Bald Eagle! *gulp*

[Chicks Galore3]

Yesterday there was a huge bald eagle outside- I wasn't sure it they will attack chickens or not, so me and my brother ran outside and put my chickens away. Will Bald Eagles harm my chickens?

 

[Imp]

Yes it might.

Imp

 

[redsoxs]

I have read that Sea Eagles (I guess in Europe??) attack chickens so I would assume a bald eagle just sees a chicken as the next meal. I have eagles snatch ducks sitting on a lake. The good news is the Bald eagles I have seen around my part of the world seem much more people shy than do hawks.

 

[Bitterweed]

Absolutely! I had a bald eagle that raided my hens every time the river (5 miles away) was too muddy to fish.
it is a grotesque thing to see, they do not kill them by snapping heads off, they eviscerate the hens..

 

[blucoondawg]

Yes they will, eagles are opportunists, they will eat whatever is easiest to find whether it is road kill deer or your chickens.

 

[jruhle]

Funny, I live in SE Alaska and there are lots of bald eagles flying by my house everyday and they have been the least of my problems. They do worry the ducks, but I've had to keep my birds in fortresses to keep everything else from eating them.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

I''ve has Bald Eagles land in my pasture to eat a dead Possum when there were chickens walking around 50 ft away.

I wouldn't worry about them

 

[BriskRooster]

YES they will... we had one swoop down on one of our hens, but the eagle just missed and the hen ran to cover.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The bald eagle is a semi aquatic bird. It will usually hunt or scavenge dead fish if the opportunity is there. Like others here said though, Bald Eagles are opportunist. That means that if the opportunity arises bald eagles will eat any thing from mice to way, way, way past it's prime road or winter kill deer that would gag a green blow fly. In fact the road kill will likely be preferred over your chickens because of the quantity (not the quality) of food resources that roadkill represents to an eagle, plus the ease and safety (to the eagle) of obtaining road kill with little no or effort or risk on the eagle's part.

http://www.oasisnewsfeatures.com/amish-and-the-eagle/
http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/806328_Amish-farmer-charged-with-killing-young-eagle.html

 

[wildpeas]

Yes a bald eagle will try for your chickens if they want to. I had a full grown bald eagle try to take one of my ducks off their pool less than 100 feet from my house. The next day it showed back up with 3 of its friends. My neighbors free range their chickens and experience regular losses to bald eagles. One day they came home and there was one standing on the ground in front of their chicken coop, staring at the door. I live near Puget sound in Washington and there are plenty of other things for them to eat, I think they are a bit lazy and go for the easiest catch.

My duck yard is now completely covered with netting and it has discouraged the eagle from my yard, although they still land in the trees and watch my property and the neighbors. When our chicks are ready for the move to their coop they will have a completely covered yard just like the ducks.