Flying During The Molt

[HoumaFalconer]

I was wondering if anyone else out there flies there birds through the molt. During the molt i mainly fly her at birds and have not had a problem yet. Just courious.
Dennis

[Kanati]

yeah...I prefer summer flying and the hawks can molt just fine if flown through the summer at their winter hunting weight, so no weight change needed. :wink: Its not a fast molt, but no stress/fret marks they can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to them hunting though...but its just nice to keep flying them

[Yarak1]

I was wondering if anyone else out there flies there birds through the molt. During the molt i mainly fly her at birds and have not had a problem yet. Just courious.
Dennis

Fly all mine through the moult.....keeps the bird fit..........never done no harm.......

[Yarak1]

yeah...I prefer summer flying and the hawks can molt just fine if flown through the summer at their winter hunting weight, so no weight change needed. :wink: Its not a fast molt, but no stress/fret marks they can be a bit hit and miss when it comes to them hunting though...but its just nice to keep flying them

I agree wholeheartedly!!...........Better to fly them than sit them up for 6 months.........saves stressing them out being caught up again...........

[Hacker]

I fly mine through just as wild birds do m8.
Or it would be one hungry birdie!

[Bengal Hawk]

this is my 1st year with a bop. I wanted to fly her through the moult but not sure if i need to do anything extra. I don't intend to hunt with her but just keep flying as the summer days are longer. Any hints would be appreciated by experienced hawkers. My bird is a FHH.
cheers abs.

[Intek Hosting]

I'm new to falconry and I have my bird up for moult after her first season. I've done this on my mentor's advice and I agree with him its good to have the bird a rest on a good diet while growing the new feathers.
In the wild the bird would be up and down on weight all the time, I keep my bird at flying weight over the season as I fly her most mornings.

My question is do you fly the bird over different terrain or simply not flush for rabbits to keep the bird hunting birds?
Also do you find the birds any more prone to injury when their feathers are in blood.
The method of flying and feeding one day and having a day off sounds interesting.
Could you do this feeding quail and rat or would it be to hard to get her back to flying weight and need to skip an extra day or feed very little?
She really doesnt lose much unless its really cold.
Do you find the birds harder to see in the spring when the trees are in full cover?
Sorry so many questions but I like letting her have a full moult for her first year but I'd like to be able to keep her fit and flying next year.

[Renton]

this is my 1st year with a bop. I wanted to fly her through the moult but not sure if i need to do anything extra. I don't intend to hunt with her but just keep flying as the summer days are longer. Any hints would be appreciated by experienced hawkers. My bird is a FHH.
cheers abs.

You can fly a Harris' through the moult; she will just take longer to moult out. Don't keep her weight too tight otherwise she won't moult.

[ButeHawk]

My FHH will not be put down for moult. I prefer to raise her weight by an oz or two and exercise her during the spring and early summer by taking her out when I walk the dog. If well manned I have never had a problem before. If she catches something it is a bonus but the main reason is to keep her fit. She won't let me out of line of sight even a few oz over her hunting weight but can be slow to the fist if too heavy. Has always come when we reach the car and she is to get fed in her travel box. Only my way of doing things but it keeps the bird fit and interested.

[Hobby]

An issue to be careful about with the HH is the habit of taking young out of nests.I had a male who I have had to retrieve from pigeon nests and I know of a friend also with a male who got into the habit of regularly nest robbing.Once they start it may become an issue ,not least,as I have found, a bit of a problem climbing to a nest with a fat hawk sitting on it.

[Skeld]

I also fly my hawks through the molt with no problems, I'm sure they prefer it!

[Kanati]

this is my 1st year with a bop. I wanted to fly her through the moult but not sure if i need to do anything extra. I don't intend to hunt with her but just keep flying as the summer days are longer. Any hints would be appreciated by experienced hawkers. My bird is a FHH.
cheers abs.


if your not going to hunt, I would find a place with little or no quarry, that you enjoy going to (nice scenery etc) and go there and only there through the summer. Keep a routine and always feed the hawk to the lure, next to the car. I used an old quarry one summer. I would climb the few hundred feet to the top while the hawks chased each other around the sky using the abundent lift from the man make cliffs, walk about the top for a while then climb down and get the lure out. after just two or three trips, the hawks knew exactly what was going on and me walking towards the car was the signal for the end of the trip and their dinner time, they would go to a wall by the car and wait for me. I could take them out flying at 1lb 11 (male harris hawks) and not worry about them going AWOL because they knew there was no quarry and it was jsut a place to play and not hunt. there were some heart in the mouth moments when they became little dots in the sky and I could hardly tell if they were my hawks or a couple of buzzard or a crow even!, but they always came back :wink:

If you have a first year hawk, this is also the best flying /windy weather training you can give them!!! after a summer of this type of flying you will find that next winters hunting season you will be able to take them out in storm force winds and watch them stick with you and fly with ease!

