Joel Little writes:
Thanks for the replies all. I was planning on constructing a lock-up for
them, but was concerned about cats getting at them during the day too. I
guess I'll just have to see how they fare.

My thoughts are that well-fed neighbourhood cats will probably show close
interest in the chooks, and may at first chase them, but probably will
not injure them. However, having strange cats stalking them day after day
may well put the chooks off laying.

If cats are going to do damage, it would most likely be feral/abandoned
cats and these generally emerge only after dusk, so provided the chooks
are securely locked up by late afternoon, probably no problems. However,
the suburbs of modern cities are home to many foxes. Although these have
evolved a cloak of invisibity to humans, and fare well on pet food and
scraps from bins, they have retained an appetite for fresh chicken.
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)