Chickens vs. Barn Cats - Looking for Suggestions

[stacysfunnyfarm]

I gave up and now buy some cheap dry cat food (meow mix) for the chickens. The ingredients are very similar to chicken food, mostly corn. I feed it to my hens for a treat just before I feed the cats and it keeps them busy. I feed the cats where I can keep busy with chores, so I can keep an eye on them. They look forward to their own cat food now!

 

[Sara H.]

Don't know how much you're willing to spend, but they make those cat feeders that only open if the cat has an RFD thing on its collar... chickens would just be out of luck - the magic door wouldn't open for them! Of course, they might resort to holding a cat hostage for his collar!

 

[redinator]

On Friday, April 18, 2025, a thief was caught stealing food from the barn cats. Witnesses claim to have seen the Isa Brown hen eating out of the cat's food dish on multiple occasions. Some even claim she would bring her friends with her, and together they would peck the dish clean. Witnesses were able to take pictures of the looter as she ran away. Police were able to apprehend her shortly after. Police warn she was not working alone, and her accomplices are still on the loose. It's believed she was working in tandem with the miniature donkeys, who in the past have also been known to steal the cat food. They helped block the path from her pursuers as she escaped.
Photos of the thief running from the scene were provided -
View attachment 4102351View attachment 4102353View attachment 4102354View attachment 4102357
The victims also provided a picture -
View attachment 4102359
A trial will be held next week. The barn cats are calling for 100 hours of community service, which would include dealing with the ticks in the back field of the farm.

In all seriousness, I'm looking for suggestions on how to keep the chickens from eating all the cat food. I've tried putting it up high, blocking the area off, and moving it, but the chickens always find it. Blocking off the barn isn't really an option, as my horses/donkeys/alpacas need access to it from the pasture. And I don't have anywhere else to move the food to.
So, my only idea is creating some type of box with a hole small enough that only the cats can fit through. Maybe I could build some type of gravity feeder inside that I could dump a bag of feed into. I'm just curious if anyone else has had this problem and what you built/did to prevent the chickens from eating all the food. It wouldn't be a big problem if it weren't so expensive or if they only ate a little bit, lol. But a big group of them like to go out there and eat all of it!

That is hilarious . . .maybe you can find something here: https://www.amazon.com/cat-food-puzzle/s?k=cat+food+puzzle

I maybe underestimating the determination of the chickens though.

 

[AuntiePatriciaUSA]

On Friday, April 18, 2025, a thief was caught stealing food from the barn cats. Witnesses claim to have seen the Isa Brown hen eating out of the cat's food dish on multiple occasions. Some even claim she would bring her friends with her, and together they would peck the dish clean. Witnesses were able to take pictures of the looter as she ran away. Police were able to apprehend her shortly after. Police warn she was not working alone, and her accomplices are still on the loose. It's believed she was working in tandem with the miniature donkeys, who in the past have also been known to steal the cat food. They helped block the path from her pursuers as she escaped.
Photos of the thief running from the scene were provided -
View attachment 4102351View attachment 4102353View attachment 4102354View attachment 4102357
The victims also provided a picture -
View attachment 4102359
A trial will be held next week. The barn cats are calling for 100 hours of community service, which would include dealing with the ticks in the back field of the farm.

In all seriousness, I'm looking for suggestions on how to keep the chickens from eating all the cat food. I've tried putting it up high, blocking the area off, and moving it, but the chickens always find it. Blocking off the barn isn't really an option, as my horses/donkeys/alpacas need access to it from the pasture. And I don't have anywhere else to move the food to.
So, my only idea is creating some type of box with a hole small enough that only the cats can fit through. Maybe I could build some type of gravity feeder inside that I could dump a bag of feed into. I'm just curious if anyone else has had this problem and what you built/did to prevent the chickens from eating all the food. It wouldn't be a big problem if it weren't so expensive or if they only ate a little bit, lol. But a big group of them like to go out there and eat all of it!

I'd think the birds might need something the cat food contains... maybe feed the birds some cat food on a regular basis? Is the cat food based on fish? God forbid - chicken? Beef?

 

[FrostRanger]

I'd think the birds might need something the cat food contains... maybe feed the birds some cat food on a regular basis? Is the cat food based on fish? God forbid - chicken? Beef?

Cat food is simply delicious to them. Cat food has meat, chickens love meat hence chickens love cat food. Cat food containing chicken isn't really a concern. Sure, it's disturbing from the human's perspective but from their standpoint meat is meat and they don't care if it's of their own species or not. Chickens are cannibals hence why you have to remove injured birds from the flock. Again, while it may seem wrong or disturbing from our perspective, chickens don't operate by our morals

 

[Wild Iris]

They make covered cat litter boxes with swinging flap doors. You could get a clean/unused one and put a bowl of food in. I don't know whether the chickens will go through a swinging pet door or not, but they wouldn't smell the food, and it's usually rather dark inside so maybe they wouldn't see/notice/care.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Don't know how much you're willing to spend, but they make those cat feeders that only open if the cat has an RFD thing on its collar... chickens would just be out of luck - the magic door wouldn't open for them! Of course, they might resort to holding a cat hostage for his collar!

I was going to suggest this too, but for the price it might be worth just lying in wait with a super soaker and squirting the birds when they get too close to the food.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Whoever suggested a team meeting obviously hasn’t read Animal Farm…

Seriously though we had to feed the cat on the kitchen window sill. Sometimes a chicken would show up on the porch but the cat would come sit on the window when she was hungry and I would open it, put her food out, she would eat and leave.