[Kanati]

I'm new to falconry and I have my bird up for moult after her first season. I've done this on my mentor's advice and I agree with him its good to have the bird a rest on a good diet while growing the new feathers.
In the wild the bird would be up and down on weight all the time, I keep my bird at flying weight over the season as I fly her most mornings.

My question is do you fly the bird over different terrain or simply not flush for rabbits to keep the bird hunting birds?.

I have plenty of land with no quarry on it..so I dont want to hunt I dont have to. take you hawk where there is quarry and you may not be hunting but your hawk is :wink:


Also do you find the birds any more prone to injury when their feathers are in blood. .

I have not had any feather problems while flying thought the molt. Some peopel might though?


The method of flying and feeding one day and having a day off sounds interesting.
Could you do this feeding quail and rat or would it be to hard to get her back to flying weight and need to skip an extra day or feed very little?
She really doesnt lose much unless its really cold..

I think its more natural and the theory is that the hawks weight can afford to go up and he will still he hungry, and so will still be responcive. this only work up to a point so keep an eye on the weight too. If hes getting too high(not responding) , make the next meal a bit of rabbit and leave the fur on but cut it all into bite size chinks. as he eats the flesh, he gets all the fur too. this will fill him up with out having too much meat, and it will give his crop a spring clean. :wink: (I dont just feed every other day..somtimes they get 3, 4 or 5 days in a row of food... Mix it up a bit..be a bit random, but keep control of what you are doing to the hawks weight and apatite)


Do you find the birds harder to see in the spring when the trees are in full cover?
..

I can hardly see my birds in the winter!!! YEah they are bloody hard to see in the summer, unless you go somehere like the coast where they can fly without any trees to land in:wink:

[ChakChek]

i was told its better not to hunt your bird during the moult until you are certain they are hard penned, just incase the feathers get damaged when they still have blood in them.

i guess flying them for exercise would be a very good idea though to stop them getting bored or stressed out.

if you do fly them just for some exercise, not to hunt, would you keep them at hunting weight during the moult or put their weight up a bit?

[Kanati]

i was told its better not to hunt your bird during the moult until you are certain they are hard penned, just incase the feathers get damaged when they still have blood in them.

i guess flying them for exercise would be a very good idea though to stop them getting bored or stressed out.

if you do fly them just for some exercise, not to hunt, would you keep them at hunting weight during the moult or put their weight up a bit?

I put it up a lot! I dont hunt (but they do now and again if I'm on good land :wink: but I have had a bird with a hunting weight of 1lb 6ish flying free at 1lb 10...somtimes more...but he wasnt the most responcive hes ever been above that! :roll:

[Bengal Hawk]

I put it up a lot! I dont hunt (but they do now and again if I'm on good land :wink: but I have had a bird with a hunting weight of 1lb 6ish flying free at 1lb 10...somtimes more...but he wasnt the most responcive hes ever been above that! :roll:

Kaanti,
So what your saying is put the weight up a little over flying weight and they should moult without too much problem?

abs

[HoumaFalconer]

If you plan to hunt during the molt how much of a increase would you raise your bird,

[BFG]

Theres nothing wrong with flying her but something to think about is the covering on trees.you may loose sight of her if she goes for something keep an ear out for them bells good luck let us know how you get on:yawinkle:

[CJ#HaRrIs HAwKs RuLe#]

cool thread

I would like to fly in the summer hols
not hunt but fly yes. at the lure mabey or is this the same as hunting?
so,I put the weight above hunting, and a little bit above normal flying weight.
and try to avoid crashing through trees.

I don't have bird yet and like the sound of all the free time in the summer with my bird and not at school......*sighs dreamily*