Jesse, a newly rescued chicken, warily regards Junie as they share the early Spring sunshine on a chilly, bright day.
Thai Boy carefully walks through a gauntlet of Girls to get to me.
Maji is very aware that Jesse is passing by rather closely to his resting spot. And, she too, is alert to his presence on this hot Summer day!
Ahhhh...she's passed on by. Maji can now relax his guard!
But not for long, Maji has moved to the circular garden now. Too many Girls have invaded his napping spot.
Always keeping an eye upon one another, cats and chickens can coexist peacefully.
I wouldn't trust any of the Cottage Cats - there are five of them - with baby chicks! It would be a massacre.
However, cats pose little threat to grown hens who aren't above donking a cat firmly on the head with a hard beak if a cat gets a bit too frisky or close!
Karma Kat and Sugar Baby are about as close as either of them wants to be. Any closer and Karma would probably give up his spot in the shade.
However, things are getting a little tense as Sugar Baby moves in on Karma.
I call Sugar Baby over for a snack of fresh currants to defray the standoff.
Chickens seem to have little fear of cats. And the cats know better than to get into pecking range. A few hen pecks was all it took to convince the cats that it's best to leave the Girls alone!
Even Shadow, my black Labrador retriever has learned to respect the Girls' personal space!
Generally, the chickens leave Shadow alone and unpecked as long as she's acting calmly...yet if she's excited and jumping about too close to the Girls, one or more of them will go on the attack!
Their attack isn't sustained. It's usually just a run up and quick peck. Shadow scoots away and the fracas is over...until the next time one of the hens thinks Shadow is acting in an unseemly or threatening way.
Shadow is good around the chickens. At first she tried to chase them but learned that they're part of our pack and not prey. And, that they pack a nasty peck!
When some of my Girls were young pullets the cats would ambush them by suddenly springing out from behind a bush. The pullets would squawk in terror and jump straight up into the air.
The cats seemed to enjoy this game. The young hens didn't...although the cats were too cautious to actually attack something almost as big as they are.
Eventually, the pullets tired of the game and started pecking the cats. That put a quick end to cat-on-chicken recreation.
Cats and chickens. A tense, wary treaty at best. Still, it's one that's workable for all parties.
Comments