The cams are to monitor the status of the Chickens (need food? Water? temperature? eggs? everyone there?). A possum can be seen... a frequent but harmless visitor.
About noon a neighborhood cat appears, tries to kill my brown Polish lace, then creeps into the brush, hesitates, then pounces on one of the twin sister black chicks (Silikies) and kills her while another quickly pops out of the brush. 50 minutes later the cat leaves and a bit later only the one black Silkie can be seen. I didn't miss the killed Silkie until bedtime. That very cat has killed 5 of my birds over the last 5 years (I have videos). I cannot find the cats owner...nobody knows.;
arghhh nooo..
ReplyDeletebut...must give this idea to my friend Gayle....
We had feral cats living under the barn once upon a time. I could never catch them or drive them out. They killed every one of my chickens no matter what I tried to do. The only solution would have been a sky-high fence, which I could not afford to erect.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteluckybean - I was pretty mad at that cat... he has lurked about many times. I have many cams, so I can keep watch over the Chickens and Pigeons no matter where they are...in-out, night-day. I was home when this happened... Seconds earlier I heard the Chickens clucking their alarm sound but I saw nothing so ignored it. They often do that when a hawk flies over... then they quickly hide. It did them no good with a cat.
I love how they followed you around .. lol
ReplyDeleteAwwwwwww too bad. You should set a cat trap and then bring the cat to the humane society.
ReplyDeletestuffed - I love how they follow me around too... sometimes they are pests... have almost tripped over them... they pick up my tools and run off with them, etc. They hang around when we're sitting at the picnic table. ... my "Roving Lawn Ornaments".
ReplyDelete. . . I thought it was so cute when the cat attacked Truffles (Brown Chicken)... she ran over to Bert for protection.
fanta - I may not be very humane to that cat (just kidding). I'm amazed the cat didn't go after my white Pigeon Simon...always on the ground, walks very slow, trusting, and vulnerable. The Chickens and Pigeons live closely with our cat Tuna and totally trust him, so they have no fear of cats.
Yes they would be very vulnerable indeed.
ReplyDeleteI got trashed-on by a couple of gals the last time I said this here, but here goes:
ReplyDeleteMany animals are varmints. Coyotes are a particularly nasty example; I've killed several - and it's not personal; just keeping them away from my peafowl and my cat (which one killed, unfortunately).
Cats are another nasty example of either untended 'domestic' animals (left to wreak havoc with the property of others), or (worse) simply dumped-off in the 'country', without the understanding that there's no such place as 'nowhere' nowadays - someone usually lives there - and if people are not about, then other creatures are, which immediately become prey.
The other reader is correct - get yourself a Havahart live-trap and take it to the humane society. Likely, if things are there as they are here, the cat will simply get the gas in a few days, because it no longer has a home. Sad; but there you have it.
Bottom line - protect your own. If it means that you dispense with the idea of spending $50.00 on a trap, and decide instead to dispense justice at the cost of a $.02 lead-pill from the muzzle of your .22, then you won't find me emoting about how horrible you are.
It's not personal.
Between weasels, coyotes, raccoons and raptors, we've had one hell of a bad year with our sweet birds (chickens and ducks). We're currently building an enclosure (another one) so the birds can have outside time but not get killed. Last week, our old Jack Russell went out to pee and never came back. A coyote is the only answer. I'm so sick of death! What sort of cameras do you use? Expensive?
ReplyDeletecats do cat things -
ReplyDeleteIts the nature of the beast.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not an advocate of killing animals, I think you should set a trap for this cat and rehouse it or have it put down by a professional.
ReplyDeleteIt's not right that your birds are being killed because someone isn't taking adequate care of their cat.
A responsible cat owner should always have cats indoors at night time and if the cat is released outside, it should have bells on its collar to warn other wildlife.
I've got 10 cats and they're all inside at night and belled during the day (Goliath has three bells because the bastid knows how to move with up to two bells on his collar) without fail, and there is no excuse for a responsible cat owner not doing that.
fanta - since they live with my cat Tuna... they trust cats.
ReplyDeleteAstra - I'm a city planning commissioner... ordinance says no traps, no BB guns, etc so... many options eliminated for "me".
Aspsenglow - Even here in town I've lost some pigeons to hawks too.
My Security cams (11) are mostly "SmartGuard", about $100 ea.... use an SD card, not live. (that's the cam used in the video).
