A bit of progress- maybe?

Pud has been an interesting study. Not one that I felt I either needed or deserved. I am not sure if she is still a baby in the head, or just plain stupid. A bit harsh I suppose, but if I was supposed to have patience, then I feel sure that God would have made me a gynecologist. There is a bit of good news. The vet checked one of her mutes and did not find any sign of worms.

Every day it is the same with Pud. Almost on the verge of starvation and she is quite content to sit on a hay bale and act as though she has never flown to the fist for more than 6 feet. Today appeared to be more of the same. She did seem to remember that the hay bales were a good place to be however and tried to fly to them as soon as we got close to them. She then proceeded to hang up at 8 feet, and look all around as though she did not ever need to eat again. I countered by stepping back every time that she refused to come to the perch. Finally after about 15 or more minutes. I felt that what I really needed was to let her sit until she found that just sitting on her butt wasn't going to get it done. I decided that I would at least introduce her to the lure so that I could eventually at least turn her loose. Then I could walk away from her, forcing her to at least fly nearer to me to get fed. The creance while a necessary tool, is also a pain in the butt to keep untangled, and you are best served to get rid of it as soon as possible.

I tied a chunk of Jack Rabbit on the lure, and tossed it to the ground by the hay bales. She thought that it was interesting, but not enough to actually fly down to. I wiggled it a bit, but again, it just wasn't enough. I tossed it out in front, but she couldn't be sure that it was really worth the effort to fly to it. Now, I have been saying over and over that she has been taken down to the point of starvation, but the truth is that she is no where near a dangerous point of hunger. It is just that another bird would would be determined to eat something, anything no matter how difficult it might be. To come to the one source of food that has been supplying food to her for several weeks. She is quite content to wait, sooner or later something to eat will come along. I have trained Goshawks to fly free in just 11 days, she is amazed that I want her to fly 12 feet.

I went to the lure and tossed it in front of the hay bales, thinking that the contrast between the meat and the gravel would show her that it was worth investigating. She was definitely interested, but still not sure. I walked up to the lure and picked it up. I was still holding the tee perch in my left hand. She flew to the perch, causing me some surprise. I fed her a tidbit, and let her fly back to the hay.

 Since she had decided that she wanted to eat, I kept walking back further with each flight.

 until I was the full length of the creance. Much further than she has ever flown before. No flare offs this time.

When I began to run out of tidbits, and with her sitting on the highest bale, I tossed the lure onto the lower bale. This one was close enough that she could see the meat and flew to it immediately. I let her eat the meat, and then offered her another chunk on the fist. She walked to the fist and snapped out a foot, grabbing it and the glove. I soon picked her up and we walked to the weathering area. When she was done, I tied her and left her to weather with the rest of the birds.

This is the first lesson that has gone well in several weeks. I have been very depressed by her actions and reactions, perhaps that is mostly past us and she will get with the program. She will gain weight from all the positive reinforcement that she received today, but she has room to carry it. Once I get her to the point that she knows the lure means a lot of food, I can then turn her loose with some hope of reclaiming her after a lesson. Then I will have the ability of letting her sit if she doesn't want to participate.

While she was sitting on the hay trying to out wait me, the little bunny was flushed out of hiding by the chickens, and ran out into the yard where we were. She watched, but didn't react. She actually seemed more interested in the Quail coming up to the Chicken house to feed.

Karen is out in the front yard watering the various plants. She pecked on the window to show me the little bunny in the yard eating grass in spite of her presence. I told her that I would be sorry to see it get caught by one of the birds. It didn't take long for her to inform me that it wouldn't be very sporting, and therefore wasn't happening. He is cute! Sigh!