The Moult

[Trappa]

I am preparing to put my MHH down to moult in about a month. Every year, with every bird i have had i always feed them up and leave them relatively undisturbed (apart from chaging bath water) for the moulting period,dropping food in through a chute and i have never had any problems ie: fret marks, but, i am thinking this year about keeping it at a top weight but still feeding it on the fist (i think he is amiable enough to do this) Has anyone done both, and found any major pro's or cons with keeping feeding bird on fist?

[Coedhirion]

get your hands on Martin Hollinshead book. He handles his all year round, weighs and puts out on bow I think. He takes them lure chasing too.
I go in an play with mine in the summer, MHH likes the company will catch any thing you throw for him and comes and sits on my knee and does his budgy impersonation. I feed through a trap door as he was a bit noisy in his first year, but quiet this. Any how trap door is easier than having him attached to my hand trying to throw food at him. He gets rat and rabbit heads plus all the usual and I cant sit in there all day while he picks those to bits :lol:

[Flying High]

i have alway feed my bird on the fist through there moults and have never had any problems. the reason i do this is because when it come to get it flying again i don't need to man it because i never stop the contact so i find it easier to get going for the season

[Puzo]

It seems such a waste to put a hawk down to moult & only go near it to
chuck some food in or change the water for six month..All the time you spent manning it when it was first taken up wasted. You wouldn't put your dog in a
kennel & leave it all summer. I think this atitude is an anachronism left over
from the days when the eyass was held in contempt & most passagers were
hacked back at the end of the season,leaving the falconer free to go fly fishing or whatever. The birds we fly today are captive bred I keep my bird with me as much as I can, then I don't have to repeat the manning process
at the start of the season just basic training & fitness. Harrises especialy are
said to bond with their falconer, it seems a shame to break that bond every
six month.

[Raseni]

I feed my harris dayli on the fist, and he was put away for moulting about 1 month ago.
I have not encountered problems till now, but we shall see when he finished his moult.
Can´t see how feeding on the fist could be more stressful, if the bird is coming willingly to the fist. Mine is currently 250grams over hunting weight.
Have haerd it could induce screaming, but ine is a silent bird, have never said a word.

cheers,
Rasmus

[Trappa]

Cheers. Replies made a lot of sense, i think ill give it a go.alan

[Dave G]

hi all every year ive put my male harris hawk free lofted at fat weight and not handled him though out the molt hes as scatty as **** till his weight is dropped, however this year im going to put his weight up to 1lb 12 oz and molt him out at that weight as ive flown him in the garden at that weight and hes been sound , and see how i get on doing this its not the remanning that has made me change the way im molting him out ,its just when i go in to change the bath clean out the pen of old feathers ,bones etc he goes scatty around the pen so going to change the routine this year

[Albie]

You all might think I'm a bit sad, but I pick my birds up everyday of the year I always weigh them before they feed and I always record their food intake and weight.
When we Retrained the Harris this year he had three flights on the creance and then flew free.
Albie..

[Harrisii]

yes, it seems most are agreed on this with the harris and i am no different.
some birds are more calm than others and some do tend to go a bit wild and others remain calm. i reckon with plenty of interactions at top weight there should be no problem in retaining the calm attitude of the hawk throughout the moult. i shall be maintaining a reduced bit of contact with my harrises this year. ie handling each day and weighing etc to maintain that contact.
my birds are already really calm and tame birds anyway so i dont see much problems here. it also reduces stress to the birds when you are going in and out of the avaiary for whatever reason, if they are calm and dont go scatty.

[Goose]

Hi all,

Just catching up on this thread. It sounds like lots of you are keeping Harris's either flying or at least keeping them manned, Does anyone do this with falcons? Can falcons be moulted on the block as it were?

[Dave Johnson]

Hi all,

Just catching up on this thread. It sounds like lots of you are keeping Harris's either flying or at least keeping them manned, Does anyone do this with falcons? Can falcons be moulted on the block as it were?

Hi Goose.I was thinking exactly these thoughts,all the chat about moult,interaction between falconer and bird seems {in this thread}to be about Harris Hawks which are very social birds anyway and probably enjoy company through there moult.But what about large Falcons,Gos's and the like, how, and what, do Falconers do with these species during the moult.As there is hardly anything written about this in the books,it will be extremley interesting to know what you guys do.Dave

[freespirit]

Hi Goose.I was thinking exactly these thoughts,all the chat about moult,interaction between falconer and bird seems {in this thread}to be about Harris Hawks which are very social birds anyway and probably enjoy company through there moult.But what about large Falcons,Gos's and the like, how, and what, do Falconers do with these species during the moult.As there is hardly anything written about this in the books,it will be extremley interesting to know what you guys do.Dave
hi just wanted to see wether any one free lofts their falcons but still feeds on the glove?i have a saker and want 2 give her the freedom but want 2 still see her.i have been told that moulting on the block is ok with gentle execise but 2 give her the freedom would be great.anyone out there got any ideas?:)

[Sokoly]

Hello m8s I free loft my falcons for the moult. They get as much exercise as they want and a privacy without any additional stress during this period. I like to give them a lot of space and time on their own. No I dont work with them during the moult, just change the watter, check the general health, mutes etc.Falcon's are smart birds and they will catch up very quickly when the season comes.By letting them freelofted you get them to stay fit and the blood running in those new feathers. I have never tried to moult a bird teathered but I have seen people do it with no problems.Give them enough food, watter and privacy, they shoul be perfect by the hunting season.
Sokoly