Everyone is useful to someone....

Hens were kicking up a big fuss. Went out to investigate. 
A bald eagle was on the ground fighting with my rooster, in the midst of a dozen hens trying to huddle under a tree. 
Never seen anything like it. Usually eagles/hawks just swoop-n-snatch in an open field. 
I had to scare the eagle away. Looked like he had a bird in his claws but dropped it. No casualties. But a lotta feathers flew.

Meanwhile, rooster is officially off the "Next time you aim those claws at me you're dinner!" list. 

A note on his origins: Someone I don't even know gave him to me. She drives down our street daily on her way to work, noticed we had chickens and stopped by one day to ask if she could give me a rooster because they had two who were constantly fighting. When this boy came to us, he was unbelievably ugly. Every feather on the back half of his body had been pecked out. Looked like half a chicken wandering around. As his feathers grew back, he recovered his dignity but his temper soured even further. 


Anyway, the moral of this story is: If even bad-tempered roosters have their place in this world, give your eye doctor a fighting chance. :-)