Dermott Brereton’s surprising hobby, Lord Sebastian Coe to commentate Commonwealth Games
ON a footy field they used to say Dermott Brereton was so mean he could turn medicine sick, so it makes his avian-loving hobby all the more exciting. ANDO’S SHOUT
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ON a footy field they used to say Dermott Brereton was so mean he could turn medicine sick, making his 40-year bird breeding obsession all the more incongruous.
“Dermie”, 53, the blond-headed superstar who never took a backward step for his beloved Hawthorn, is the same man who speaks with pride and passion of his feathered friends.
His love affair with finches began when he and his brother honed their entrepreneurial skills in the 1970s.
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“We were getting 15 cents a week in pocket money so we started with zebra finches because they were easier to breed,” explained Brereton.
“When we started breeding Cuban finches we could get $15 a bird, and they bred prolifically. “In later years I got a couple of little cages which I heat up for them. And I also have some parrots as well, Australian and New Zealand parrots.”
While Brereton breeds the birds because he enjoys it, he maintains a business arrangement by selling the birds between four to six months to Pet Mart in Springvale Rd.
“The Gouldian finches take 21 days to breed and you might get six eggs. If you get three through to adulthood you have done well,” he said.
“If you have cats circling the cage the birds tend to think, ‘times are getting tough’, so they will throw the chicks and eggs out of the cage and look after themselves. It can be very tough in the animal world.
“A gold Gouldian finch pair can sell for $150. Then there are the Macaw parrots which can reach $10,000.
“I love the way parrots communicate and in particular the colours.”
Derm the bird breeder, who would have thought?
BIG NAME IN FOR GAMES
YOU might as well aim for the best to sit alongside the best which is exactly what Channel 7 has aimed for in its upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games coverage.
Dual Olympic 1500m gold medallist Lord Sebastian Coe will share commentary duties with Bruce McAvaney for the event, starting April 4.
Lord Coe, 61, has no doubt where McAvaney sits in commentary stakes.
“The late David Coleman was the doyen and Bruce is best since David,” explained Coe prior to flying out from England.
“I’ll be letting Bruce do the main commentary and hopefully add some athletic insights, but don’t expect constant chatter from me as I belong to the ‘less is best’ school,”
“Who am I looking forward to watching? Most definitely Sally Pearson who must surely be not just one of your greatest athletes but one of your greatest ever sportspersons.
“She competes in a totally global sport and she has done absolutely everything in that sport.”
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