A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who
thirsts for knowledge and never really knows
it all, one who wrestles with decisions of
conscience, convenience, and commitment.
A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal
interests, finances, time and friendships in
favor of their passion for their birds.
A Breeder goes without sleep (but never
without coffee!) in hours spent planning a
breeding or watching anxiously over the
hatching process and afterwards, over every
little sneeze, wiggle or cry.
A Breeder skips dinner parties because that
egg is due to hatch or the babies have to be
fed at eight.
She/He disregards the mess, clutter and
noise that being surrounded by birds brings.
But always seeks methods to resolve
Biosecurity issues.
A Breeder's lap is a marvelous place where
generations of proud and noble champions
once snoozed.
A Breeeder's hands are strong and firm and
often soiled and scarred from inadvertent
bites, but ever so gentle and sensitive to
the insistent thrusts of a Cockatoo's beak.
(Or an Amazon, Macaw, Conure, etc.)
A Breeder's back and knees are usually
arthritic from stooping, bending, and
scrubbing cages, but are strong enough to
enable the breeder to help a bird when
stuck. Or assist in a hatch.
A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often
heaped with abuse from competitors, and AR
types, but they're wide enough to support
the weight of a thousand defeats and
frustrations.
A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a
mop, carry feed in from the market, lift and
move cages, remove/replace nest boxes or
lend a helping hand to a newcomer.
A Breeder's ears are wondrous things,
sometimes red (from being talked about) or
strangely shaped (from being pressed against
a phone receiver), often deaf to criticism,
yet always fine-tuned to the call of a
distressed bird.
A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but it
can recognize types of birds faster than an
IBM computer. It's so full of knowledge that
sometimes it blows a fuse.
A Breeder's heart is often broken, but it
beats strongly with hope everlasting...and
is always in the right place!
Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there
are BREEDERS!!!
==Author Unknown
Printed with permission from Kim Hunter from
www.hunteraviaries.com
