Well, it happened. Hawkeye and Suede finally met with no fence between them. Somehow, the door that divides Suede's coop from the larger side with Hawkeye and the laying flock got bumped and the latch lifted out. At least, I guess that's what must have happened. Suede went into Hawkeye's side and met him face to face in the pen and a Battle Royale ensued!
I had been in and out of the coops all morning, so this couldn't have been going on all that long. I left the house and was headed back toward the coops when I see Hawkeye getting off the ground. It seems weird because at first I think it's one of the girls shaking off after a mating, but realize it's my Hawkeye. Then I see a huge blue thing in the pen and then it hits me as they meet in mid-air again, Suede is in Hawkeye's pen! They are both bloody and out of breath, but continuing the fight as I run to the gate and inside to separate them. I grab Hawkeye and toss him out of his own pen, then grab up Suede and run for the house, calling my DH to help. I vaguely realize that Hawkeye has blue feathers in his beak.
Suede has scratches, gouges, cuts, etc and has blood on his comb, face and wattles, but his eyes and legs don't seem damaged. He sat in my lap while I wiped his face with a wet paper towel and my DH goes to get Hawkeye, who is still running around, standing tall with blue feathers in his beak, LOL. He is bringing Hawkeye up to the house, with the Hawkster crowing in his arms. After I put Suede back in with his girls and we look the Hawkster over, we see that one feather shaft is broken and bleeding, and he has a scratch on his face, a couple of comb points are slightly bloody, but no other injuries that we can see. Almost all the blood on Hawkeye is from Suede! Suede outweighs Hawkeye by probably 50%, but is less agile on his feet. Then there's the former life that Hawkeye lived, fighting for his life in the pen with only a huge turkey for company when I found him. Finally, Suede was on Hawkeye's turf and Hawkeye was defending his women. No matings took place, I'm positive. The girls would fight Suede coming into their side of the coop, then Hawkeye would have been on him like a shot.
I always thought this is how a fight between these two would end, with Hawkeye coming out on top. I hung some corded bedspreads on the fence so they couldn't see each other for awhile and could calm down. Suede's head is a little lower this afternoon, while Hawkeye seems to know who won this battle.
Edited for stupid typos...
I had been in and out of the coops all morning, so this couldn't have been going on all that long. I left the house and was headed back toward the coops when I see Hawkeye getting off the ground. It seems weird because at first I think it's one of the girls shaking off after a mating, but realize it's my Hawkeye. Then I see a huge blue thing in the pen and then it hits me as they meet in mid-air again, Suede is in Hawkeye's pen! They are both bloody and out of breath, but continuing the fight as I run to the gate and inside to separate them. I grab Hawkeye and toss him out of his own pen, then grab up Suede and run for the house, calling my DH to help. I vaguely realize that Hawkeye has blue feathers in his beak.
Suede has scratches, gouges, cuts, etc and has blood on his comb, face and wattles, but his eyes and legs don't seem damaged. He sat in my lap while I wiped his face with a wet paper towel and my DH goes to get Hawkeye, who is still running around, standing tall with blue feathers in his beak, LOL. He is bringing Hawkeye up to the house, with the Hawkster crowing in his arms. After I put Suede back in with his girls and we look the Hawkster over, we see that one feather shaft is broken and bleeding, and he has a scratch on his face, a couple of comb points are slightly bloody, but no other injuries that we can see. Almost all the blood on Hawkeye is from Suede! Suede outweighs Hawkeye by probably 50%, but is less agile on his feet. Then there's the former life that Hawkeye lived, fighting for his life in the pen with only a huge turkey for company when I found him. Finally, Suede was on Hawkeye's turf and Hawkeye was defending his women. No matings took place, I'm positive. The girls would fight Suede coming into their side of the coop, then Hawkeye would have been on him like a shot.
I always thought this is how a fight between these two would end, with Hawkeye coming out on top. I hung some corded bedspreads on the fence so they couldn't see each other for awhile and could calm down. Suede's head is a little lower this afternoon, while Hawkeye seems to know who won this battle.
Edited for stupid typos...
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