A couple weeks ago I volunteered to pick up a brancher RT from my neighbor rehabbers. Im doing it as a favor to them since they're running out of room. Also I figured it be a good practice bird for falconry before trapping the real thing. Its very tame and so far its not a screamer ( knock on wood) and im learning how to hood properly.
One thing my sponser and I didnt notice was on the right wing all primary feathers were damaged high into the feather. There is no visible break however there is blood leakage and today the very last primary feather fell out. We are clueless to what is wrong but I suspect that since the RT was brought to my neighbors as a brancher it must of fell out of the nest too soon and broke its feathers on the way down.
( Because of its tameness and feather damage I doubt it will ever be released into the wild )
Did the feathers break off or fall out at the folicle? Release can depend on if it is imprinted or not. How old approx.?
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Post by Master Yarak on Jul 12, 2004 5:37:16 GMT -5
Alex, The moult is a strange thing. It sounds to me that some trauma happened to that side that caused the feather to break while still in blood. Not really that uncommon. IMO the feather will grow back this year because the folicle prodution is still going on it just may take awhile. I am interested in the outcome so let us know. Yarak
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away
Isn't it true that bent feathers can be straighten relatively easily? I'm not sure how badly these feathers are bent or whether or not they're new feathers, but a little hot water on the bent part should straighten them up faily well. It's worth a try.
Post by Master Yarak on Jul 12, 2004 14:04:03 GMT -5
Some bends can easily be straightened. If however the crease is too severe than an imping seems appropriate. Yarak
If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away
When I said last Primary feather, I meant that was the last of the 6 or so that had fallen out.
I do not know the specific age but it is incredibly tame. " Too tame" is a description from my sponser and I sadly agree.
It has only associated my lure with food and im keeping its weight at a steady 35oz.
I also started Creance training today and he seems to still be producing a ton of lift. I will keep this thread updated if his folicals were undamaged and regrows his feathers before the next moult.
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines "Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day; give him a religion................ and he'll starve to death while praying for a fish."
Some bends can easily be straightened. If however the crease is too severe than an imping seems appropriate. Yarak
One thing that worked for me on a bad crease that you know is going to break eventually is to cut a 5-10 cm long feather shaft of about the same size/color (although I used a harris feather for my redtail) and split it lengthwise.
Makes sure it fits on the underside real well (you might have to try a few different cuts till you fit it right). You want it to sort of "cradle" the crease, then just superglue it to the underside of the feather (or whatever kind of glue you like).
It is not really pretty but you dont really notice it unless you look. I imagine you could sort of sand of the edges to taper the joint so it is not so noticable, if I ever do it again I may experiment with this...
Aaron, i've used that technique. It works like a charm! Sometimes i think ppl are to quick to imp. Maybe imping is easier than straightening or strengthening... i'm not sure.
Cool, I would be really hesitant to imp. I have no experience with it. It would probably be good to get some experience with imping before I get a Shortwing. I keep all of the feathers from the molt but that is more of an insurance policy... I hope to never need them. I am surprised there is no "artificial feathers" for sale on the net to imp with... maybe someday???
Have you used one of those feather straightners (uses heat)?
On a side note: Anybody else seen pictures of goshawks imped with a full train of Snowy Owl feathers? (I swear I have seen it like 3 times...)