This Brave Bird Reminds Me of Blaze
Animal Stories from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Joanna Lucas, Be Fair Be Vegan
October 2016

The brave bird in this picture reminds me of Blaze, who, despite the crushing, human-imposed limitations that burdened her life, never gave up the hope that, someday, she may be able to fly.

brave hen
Photo by Mike Hrinewski

Such a beautiful and heartbreaking image. These birds, known to the industry as "broilers," have been selectively bred to grow so morbidly large, so unnaturally fast that, by the time they reach “slaughter weight” at seven weeks of age, many can barely walk, much less run and skip and jump. Yet they keep trying, they bruise themselves trying, to not only walk but to run, and fly!

The brave bird in this picture reminds me of Blaze, a Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary resident who, despite the crushing, human-imposed limitations that burdened her life, never gave up the hope that, someday, she may be able to fly.

Here's an excerpt from her story:

She was the first of the flightless one hundred to spread her scraggly wings and try to fly. She backed all the way up to the farthest fence and started running full speed, as fast as her brittle legs could carry her and, before she reached the end of the "runway", she managed to lift herself off the ground for a couple of ground-free feet and a couple of exhilarating, gravity-free seconds.

Soon, others followed suit and began practicing flight on "Blaze's Trail", running and flapping their wings, and trying to lift off, and almost succeeding, then falling to the ground, and repeating the running, the attempted takeoff, the brief liftoff, savoring the fleeting intoxication of flight despite the inevitable and repeated crashings. From a distance, all you saw was a massive agitation of white feathers roiling about blizzard-like, with clouds of white dawn flying, floating, and filling the sky like snow.

Today, most of them have accepted the limitations of their flightless wings, but Blaze has not. She still tries to fly, almost hurting herself in the process. It's impossible not to admire her determination. It's also impossible not to wish she'd stop her futile, bruising effort, or to fail to realize she never will.

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