# keeping & flying birds of prey



## mark1981

*Here is a little slice for keeping & flying birds of prey*

I have noticed lots of people have been asking about birds of prey and flying them , my advice would be to do as much reading as possible , there are many good and top falconers out there that do sell books to show you how to do it all but to be perfectly honest your much better off finding your own way that your comfortable doing things , in the bird of prey world so many people like to do things differently and not all of us feel comfortable doing it there way so you need to learn the basics maybe find someone that is willing to show you but here is a little bit that your going to need to learn FOR EXAMPLE 

EQUIPMENT
gloves , hawking bags , lures , hoods , scales , jesse and anklet making tools , leather ( for making the jesses and anklets , eyelets , crimps , swivels , leashes , leather balm , jesse and anklet sizes ( different birds need different size jesses and anklets and usualy you can make templates but as you get more experienced it all sticks up stairs and you can cut the leather to fit the aquired bird from memory , bells . 

HOUSING 

usually you can make a nice weathering with a nice ceramic tile heater above the bird during the winter to stop wing tip edema known as dry gangrene syndrome ) also you need to look at what your hawk or falcon or owl is standing on / perched on as the wrong surface can cause bumblefoot. Also a safe and secure meshed front so that wind cant blow your bird about but allows enough clean air sirculation and and also keeping unwanted guests trying to eat your bird ( cats or foxes ) and also a good lighting system to come on automaticaly to scare them off and that you can get a good view in the evening if anything does aproach the weathering but weatherings are only realy used when the bird is flown every day but its also good to have an open aviary but like i say some people pefer it one way and someone else prefers it another and u should always have a clean bowl of water in a weathering or an open aviary ( owls are kept well in an open aviary ) . some people like to moult there bird out now this can be done in an aviary or a weathering but an open aviary can damage a birds newly developed feather if the bird gets spooked or decides to hang onto the front of the aviary this usually ruins the ends of the feathers .

MANNING AND HOODING 

the manning and hooding stage has to happen no matter what and hooding usually happens when you get the young bird straight out of the aviary where it has been reared by the parents .Even if you get a bird from someone you have to spend time with the bird so it notices you as the new keeper and the hooding thats if you intend on keeping any longwings but some do hood broadwings too

FEEDING -AVIARY WEIGHT AND FLYING WEIGHT 

this is important to as different food sources can keep the weight on a bird alot longer than some others can which can cause you trouble as your bird will not be down to flying weight the next day causing you to fail the routine you and you bird has so its nice to finish a flying session with your bird put it to bed and then know that it will be ready to fly again the same time the next day , but it can change due to temperatures etc

LURE TRAINING 

falcons and kestrals prefer lures to fly to or you can get them flying naturaly ( Hovering and soaring above you - falconry kites ) but lure flying is a good way to keep them in top shape but must be done gradually with a new bird .

In my opinion a harris hawk is a good bird to start with and to be honest a falcon (kestrel ) or an owl isnt really a starter bird unless you have someone to show you as there up bringing can be very different from a hawk as some people like to imprint falcons especially kestrels and some owls too and this needs to be done properly as you could ruin a bird totally well you can ruin any bird of prey but you may have a litle bit more room for error with a harris hawk and can correct things. A harris hawk is usually bullet proof bird but i think any of you wanting to take this up would be better finding someone in your area to show you how a hawk would fly and how a kestrel would fly and an owl too Also i know some dont use it but no one has mentioned telematry .

TELEMATRY

some telematry costs anywhere from 200 pounds anywhere up to 500 pounds thats just for a reciever , you then have to buy a transmitter on top of that which is obviously put onto the bird ( INCASE IT FLYS AWAY ) and these can average anywhere from 50 pounds up to 100 pounds but you can buy second hand and there is some good bargains on the right faconry web sites also if your using telematry you will need to learn about tail mounting and leg mounting 

TRANSPORTING

You will find some good bird of prey transporting boxes on line and if you ever get around to keeping falcons the good old cadge works well to transport more than 3 birds 
ITS NOT AS EASY AS BUYING A BIRD GETTING AN AVIARY AND A GARDEN GLOVE AND WAVING A CHICK LEG AT IT AND IT COMES TO YOU , ABOVE IS A TINY LITTLE SLICE OF FALCONRY.


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## mark1981

*hi*

I forgot to mention a few things which is important and that is a bird bath , not to be left out all day and night only when the bird is on a bow perch or block in the garden with a constant eye on them , also public liability insurance this is very important too also a local vet who is experienced with raptors and not forgetting the i.b.r . but im sure if you find someone willing to help you along the way they will explain all of this .


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## mark1981

the cost of falconry can be as cheap or as expensive as one wants to make 

hawking bag - hawking vests
hawking glove ( different thickneses for different birds )
leashes 
swivels ( different breaking strains ) also different sizes for different birds 
creance ( different lengths )
bells (different sizes )
whistles
leather ( for making jesses , anklets and attaching bells )
leather punch 
elasticated casting jacket
tail guards 
coping tools ( coping clippers , coping files ,)
eyelets and an eyelet closing tool (diffrent sizes )
tail mounts
bow perches (different sizes )
digital scales 
travel boxs ( different sizes )
hawk bath ( different sizes )
disinfectant 
telemetry ( reciever and transmitters < different size transmitters )

the list can go on and on and prices vary quite a few good falconry sites with equipment on . 

building the weathering or aviary , materials cost ( heaters optional )

food outlay 

then there is the bird 

harris hawks range from 250 up to 450 if not more , females and males vary in price usually female costing more than the male 

insurance including public liability and the i.b.r


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## mark1981

*hi*

I would like to mention that I am not stating that falconry is cheap but there are lots of different styles and prices of equipment and its best to start out with equipment that will last you a fair few years , falconry gloves and bags can be washed and cleaned and should be cleaned after every use especially the pouch where you keep the birds food , aloit of people just hang there bags and gloves up where they can't be bothered .


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