Hacker News Reader

Comment by Razengan | Hacker News Reader

Does the solution mean more cats?

Cats are unable or unwilling to tackle larger rats, including the ones outside my apartment. They're much better mousers than ratters.

Depends on the cat and the size of the rats. I have had cats that would deposit dead rats along with their regular offering of mouse heads on my door mat, and one cat that hunted rabbits nearly her size. (As the rabbits kept invading my fenced vegetable garden I was okay with their predation)

But then your chickens are in danger again.

I have two cats and there are at least 5 "working" feral cats from around the neighborhood that come through my yard all of the time. None of them, even the largest, have ever posed a single threat (or even interest) in my fully grown chickens.

Chicks, on the other hand... but that's why chicks aren't free ranging.

Yeah I've never seen a domestic cat go for an adult chicken. They've always coexisted peacefully in my experience. They are symbiotic to some degree. Chickens can attract mice by virtue of how messy they are (throwing feed everywhere). Cats eat mice. Ecosystem balanced.

Also, an adult (egg-laying) chicken will weigh close to what a cat weighs. Cats have a plentitude of much easier prey.

Chicks would be fair game, but most people are raising chicks in an incubator setting. (Chickens are not great mothers, and you'll have a lot of attrition even in the absence of predators.)

No cat is going to hunt and kill a chicken.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com