This is a hard one to answer online. Can you have another more experienced falconer in your area observe your birds behaverior. Keep in mind that not all hawks make good gamehawks. I had one this fall that was doing the same thing. He took baggies and tried to catch wild rabbits but never succeeeded. He got to were he would sit and watch rabbits run by. Didn't matter what his weight was, high or low, no difference. He would respond to the glove just great and had a wonderful temperment. Never footed me or even tried. He might of been great on squirrels or barn storming pigeons, but I don't hunt them so he never got a chance to show it. You might consider a different game to see if he does better and then return to rabbits. It could be a confidence builder. Best of luck and keep trying. Good hawk'n
Post by Falcon Boy on Feb 28, 2006 21:34:02 GMT -5
Why keep him through the moult if you don't intend to fly him next season? Why not cut him loose? Then you dont have to pay for hawk food over the summer, nor have the headaches of a moulting bird.
Falcon Boy Apprentice Falconry Administrator
Ethics make the individual, not the other way around.
Didn't matter what his weight was, high or low, no difference. He would respond to the glove just great and had a wonderful temperment.
I know you say weight didn't make a difference, but it sure sounds like a weight problem to me. I have a Red-tail that is deadly on rabbits when flown in the neighborhood of 1000 grams. At that weight, I have seen squirrels walk up the branch the bird is sitting on to within about 5 feet of the bird and they were ignored totally. If I drop the bird down to about 960, he has a totally different attitude about squirrels.