My wireless net cam (Click here to view/search yard for Chickens) is a digital Panasonic pan/tilt ($300) the others are less expensive no pan/tilt ($50-$100). The Panasonic is excellent...5 years now outside MN sub-zero and still working perfectly, about 1 LUX. The new ones also have sound. Can have up to 10 cams
Another is a Samsung w/monitor...4 wireless digital cams $450, monitor has RCA video out... can hook to anything (DVD, TV, etc).
Also two wired .0003 LUX hi-res...(SuperCircuits) even starlight is plenty bright...$120ea, does not need infra-red illumination.
ALL cams can broadcast on internet.. and all are connected to all our TVs, DVRs, VCRs, computers, etc... can watch the "Chicken Channel" from any TV or computer anytime.
Goodstuff -
Fanta-
Yes indeed they do ...except for my cat Tuna. Tuna actually protects the Chickens and Pigeons. It's thanks to Tuna that the killer cat isn't around more. He KNOWs when the killerCat is around and insists to be let outside.
Debo - the key word is "Responsible"...Our city ordinance states ALL cats must be leashed when outside. (Tuna NEVER leaves our fenced yard... good kitty).
I'm sorry you lost your birds. :(
ReplyDeleteI've always owned cats (or rather, been owned by them), so I know how predatory they can be. As Deb said, cat owners should be responsible for ensuring their pets don't wreak havoc. They should also be held accountable for any damage the cat is responsible for outside it's own yard. I'm all in favour of laws requiring cats to be microchiped and neutered.
ivlila - Thanks. I suspect the cats owners assume their cat is not causing problems ??... but it's still illegal for it to roam. I need to put more effort in tracking down the owner. Animal control won't do anything unless the cat is seen running loose... he's good at hiding.
ReplyDeleteYou might have to invest in a trap or contact someone to trap it for you.
ReplyDeleteLOL@ so many being in favor of having the cat put down, one way or another. That's pretty much killing the cat for being a cat. The owner of the cat, or the dropper of the cat (as the case may be) is the one who should be held accountable. I hope you find out who it is, in the case of an owner, so you can have them keep the cat at home.
ReplyDeletelvlila - I have lots of traps. I'm a city official... illegal to trap at all... I cannot do that :(
ReplyDeleteThe City will not do any trapping either. To capture they must catch the cat being an unleashed (or off-property) cat. I depend on my cat to keep other cats away... and he does (usually).
varainy - Yes... but I suppose that's why there's a law against loose cats.
Thank you for the information. We're going to see what we can do. I wish your birds safety! < º)
ReplyDeleteaspen - Thanks... I worry about my birds all day every day. It's painful to lose any. That's one reason I allow the Pigeons to come in the house... safe there. When we're gone for more than 1 day I lock the Chickens and Pigeons in their aviary for their protection.
ReplyDeleteThat makes that cat a no-no ... trap with legs
ReplyDelete*smile* of course it's the owner that's responsible ... if you can find him/her
ReplyDeleteI have a question though ...
ReplyDeleteLet's assume there are stray cats ... everywhere ...
How are they caught without traps?
Are they just left alone?
Is it something you'll have to deal with by putting up better fencing, perhaps?
Stuffed - we have a pretty good chain-link fence entire yard, 1/3 acre...but I've seen deer and dogs jump over it (4')... and of course raccoons, possum, cats, hawks.. can easily get over it too. Code will not allow a higher fence. The birds LOVE to roam all over the yard... it's their "thing" and it would be punishment to confine them full-time. When we're gone I confine the Chickens and Pigeons to their aviary... it's very large by Chicken standards, but they still are anxious to get out in the yard. The Pigeons MUST be allowed to fly free...they need lots of exercise. It would be cruel to confine them all the time. So... I continue to take chances, not much different than for us risking a drive to work everyday in traffic. My rural friends with Chickens have a much larger fatality rate... but the loss of even one Chicken is too much for me.
ReplyDeleteI always count my Chickens before they..... go to bed.
Stray cats tend to vanish (wonder why?)... the city has an animal control officer and I hope that's why they vanish? but... it's really hard to capture a specific cat. With the city ordinance... there really aren't any stray cats... just this one, one too many.
