heartache and stress. Add to this the strange autoimmune disease I have called lupus. Stress makes me sick. Yes I know, strange, but it's true. It activates the antibodies in my blood.
About the neighbors, it's not just that I don't like lying. I consider one of them dangerous. He also has guns. He's a very scary man.
This message was edited Sep 12, 2009 10:21 PM
Until this forum is closed to outsiders, we need to learn from jylgaskin's exprerience, and be careful what we say about our neighbors or any other "outsiders". I agree that disposing of the cat might be a bad plan. An electric wire on top of your fence might stop the invasion, if the only way in is over the fence. However remember that the cat will need to be grounded to be zapped. If you own the land on the outside of the fence, an electric mesh set back from the wood fence might work. Good luck!
Ok, Porkpal, I don't know what happened before, but I edited most of my text out about the neighbor. I still left in the main meaning. Hope that's acceptable.
How long before her name becomes offensive to someone and she is told to change that? That is about what some of this politically correct stuff is coming to. I guess you know one can buy a 3 month subscription for about $5 & a year costs less than $20 so spys will always be able to be among us.
LfJ, I do understand Lupus. One of my close friends has it. She is not even 30 yet and was finally diagnosed after all kinds of health problems for over 6 years. I kept saying she was truely sick but most said she was putting on, named an overworked mental illness, etc. Now she is having surgery to remove some kind of lumps from her chest wall. Probably cysts according to her doctor. But her mother has recently had breast cancer so that is a risk factor.
Ten years ago, when I first got online, I used to chat with a young woman with cerebral palsy. She encouraged me to get a, shall we say, "good" nicname. I resisted her for quite some time, but this girl was persistent. Every time I saw her she would ask me "Have you picked a name yet?" How can you argue with the sweetest little girl you've ever met, who is bedridden 24/7? I mean, gee, if it had been anyone else I would have just said "no" and been done with it. This girl was different.
So, I thumbed through the "good" book and saw some lines I enjoyed, and picked this name. I now use it for EVERYTHING, my email, and well, let's just say everything online.
I'm sure some people hate me for it, and some people love me unjustifiably for it. Believe me, I've taken some flack for it, but so far, on all the different sites I've been to over the years, I've never been required to change it.
I was born in 1956, and I can certainly say that the world I live in today is not the world I grew up in.
Hi LFJesus: I was wondering, do you have any kind of light in your coop? Chickens do not like the dark, and generally when it starts getting dark they will head immed for the lite area. It is very unusual for chickens not to go into the coop unless there is no light to attract them. See if its as dark in the coop as it is outside then there is nothing to drive them into the coop. That is the first thing I would address, secondly You have a right to protect your property, however you choose to do that, I would not broadcast for others to have information to use against you. But to be sure I would take the necessary steps to correct the problem. No disrespect meant but cats will often carry of their prey to a place of their choice where they feel secure. I would try live trapping and removing it a few miles down the road, or take it to the humane society. Good Luck to you my dear. Haystack
Then why do all my poultry & pigeons go inside an unlighted building when it is just barely becoming dark? Often the sun isn't even totally down in the spring, summer and fall. There are 2 windows but that is all the light available.
Light-for-jesus wrote;" I don't know why you would question that. I saw him."
I'm sorry you took it that way. I explained my reasoning, and also said that I might be misunderstanding. By which I meant I could be wrong. My thought was that I've seen chickens who stick their head thru a gap be grabbed by something, and the "something" (I've seen both dogs and raccoons do this) tries to drag it all the way thru. If that doesn't work, I have never seen anything go inside the fence to try from there, but I'm sure it could happen.
Haystack wrote;"No disrespect meant but cats will often carry of their prey to a place of their choice where they feel secure."
I don't argue that either, which is why I mentioned being startled or threatened. What I questioned was a cat trying to pull a bird the size of a silkie thru a fence, and then jumping back inside. Maybe to try to push? :). Cats will certainly run with something small, that they can carry, as you say. I have some that will drag "prey" (usually the dogs' turkey neck) for some distance, but they give up pretty easily. Again, I could be wrong. It's frequent.
