Cats and quail

[cathalmire]

Hi im sure you all have a similar problem with cats. Lastnight one of my birds got attacked an near pulled through chicken wire of the pen. She is luck to be alive but got bad scratched, is there any other free way of keeping cats away without spending money on sprayers and other gadgets? Iv put clear pvc round it now for the time being.

 

[nuthatched]

Hardware cloth?

 

[Battlepants]

For free - whatever you can find by dumpster diving or on craigslist curb alerts. Any material you can get to barricade your setup will help.

At some cost - yea, I would agree with hardware cloth. Cats aren't particularly strong, but they are very flexible and have long narrow arms. The only true defense against them is to have holes so small that they can't get through. This is where a sheet of hardware cloth and a bunch of staples will stop them in their tracks.

 

[ashcons]

Hardware cloth?

The solution to most predation questions.

 

[cathalmire]

Hi im sure you all have a similar problem with cats. Lastnight one of my birds got attacked an near pulled through chicken wire of the pen. She is luck to be alive but got bad scratched, is there any other free way of keeping cats away without spending money on sprayers and other gadgets? Iv put clear pvc round it now for the time being.

Thanks guys. The female had died on me unfortunately, going to try block yard so cats can't climb over the fence for time being till cloth arrives.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Thanks guys. The female had died on me unfortunately, going to try block yard so cats can't climb over the fence for time being till cloth arrives.

That is a loosing battle my friend.

 

[Battlepants]

Thanks guys. The female had died on me unfortunately, going to try block yard so cats can't climb over the fence for time being till cloth arrives.

Is it possible to move your setup to a secured area, such as a garage or something?

 

[ashcons]

.22 short is very quiet and can be fired from a .22lr chamber. Just an interesting fact for BYC.

 

[Battlepants]

Killing of a invader should be a last resort. Always aim to stop the invader from entering if at all possible.

At the end of the day, this cat is likely someones pet and this comes with two implications - they will miss their pet if you kill it, and they might take revenge on you/your birds if they find out it was you.

And besides, anything a cat can do, a racoon can do too. It's going to be a long uphill battle against the wildlife population if you go the killing route.

 

[ashcons]

Agreed, but if hardware cloth is too expensive or unavailable and an irresponsible owners' pet is attacking and killing your animals, I'm just sayin' .22 short is cheap, quiet, and a solution.

Pets stay on one's property.

Pests invade others.