Are heron's predators?

[tpeila]

We have a couple of Blue Herrons that like to visit our backyard and fish out of our pond. Would they be a threat to the chickens?

 

[drumstick diva]

I would think newly hatched chicks would interest them if they were hungry enough.

 

[Hoss1975]

Yes they will eat chicks if given the opportunity.

 

[Nambroth]

Herons are predatory and great blue herons will take any small prey that they can snatch and swallow. Fish, frogs, mice, rats, small birds, etc. If you have chicks or ducklings around I would consider them unsafe, but a heron is very unlikely to bother a full grown chicken.

 

[centrarchid]

A heron may not be able to consume an adult chicken but is able to drive hen away from chicks. Blue herons around here consume full adult bullfrogs and spear 5 pound bass. The birds that occasionally gut hung up in my netting around pounds are a nasty customer until the bill is in hand.

 

[Pinky]

Quote:
I was about to ask the same question. A smaller heron came to visit my pond and scared the poo out of my chickens and guineas. It was about the size of a hawk and black.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Given a choice, a heron will prefer fish, but if hungry will likely eat just about anything that seems even the least bit like food. Those beaks are WICKED, and could easily stab a person to death, so be extremely careful if you need to approach one for any reason.

 

[centrarchid]

We routinely see blue herons in feilds near our ponds hunting rodents. Both blue and green herons will target large insects and reptiles such as snakes and small turtles near water. The more capable night herons I seldom see out. Night herons I think would pose a greater risk to chickens if they over lapped but they seem not to do so.

 

[woodmort]

Ducklings might fall prey to a blue heron and if chicks were around the ponds they might be taken but I doubt any chicken pullet-sized or above would be attacked. Keep in mind all herons are protected birds so you cannot harm them. BTW, green, night and lesser herons are too small to bother most birds so wouldn't pose a problem. Some people tend to confuse the herons in this country with storks, especially the marabou stork of Africa which are truly predators--nothing in this country like that.

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Lookup night herons. They have a larger gape size than the larger blue heron. Green herons will if opportunity presents itself consume fledgling redwing black birds and killdeer chicks running down my levees. Former the size of very young chickens.

Marabou comparable to sandhill crane. Whooper to scarce to be worthy of comparison.