I was simply trying to offer some help with the catfencing site, it is effective, but it's work. I looked for a system (there are several types) squirrels could still get thru, which seemed a concern and was do-it-yourself.
I have spent 30+ years working with feral and rescue cats, as everything from a vet tech to animal control tech to running a cat rescue/sanctuary.
Sigh.
I think they go in without light when they are habituated to it. I've had it go both ways--and for young chickens who have been under heat lamps, it does help to light the coop to get them to go in at night....otherwise they just pile up where they are, trying to stay in the light as long as possible. Once they get used to going into the coop they go in as soon as it starts to get dark.
You are all very kind, thank you for your concern and help and good advice.
I am sure I didn't make myself clear about the fence and gate. I have a wooden fence that is a bit over six feet high. Inside the yard, to keep the chickens and dog out of my garden, there is a shorter fence with a chain link gate.
So this cat, was in my garden, and had the poor chicken's head through a gap between the post and the small gate. When I saw her I rushed over to her, and that's when the cat jumped the tall wooden fence. No doubt about it, he was right there at the scene of the crime.
The chicken is better btw. I am going to go back and study your comments, because I will do everything I can to protect my chickens. I like them, they keep me relaxed, and they give me such beautiful eggs. One way or the other this cat is going to stop!
Hay, during the really cold weather in winter last year, I ran an extension cord to the coop with a light. I was thinking maybe I could get one of those battery operated lights and stick in there, that way I can just pop it on. I usually use a flashlight to count them, but a small light inside might be a better solution.
I'm kind of concerned about these new led and lcd lights. Do they give off any heat? They are fluorescent I heard. Half the people with lupus are allergic to the sun and fluorescent lights. The news was reporting that the people in Europe are buying up all the old fashioned light bulbs they can get. Not sure what their reason is for that, but maybe I should do the same.
Thanks again for your help.
hmm... hadn't heard about the allergy thing.. Mom isn't but that doesn't surprise me either that they would be. Thanks for that bit of info.. I'll have to check into that one.
Mom also finds the chickens relaxing.. when they aren't leaving poo presents on our front porch for her to clean. :)
I too love my chickens & pigeons. They are my natural insect control as well as fresh fertilizer.
My background with poultry was hens raising chicks so there was no light for them. I have come to consider it to be unnatural and caused a lot of deaths from overcrowding and pileups in corners. Now when I have to raise babies without a hen I use a small heater with a fan to move the heated air into the pen and let them have natural length days and night.
A very long time ago we tried to research reports that excessive light caused young pullets to mature too quickly and have a tendency to prolapse.
We did succeed in confirming that you do NOT want to use black lights...the chicks will stare at them and go blind.
But yes, there are drawbacks to having chicks under constant lights with a heat lamp, even with red bulbs.
I'm so glad the hen is better. That's what really counts, after all :)
I spoke too soon. Yesterday she was pecking around in the yard, but today she didn't come out of the coop. Looks like the infection has set in. Animals bites are nasty things to deal with.
If you can examine her, check for redness, heat and swelling at whatever bite sites you can find, and all over if you can. If there are puncture sites, see if they have closed over, which is not a good thing. You can try to help by applying warm compresses, which will re-open the wound, and let them drain. Make sure they're not too hot (test on your inner arm) and hold them on the site as long as she'll let you. I would seperate her, keep her warm and confined (a box with a towel wrapped hot water bottle or 1litre soda bottle will do) where you can watch her. Give her access to food and water. Do you have any kind of antibiotic available? I can check dosage of you let me know what and what strength. The ones I use most are Tylan and Baytril, but Cephalexin can be used, as well.
Thanks Catmad,
I called Gebo's and they have injectable penicillin for $10. I have given injections to dogs and cats, but never a chicken.
When I had a bad infection in my hand from a cat bite, only a certain kind of antibiotic would even kill those particular germs. The infection swelled my hand and was moving up to my elbow. I don't like prescription drugs and tried to refuse, but the doctor said I could lose my arm and even my life. I was scared enough I relented. Haven't taken a prescription drug since then, and that was 20 years ago.
