hooding a redtail?

[Redtail]

Hi all can anyone tell me if its possible to hood a 4 year old red tail.He;s never been hooded before thanx.daz :lol:

[Dave G]

would be better putting a small plant pot on his head lol much safer

[Redtail]

good advice mate i wear a crash helmet when flying him look good together ha lol

[Bash]

If he doesn't need it then I wouldn't. If he has been flown for four years and hasn't been hooded then again I wouldn't. He would probably find it too stressful for hardly any gain.

I've never hooded a Redtail myself as I've never found that they needed one.

[Redtail]

thanx bash. the reason i would like to hood him is cos when putting the mews jesses back on in the field he foots me neally every time. :cry:

[MickeyDredd]

Redtail

If you can work out why is he footing you, you may not need a hood. Is he only aggressive at that time, is he frustrated cos he hasn't caught anything, have you fed him up before putting mews jesses back on (i.e. does he think thats his day over yet hasnt had what he considers a good days feeding), etc

MD

[Redtail]

he only seems aggresive wher foods consurned il call him to the fist out of a tree lets say. when he;s eaten the food il show him my empty hand ;try to get hold of the jesses then bang every time.this was last season i want to try to get it right for this comming season i am new to falconry my second season this year..I hunted him last year but didnt get the wight right till back end of the season so havnt court anything yet .manny thanx.daz

[MickeyDredd]

I hunted him last year but didnt get the wight right till back end of the season so havnt court anything yet .manny thanx.daz

I think you have answered the question. If reds are not killing they can get very frustrated and aggressive. If my FRT has a few flights without killing she starts to show interest in my ferret although is never aggressive to me on the fist. Once the adrenaline starts pumping in a RT they need a release so that may be why you're experiencing the aggression from him.

Get him entered and killing regularly and I'm sure the footing will reduce if not stop.

In the meantime you could try calling him in to the lure and pick him up without food on the glove, thereby breaking the food association with the glove

Good luck.

[Redtail]

That makes alot of sence my freind.I will definatly try the lure. thanx for your advice and nice to meet you hope to talk again somtime .daz :wink:

[Jay]

I have a meathod that works well for just about any bird and may work on your RT. Take the hood show it to her from a distance. About an arms length. When she looks at it give a whistle and tidbit. Slowly repeat this process, slowly moving the hood closer. She will learn to associate the whistle and food with seeing the hood. Eventualy you will be able to place the hood on her braces open, remove give the whistle and tidbit. Then next time close the braces. Once she is taking the hood stop doing the whistle and tidbits. It can be used later down the road if her hooding starts to get "rusty"

[Kornie]

Redtail. When you have her on the fist when you aren't flying her does she still attempt to foot you when you touch her?

[Redtail]

no only when thers food involved really.do you have a red kornie?

[MickeyDredd]

I would definately try to break the glove/food association. give it a go bringing him in to the lure and then picking him up with no food - beware thouhe may simply transfer the aggression from the glove to the lure.

basically I think you have to try different methods until you find the best solution, but getting him killing will certainly help - at least you have a better starting position this year as you know the weight to start from.

[Redtail]

thanx mickey will do :wink: