Braveheart
By Steve Joneli
Red Rose Lofts
Every once in a while every fancier gets that special bird in their loft. That one in a million. And in this respect Red Rose Lofts are no exception.
AU 2000 NCI 826 was just another young bird on the team.
Just another hopeful. Until
our young bird team was attacked by Hawks on a training toss.
Out of 96 birds only 17 made it home on the day.
The following days birds kept returning until we had 48 in the loft.
Several with minor wounds. 4
days later we found a weak bundle of feathers collapsed in the grass outside the
loft. 826 had made it home, despite 2 broken legs and gashes in his chest.
He was weak and tired but very happy to be home.
He drank heartily and when Linda held food for him ate from her hand.
We slit open a milkshake straw and splinted both legs.
Then after dressing his chest wounds, we took one of Steve’s socks, cut
a small hole in the toe and slid it around him to keep him immobilized.
Then needing a good place to keep pressure off his legs we hung him from
our banana rack. The poor boy
looked so sad we just had to get a picture.
How humiliating, hanging from a banana rack with your humans taking
pictures of you. His picture was circulated over the internet and he became
known as “the Banana Rack Bird” He forgave us.
Linda took him down several times a day for food and water and after he
begin to perk up and started complaining about Steve’s old sock we put him
back in the loft with his friends. We
kept food and water near so he wouldn’t have to go far.
Amazingly after only a few days he took to the air loft flying with all
his buddies. The splints didn’t seam to hinder him much in the air but
oh my, you should have seen his landings. After
10 days we removed his splints and he begin to walk and land like nothing had
happened to him. He then resumed
road training with the rest of the team.
July 22nd was our first young bird race and we had a guest
staying with us. Dani Beaumont, a young flyer that many of you know from her
Internet writings had come to spend the weekend with us. After hearing 826s story she said any bird that determined
needed a name and christened him “Braveheart”.
We didn’t win that race but “Braveheart” was in our first drop.
Over the course of the season “Braveheart” never won a race.
Third was his best. But he
scored in the top 10% every race and went on to be 8th Champion Bird
in the club. He was one of out most
consistent flyers and now has been promoted to our old bird team where he has
clamed a top nest box.
Many flyers would have giving up on a bird with such extensive injuries
but we felt any bird that is that determined to make it home is a winner.
“Braveheart” is out of a “Chala” Leen Boer cock and a “Mc
Laughlin” Van Reet hen.
Here he is, just hanging around.