The “Rest of the Story”

Steve Joneli

            We had a sweet little hen”1016”, which had been on our pumper team.  One of our un-sung heroes.  Not good enough to breed out of but very valuable as a foster parent.  I call her sweet because she is such a good mother and such a calm, laid back bird.  Not the mean “Wing Slapper”.  One day we discovered her with a really nasty wound right at one of her wing joints.  We don’t know how it happened as she had not been out flying.  We put her in our “Hospital” and for several days it was touch and go.  It took quite a while but she did recover, except now she couldn’t fly. 

            The poor girl would try so hard but could only manage to get a foot or so off the ground.  We were concerned as how she would fare being put back with a cock and maybe not being able to get away from him if he became to aggressive. 

            About this time Linda got an e-mail from a flyer looking for a hen for a Cock a friend had who also could not fly. We contacted the person with the cock, Marc Carol.  This kind hearted man had found a poor racing pigeon by the side of the road. In his parking lot at work.   It looked like it had had been hit by a car and had one of his wings ripped off.  The poor cock was almost dead.  Marc took the bird home with him and nursed him back to health.  For several days Marc would not let him out of his sight keeping him in a shoe box and taking him every where he went.  Even to work with him.  When the cock was to the point that Marc knew he would recover he started leaving him home during the day.

            By this time Marc and his Cock had become much attached.  Marc built a house for him in his dinning room complete with a wire room that butted up to the window so he could look out and Marc could open the window to give him fresh air.  Marc’s Cock pretty much had the run of the house preferring to be with Marc mostly.  Marc would give him weekly baths complete with shampoo and blow dry him with the hair dryer, much to his Cock’s pleasure.  Marc’s bird had the “Life of Riley” but Marc could sense he was lonely.  He needed a mate.  And as Paul Harvey would say, “And Now the Rest of the Story”.

            Linda contacted Marc and they decided our “1016” would make a good mate for him.  So off she went.  Marc built a pen for her next to his Cock’s and when he could tell they liked each other let them together.  Marc’s Cock was so excited and strutted around so proudly.  He didn’t seam to care about only having one wing, and our hen didn’t seam to mind either.  She fell for him right away.   It was love at first sight.   Marc gave them a nest bowl and he went right to work building a nest for his new mate.  After a few days of courtship and much to the Cock’s pleasure 1016 laid her first egg, and then a second.  Marc’s Cock was so happy to have his eggs to sit.  Like many a proud dad he more than willingly took his turn at sitting.  But this first try was just not to be.

            Marc tells me the first round was empty.  So the courtship resumed and they are sitting eggs again. Maybe these won’t be any good either. They don’t seam to mind.  For they now have each other.  And don’t worry about them not being able to fly, who needs wings anyway when you have love?  And here’s the best part.  Our hen “1016” arrived at Marc’s on February 14^th, Valentines Day.

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