Hunting through the moult

[wkdmick]

Ive read about some falconers that hunt through the moult.

My main question is; what is the pros and cons of this?

Ive looked through the forums and didnt seem to find much info on it, i know that vitamin supplements is available ,and is used by display falconers during the moult. However would it be more advantagous to hunt through the moult,being more in tune to a wild Bird of prey; or best to leave the bird alone to moult, as it has been tamed for handling.

some input on this would be useful thanks

[FalconGriff]

Its no big deal. The moult period is prolonged.You have to be very carfull you don't break feathers in the blood. You need to fly at a high weight and have a well manned bird so you don't get fret marks. Few people who hunt Grouse are out of the moult by Aug 12th. At Centers who do displays we have to fly through the moult and surprise surprise the wild birds don't sit on there bums for six months!! An old falconer once said to me "moulting is a desiese of the falconer not the bird!"

[KJL]

More easily done with pursuit falcons as the quarry dosent have to be found in cover.

[Phil Noble]

Ive once heard you can moult your bird when you want,flying through summer and moulting through winter,i guess centres do that alot?
Phil

[HallBeck]

Ive once heard you can moult your bird when you want,flying through summer and moulting through winter,i guess centres do that alot?
Phil

Thats exactly what i used to do when i was doing demos. My birds rarely dropped so much as a single feather until alte August.

[wkdmick]

Thanks for the info; ill think i will give the bird a chance to keep flying through its moult.
i just couldnt see me (not wanting to upset anyone here- so dont take this the wrong way) sort of dropping and picking it up again six months later; as the impression is often painted.

thanks again

[Pearl]

i hunt crow falcons all year round as there are no seasons on corvids but there are on pheasent , the other point is you could be putting pressure on your land not giving it time to replenish stock for the winter hunting :wink:ie rabbits as you shouldnt be hunting game out of season anyway :wink:

[Claire]

my kessie was flying all summer and didn't drop any feathers till we went camping for a weekend in august and I left her with a quail. I came back to find she had mouted out her entire train except 2 feathers! she has now finished moulting already.
the reason I don't hunt the harris in the summer as the potential of small prey and carrying is too high, if a harris is at hunting weight and there are pigeon squabs etc in nests, I think its a bit risky, you have to remember the birds at centres are at flying weight not hunting weight.

[Kennelre]

Thanks for the info; ill think i will give the bird a chance to keep flying through its moult.
i just couldnt see me (not wanting to upset anyone here- so dont take this the wrong way) sort of dropping and picking it up again six months later; as the impression is often painted.

thanks again


Hello Steve....I see that you don't actually have a bird yet but are intending to get a HH.
I'm genuinely interested to know if you have a particular concern about letting your bird moult in the way that most of us do? Maybe that might be worth discussing.?


...Rene.

[wkdmick]

Hello Steve....I see that you don't actually have a bird yet but are intending to get a HH.
I'm genuinely interested to know if you have a particular concern about letting your bird moult in the way that most of us do? Maybe that might be worth discussing.?


...Rene.
As you quite rightly state, i dont have a bird yet,:( hence my search for knowledge with in these forums and, anywhere else i might get it.The bird i will get will be a harris hawk, as recommended by 99.9% of most experienced falconers, as to be my first bird.

If you check my link http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=53365 i posted an introduction with my cunning plan. I dont have a major concern in either direction, whether i moult it or not. just simply trying to get as much insight as possible.:cool: