Finally down to weight

We have been trying to get Orrin down 2 grams in weight as he is much too relaxed at 104 to fly like he should. He really doesn't try to go anywhere, he just isn't in a hurry to get to the fist. It is a lesson in Micro management. His metabolism is such that he does well on one feeding a day. He seemed to be stuck on 104, and that just wasn't cutting it.

Perhaps I should explain a bit about "flying weight". A bird in the wild will maintain a weight that is quite a bit higher than "flying weight". Orrin's was about 124 grams. Any higher than that and he either didn't hunt or didn't put in the effort needed to make a kill. This gives them a buffer to get them over periods when they either couldn't hunt or couldn't catch anything. A bird that is carrying too much weight will not fly, and one that is too low cannot fly. A birds flying weight will be similar to an athlete, in other words, top physical form. Too low in weight and they do not fly well and are not responsive to anything. Too high and they are not responsive to the falconer. They are more likely to fly for pleasure, or set in the top of a tree preening.

Tami cut back on his food to try to get him to what we felt would be a much more suitable weight. The last day that I recorded his flights on the blog, she had fed him enough food to take him up to 124 grams. The next day he was 104 at flying time. We took him out anyway, and he just sat and looked at her when she called. I instructed her to pick him up,  hood him and and give him a "time out" of about 30 minutes. Trying him after he had had a chance to think about it. I went on back home, asking her to call me and tell me how it turned out. After he had sat for a while, she took him back outside and he was quite anxious to come to her when called. She cut him back about 3 or four grams on his food. 105 the next day. We tried him and he again ignored her. I told her to take him back in the house and later in the evening after dark to turn him loose in the house and make him find her by flying to her from other rooms. He actually did quite well at that. While we were not progressing as I wanted, it was not a loss. One of the things that he needs to learn is to look for her and to follow where she goes. I took her over some Bunny to feed him with the thought that the meat has a lot less food value than what she had been feeding him. You can control their weight by the type of food, or by washing it to cut down on the caloric content. Jack for instance is rich, while Bunny is more like celery.

The more that you can feed a hawk, the more that he learns and the more satisfied with his lessons he is. Ideally you want to stuff the bird as full as you can while maintaining a weight that it will be anxious to eat again when given the opportunity. You want all your associations with the bird to be as pleasant and satisfying as you can make it. Remember the bird only stays with you because it wants to. There are other variables, but we are dealing with a "passage" ( caught wild in its first year ) bird in Orrin's case.

A hawk or anything, for that matter when it is gaining weight, will have to be fed a smaller portion to stop it gaining weight. Once the weight gain is neutralized and it starts losing, more food will have to be given to stop the downward loss. All of this is more difficult with Orrin because of the minute quantities of food involved.

Tami finally found the right amount to feed him, and today he was down to 101.5 grams. He was alert and showed no signs that he might be too low in weight. She put him on the creance and he flew to his corral post to await her call. He was coming on the first call and she flew him at least 80 feet without any hesitation on his part. When she took the lure out, he was on his way without being called. Much more like it. After he gets used to the program, he will tolerate more weight and still respond to her, but at this stage of things, that little bit of weight is too much. Neither Tami or I enjoy begging a hawk to come to us. He is at the stage that what we will tolerate is what he will be like when he is loose. If we are satisfied with sloppy responses, then that is what we will have for the rest of the time that he is with her. The training process is designed such that the foundation for your relationship is formed in these few weeks, depending on the basics that you teach. If you will accept less than perfect, you will always get just that. I personally hate to follow birds, they are much more adept at that than I will ever be.

He did well today, and we may turn him loose tomorrow, or if not tomorrow, then soon. He is well made to the lure, and I am confident that he will come to it as far as he can see it.