Maybe it'll get abducted by aliens .. *SMILE*
ReplyDeleteWe're with you there. Currently, we have a bantam grey cochin who sleeps inside at night, high up on a book shelf. Gris Gris is so tiny and vulnerable and the other birds haven't taken to letting him be in their pens. We had a pigeon for a couple of years that I rescued at the clinic. He was a young one. He fell deeply in love with a big white langshan chicken and followed her everywhere. He would land on me when I came out. His name was Fleetwood Mac. I know a lot of people think we're bananas.
ReplyDeleteI LIKE your thinking on this! I've seen too many people become so concerned with the safety of a pet that they totally forget what that animal needs to stay happy and healthy. What good is total safety (or as close as there can be to totally safety) if quality of life is sacrificed? Sounds like you are doing a great job of keeping the balance between reasonable safe and allowing the birds to have what they need and makes them happy and healthy.
ReplyDeleteaspen -
ReplyDeleteI have a tiny Frizzle like Gris Gris. They all picked on her (Puff) but eventually she became one of them and now she doesn't let anyone push her around. It seems they usually manage to work it out eventually.
. . . My Pigeons and Chickens pretty much ignore each other. One pigeon occasionally chooses to sleep in the coop with the Chickens instead of his nest box in the aviary and it's ok. I had a Female Pigeon who fell in love with a male Dove (Huge size difference)...that was cute. All three pigeons come to me outside but one (Velcro) sticks to me. She's quite affectionate. I'm getting used to being thought of as bananas.
varainy -
Every evening I am relieved when all critters are accounted for. At least I know they are safe overnight in the aviary/coop... days can be perilous for them. Several times I watched hawks try to get them... twice there was a very close call. When the Pigeons decide to take an excursion around the neighborhood I'm always so relieved when they return. They're so white they look like targets.
. . .When I watch them all in the yard... I'm convinced that they are likely the most happy birds on the planet... they really seem to enjoy being around and alive. I can see them smiling. They all love me... and I love them.
I'm sorry you lost your chickie :( Why aren't traps allowed? I'd be setting a live trap for that cat. I don't care if the cat is doing what nature intended, if it's in my yard killing my chickens, it's got to go, somehow. If folks are worried about their pets getting caught in any traps, then their pets should have a better eye kept on them.
ReplyDeleteChickie - ?Not sure why traps aren't allowed, but... since I'm a city employee (Planning Commissioner), I can't be doing anything that's against the city ordinance... don't want to get into trouble with the city.
ReplyDeleteSo is there an avian equivalent of a Llama? Some here in the SW keep Llama's with sheep because llamas will kick the backside of a mountain lion. (don't let the avatar fool you. I am NOT a cat person. They're pretty to look at but their little personalities usually suck.) Maybe an ostrich on steriods?
ReplyDeletecoyote - No avian equivalent, but our cat Tuna is a great protector of the Chickens when outside... will not allow another cat in the yard. We often have trouble with Hawks too. Tuna is 85% house cat but often patrols the yard.
ReplyDelete?Maybe I could get a Llama?
maybe! That's good that Tuna has your feathered buddies backs, though.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of hawks out here taking out house cats as well as birds.
That is odd that traps aren't allowed. We have a friend who traps cats but he uses them to train his hounds to hunt cougar. (not sure that's the best thing to do, sigh. But he does it)
Maybe geese? They're big - and they don't play....
Coyote - Most people I know who have Chickens routinely lose a few during the year to cats, coyotes (nothing personal), fox, etc. I've only lost this one chicken but that same cat killed several of my Pigeons (not recently) and I've lost Pigeons to hawks. I've always debated if I should confine the Chickens/Pigeons (not fair to them) or risk their lives and let them roam. It's the Pigeons that I worry about most, much smaller than Chickens. I decided to let them roam, but usually if we're gone I will confine them. They have a large very safe aviary and they like that too.
ReplyDeleteWhat could you put in there that's safe for the birds but not the intruder? (besides yourself) Something will work and keep that killer out.
ReplyDelete7jewel - Our cat is pretty good at patrolling the yard. He usually (but not always) knows when there's an intruder it the yard and wants to be let out. He's quite effective, but not foolproof. Hawks are always a threat too. They show up once or twice a year but usually the Chickens run for cover first. But a hawk did kill one of my pigeons a few years ago. There's not much I can do to completely protect them short of keeping them confined, and that's not fair to them.
ReplyDelete