I would like to reintroduce quail to our neighborhood, problem being the siamese cat that decimated the population is still around. I heard that ducks, geese and or turkeys will not take any guff and protect "their" terrority.
If I started with ducks or/and geese and/or turkeys or some combo of those 3 raising them in tractor until old enough to handle cat, and then pick one of these according to temperament........ (need a broody "hen" for hatching the quail eggs and maybe some "mothering") and put them in tractor and let the older geese/duck/turkey out to guard the area and get the siamese used to staying away.......will be planting quail habitat this spring so this is still very much in the planning stages........trying to avoid extending my 4' chain link fence to 6' which is too costly right now.
What do you all think?
Want to reintroduce quail to neighborhood any ideas........
My dog's pet duck was very good at chasing the cat out of the yard. She would play with one of the neighbor's teenaged cat but would chase our own, larger Coon cat right out of the yard. Perhaps if you had the duck hatch (or help hatch) the quail eggs, she would defend them against the Siamese. A duck in attack position is not something a cat wants to argue with.
Have you seen this video of the chickens breaking up a rabbit fight?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFGxydpkWyE
This message was edited Feb 20, 2007 9:25 PM
Get a Haveahart Trap Catch the Cat and find it a good home out of your area
How old is the cat? Any chance it's too old to cause much trouble? One good rooster or goose or duck will make any cat lose its appetite.
Phicks - Wish I could, the Siamese belongs to meth heads next door, before any one jumps on me for calling them that (happened in a different thread) they are meth heads, I offered them a beer - they declined and offered me......
I do not want to upset them, they have way more time & energy to waste on negativity then I do. I am sure the cat has not been properly taken care of for years but I do not want to engage in a war with my neighbors. I can not even tell animal control without giving my name as the complainant which would be noted in the public file which they have every right to access, which can lead to..........some place I do not want to go. I am an animal lover I feel bad about the cat but to single them out really is not fair given the fact that there are other bad cat owners in the neighborhood (the lady across the street does not believe in spaying or neutering) and feral cats abound also. The Siamese is a bird killer I know because I feed the birds and have had to alternate my methods due to seeing his work in progress time after time its his nature.....the feral cats seem more concerned about stuff they can actually eat, mice, voles etc....The Siamese is just doing what is in its nature thats why I wanted a "natural" solution..........
Appreciate the info Garden-Mermaid, as always your input is greatly appreciated.
If it were me I'd get a pair of geese. A large goose can be quite formidable and by having a pair you have a team to work the yard. If you have a lot of feral cats I think one lone goose might be overwhelmed. I don't know how the geese would take to quail though...sorry.
You have my sympathies about the neighbors !!!
~Julie