Chaps?

[grappler]

'To be or not to be that is the Question'

My Female Harris does not usually go for tree rats but around january time tends to take a few.

I was wondering about chaps for a Harris.Personally i do not like them but on my RT it needs it but a Harris?

They look so cumbersome for the bird. Does anyone use chaps on their Harris?
What are your Thoughts?

[ICE]

Hi Grappler
I just use a wide anklet on my female.
I tried the Gary Brewer chaps and she tore them off in 20mins. she hated them. It useally takes me 3pr. of anklets before she finds the one that satisfies her.

[longwing]

Pardon my ignoarance chaps, but what is a chap?

[morganf]

chaps... like cowboys wear... they are a type of anklet that covers the toes on the top to protect from squirrel bites

[Falcon Boy]

they cover most of the tarsus as well

[longwing]

oh cool...that's a good idea. I looked on Google but can't find any pictures

[Sparkly]

Courtesy of The Modern Apprentice:

[Tiercel78]

Though they help reduce the chances of bites on the toes. They are really made to protect the Tarsus from squirrel bites. There are different kinds as well such as Full Cuff and Barrel Chaps. I guess that it depends on your preference on which one you use. On my Lat MRT he actually did better with just barrel chaps instead of the full cuffs. I believe he landed better foot holds and got bit less with the barrel chaps. Thing to remember is that even with Chaps your bird will get bit when flying on squirrels. Rt's take most bites in stride and if cleaned after hunt chances of infection is remote. Harris Hawk feet on the other hand tend to get infected pretty easy from squirrel bites. I believe it's because it is not a natural prey and the have no immunity from the Bacteria in the squirrels mouth. Most of the HH's that I have seen that hunt squirrels primarily, have missing toes and permanently swollen toes. I have made quite a few chaps the last 2 years. They are fairly easy to make I modified the ones that are located on the squirrel hawking website to fit my needs.







squirrelhawking.homestead.com/home.html

[SIDEWNDER]

How much of the tarsus should barrel chaps cover if they are going to be permanantly affixed? I've seen photos of them all the way up to the leg feathers. Wouldent having them up that high hinder the hawk from brining his feet up into his feathers to keep them warm?

[Master Yarak]

I am not sure what you mean by "permanently affixed", as the bird should be able to remove all its hardware in the event it fly away.
To answer your question they do reach almost to the top of the feathers and do not hinder movement at all.
Yarak

[SIDEWNDER]

Yarak,

Thanks for your reply. Looking at the barrel chaps in the photo on this thread, they look like just tall anklets and like they may be attached with grommets that the bird would not be able to remove. I guess what I'm trying to find out is if their are chaps that can be left on all the time that will protect the bird and not hinder movement, ie trying to keep its feet warm. I've made chaps for my bird that I put on before a hunt and take off after. Its kind of a pain because when its time to hunt the hawk has little patience for me putting the chaps on (in the foot steps of my sponsor I don't use a hood). You said the bird should be able to get all his equipment off should he be lost. Did you mean anklets as well?

[Tiercel78]

I keep my chaps on 24/7 and they have no problem with movement. Their legs are pretty long so a chap going up to the feathers is equivalent of in riding up mid shin on you. They should be removable for the reason that Yarak mentioned. The bird that I posted earlier in this thread has removable anklets. At the very least I will always put the barrel chaps on all of my RTs. They distribute the impact of bates a lot better than regular anklets. Leg breaks from tethering are usually caused buy thin anklets that focus the impact of the bate on a small area of the leg.

There are pattrens on squirrelhawking.homestead.com/home.html

[Master Yarak]

If you look closely you can see that there are two sets of grommets. One side of the anklet has a slit in it the other slides through. My bird wears them all the time though she can take them off. She is appears quite comfortable and can pull up her entire foot into her feathers.

Unless your sponsor says "I do not want you to hood training your bird" I would. An RT is going to be the easiest bird to hood, you don't want your first attempts to be on a Peregrine or Prairie.
Besides that there is always one time when you wish you had a hood trained bird.
Yarak

[manok]

My red tail wears full chaps 90 % of the time, as he is tethered to a " jump box ".

I exchange them for regular removable chaps, when he receives a bad bite, so that I can maximize the amount of ' fresh air ' that can get to the wound. Or if I know I'm not going hunting for two days or more.

'Solomon's " chaps weigh 30 gms.

I can't think of a good reason not to hood train any bird of prey.

I'm a red tail hawker & the advantages of hooding my bird far out way any disadvantages ( funny, I can't think of any ).

I've heard the old excuse " red tails are so passive, you don't need to hood train them ". ( cow manure )

If you hunt where I hunt, your bird will be baiting whilst we head into the woods & on the way out.

An unnecessary event for the bird.

I know a guy who was given two top quality hoods, his bird is not trained to the hood, & neither are either of his two apprentices birds !!!

Am sure the hoods make a nice conversation piece wherever they are stored.

[SIDEWNDER]

Thanks for the posts. By the way, what is a "jump box"?