May 23, 2019 ·
My grand daughter and I hand raised an orphaned homer that failed to come home on a 20 mile toss. It was one of the few times she had not accompanied me on a release.
I called later that day to tell her the news. She then asked me where I released the bird from Monteagle was the reply. Her crying retort was "Why did you not release them from "DEAD BIRD ROAD!" sarcastically.
Dusk was falling and I went out to shut up the loft. Low & behold what should come flying in but Piper (grand daughters bird).
I checked him over when he trapped and he had a gash from near his neck almost to his tail on his back. My first instinct was to put him out of his misery. However I brought him into the house to have a better look in the light.
My wife said "Yes it is a long gash but it is only deep in one spot. We flushed out the wound with Saline; I then glued the skin back together with a few drops of crazy glue; gave him a coat of polysporn; he flew out of my hands as I was bring him back to the loft. He was good to go in about 5 days.
This is him incubating 2 squabs hatched Dec 27 & 28th 2012.
My grand daughter has learned more from being around these homers than she could have learned out of any book. She was on the MOON when I called her to tell of Pipers return.
Grand daughter has experienced love, loss, heartache. first aid, joy, responsibility, and most of all kinship with yours truly.
It has given her a good subject for presentations at school. We also are starting up a small enterprise with white dove releases (Pipers parents were both solid snow white just for the record).
Grand daughter did her first dove release at a wedding this fall also another release for an anti bulling campaign at her grade school.
She would rather hang out with Hokum (her name for me since she was one) then any of her friends or parents for that matter.
However she will be entering her teens next year (make-up and boys will probably soon shove me aside).
I know however that these birds have made her a better person regardless what comes in the future.
Quick update on my grand daughter she has now graduate high school and has been acceptanced in university.
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