What is the best Diet

[Sean]

If money isnt an issue what diet would you use during the moult.

[MattSpar]

Exactly the same as I use now. My own home bred quail, wild rabbit, hare, rooks, and bought-in day old chicks.

[HawkMan69UK]

sean money should not be an issue,,,quail rat rabbit...the odd phesant duck day old chick mice woodies squirrel or what ever else she as had in the season ...give your bird the best and you will have a strong clean moilt ready for battle when the season starts:yawinkle:

[Sean]

yes hawkman ive been told that 1 quail for a day, rat a day and teh rest of the wek chick will be a good diet, but if i use say rat 3 days, would it be better for the moult, would it still be complete.

[Liam Hay]

quail and chick is more than adequate, mice are very good but the most important thing is to try and give them whole carcass diets, that way they ainy skipping on anything


liam

[Sean]

well i fed rat whole, 50%chick with yolk 50% without. feed rabbit liver and kidneys every now and again too. but finding it hard gettign quail, might have to wait till the flemming fair, will be defrosted by the time i get back i bet lol

[Tim Laycock]

Atkins :lol:

[Graham Stuart]

quail and chick is more than adequate, mice are very good but the most important thing is to try and give them whole carcass diets, that way they ainy skipping on anything


liam

Agree quail and doc's:yawinkle: and the odd bunny

[HawkMan69UK]

i always use a mix during the week sean sometimes it works out they have had 3 rat a week or 4 quail depending on size rabbitt once but mostly whole carcasses apart from i do pluck most feathers and most fur less to clean out then ..one more thing i do is i never let them get pig fat i take them up to in weight over a week or two then steady the diet so there just not eating and then stood still for the rest of the day.. i sometimes feed twice a day first feed no castings the secound feed a whole carcass this seems to keep them fit and active...and at the end of the moult i reduse feeds slowly so by the time i get them out my work is done normally flying again within a couple of days ..hope this helps

[LeighJauncey]

Depends on the species - if money were no object then I would breed and feed as natural a diet as possible; a nice variety of songbirds, small to medium mammals and a selection of reptiles for the ones who partake of them - might as well be creative!

[KenHawker1970]

Small children.

[Bones]

Small children.
yea i agree and hows it going you old scrammel you ken ?

[KenHawker1970]

sound mate hows ya self me old mucker

[KenHawker1970]

oops going off topic there. yeh rabbits and duck and stuff

[Bones]

sound mate hows ya self me old mucker
ill PM YER OK SAVE KILLIN THE THREAD OK

[Jester]

pretty much the same as he gets all year

rabbit, chick, mice and quail

[Hardcore Hawker]

Sean you will i hope in future seasons be able to catch enough natural food to keep one hawk through the moult, A problem does arise however if you are only catching one species IE Rabbits this will need top be supplemented with other items as already mentioned Rats, Quail, Chicks Etc. During the hunting season all the large game i catch Pheasant Rabbits Etc i prepare and cut up into managable portions for one hawk before freezing this way you have no waste as a whole large prey item if defrosted during summer will soon become fly blown as the hawk will not eat much during each sitting.

[Mary Quite Contrary]

venision

[Johnny Abbott]

Small children.never a shortage

[UKJay74]

rabbit quail woodies rook/crow chick and the odd bit of shin beef

[Saker-Clive]

I agree with Hardcore; I tend to keep a few pheasant, Morehen, rabbit etc. in the freezer for the moult.
I find, come mid June to mid July, Kier tends to pick at his food and often leaves certain parts!! With chick, he tends to always leave the 2 legs!!!!!

In general, apart from the above mentioned, rats, mice, as well as the odd frog or young bird that gets into or on the enclosure.:supz:

[Fires59]

Give mine a varied balance diet made up of things she has caught and other items like quail and rat, also give some vitamins and a couple of drops of cod liver oil once or twice a week

[Sean]

thankss for all the feedback guys :)

[KenHawker1970]

Sean if you havent got an airgun mate get one. mine stocks the freezer regular, with woodies, maggies, jays, crows and rooks. Me birds lovem, but make sure all are clean kills. And all lead has been removed.

[Tim Laycock]

Or buy lead free pellets :yawinkle:

[Sprout]

And check ALL avian species for frounce, also check internal organs for evidence of disease before feeding. Always freeze pigeon before feeding (obviously defrost it again before you give it the bird!!)

[Jester]

are pigeons the only ones that need to be frozen??


i have plenty access to crows but have never fed him crow. would they need to be gutted or anything like that??

[Sprout]

All avian prey needs to be checked, pigeons are the most likely to carry frounce but it is possible for any bird to be carrying it.

[Jester]

i figured the checking bit but you just posted to freeze pigeons .......... i wondered if it was only pigeons that have to be frozen or if all avian quarry should be

[Sprout]

In theory all! As I said, in theory all birds can carry frounce.

[Jester]

thanks for that :)

i just thought it might be frozen for some other thing that only pigeons had.




so when your birds catch when hunting and you let them feed up on the kill its just a risk you take and its just another reason to make sure you can spot the early signs of disease??

[Sprout]

Exactly. Theory is nice, but not always practical!

[Falcon911]

A varied diet........!!

[Shaun Byrne]

Fresh is best:supz:

[KenHawker1970]

I would suspect anyone who feeds any sort of quarry to a bop, would first freeze the quarry in question. But first of all check each animal or bird for any sort of visible diseases. Also for fleas and feather mites. I thought that would be just common sence. We normally remove the head (birds only) and guts before freezing. We have brought animal feeds from our local animal feed store, and after inspection they have contained lead shot. This was after he assured us that thay had been trapped. A smack in his mouth later and we got our money back. If people are not sure, bin it. Lets face it we wouldnt feed are bops wild rats or ferrals would we.

Reguards Ken.