You have to do what you have to do.
Let me know what you think. I don't know if the vet here would help me without charging me $50. They are quite uppity around here lately. I can call them and see what response I get.
In the meantime, I'll check on the chicken.
u r right.. in humans only one kind of antibotic will help for cat bites. I just went thru that last fall. I'll go check right now & see if I kept the bottle ( i'm bad about keeping those bottles just incase teh doc doesn't remember what I took the time before) At least that way you know the name of it.
I don't remember the exact name of the long acting penicillin I used for our chicken(s)when they were injured. Give the injection in the breast if possible. If not, give it in the thigh. I remember it was quite thick so a #16 needle was the smallest I could use. There are antibiotics that are put in poultry water that is available OTC at most farm supply stores.
A little bleach in water will help clean the wound. Do NOT use iodine products or hydrogen peroxide. Both of these products destroy all cells they come in contact with and new cells as well. That boiling you see when you use hydrogen peroxide is cells, including blood cells, exploding. I learned this from a podiatrist who use to work in the ER. Epsom salts moist packs will make the wound heal faster if you can manage it. If she is your pet just hold her on your lap and lay the moist warm pack on the wounded area. Do NOT leave her in the poultry flock as there are too many bacteria to enter any wound even if you can't see it yet.
GOD bless and keep you and yours.
shoot.. i thought i'd put the name of what the doc gave me incase that helps.. & i somehow looked it up but didn't post it.. I"m sorry... it was clindamycin... idk if that's one of the ones they give animals or not.
Most Vets are kinda useless when it comes to chickens. I have a dear friend who's a Vet, and she tries, but they don't teach chicken in Vet school. Most Avian specific Vet will treat them, but they're usually very expensive. My Vet drug book lists only a pen G procaine dose for turkeys, and that's in combination with another type of pen. Here's something I found that discusses using Pen G.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4745
Cat bites are tricky, but there are several drugs that can be used. Most common are Augmentin and Azithromycin, but Clindamycin is a great drug for for abcesses ( at least in cats and dogs), so no reason it wouldn;t be just as effective in humans. Those should cover the common pathogens (often pasturellas). Sometimes there is something uncommon, and IV drugs also may be needed. I agree in not using peroxide to clean wounds, but I do use Betadine, which is a povodine Iodine, as a flush tp clean anything. I would not use a clorox solution on anything animate. Chlorhexidine or Betadine surgical scrub could be used as well, but I keep straight Betadine (which I dilute) on hand. This is only my protocol, YMMV :)
This may help,
http://www.thecatsite.com/general/catbites.html
HTH
What do you think of putting some lugol's iodine on her wounds?
She's still not coming out of the coop. She is sitting there with her head up and to me, looks a bit better than yesterday.
Iodine is a new hit on the health food scene. I have been using it off and on for awhile now for thyroid and to kill unknown pathogens. I just never know what it's going to do to me, so I am careful with it. Sometimes I get these great BURSTS of energy, and for someone with lupus, that is a miracle in itself!! Sometimes I get a not great feeling for a few days. One drop is very very strong. I have unpredictable reactions from it.
The theory behind the iodine therapy is, that when they put fluoride in our water, it took the place of iodine in the thyroid. Bromide in soft drinks as well. So taking iodine is supposed to kick out fluoride and bromide, which many are now saying are poisons. I have been reading that fluoride was invented in Nazi Germany and was used in the concentration camps to make the prisoners docile. It's an interesting study. Just google fluoride and Nazis. Google "Operation Paperclip" and find some more interesting facts about life in America. It's an eye opening experience.
Back to the chicken. If this Lugol's iodine I have is the same iodine we used when I was a child, for cuts and scrapes, then it would be safe on a chicken, I would assume. If it isn't, I'm not sure. This iodine is absorbed through the skin as well.
A lady here in town told me her husband who lived into his 80s and was a World War II vet, when he would get sick would cover his chest and back with iodine. She said he would recover very quickly. His mother had taught him that when he was a boy. If you ask me, it wouldn't hurt some of us to go back to some of these old time remedies. Ones that worked.