Post by moredtailboy on Sept 23, 2006 22:17:45 GMT -5
Well you shouldnt ned much beef heart maybe 2 pounds at the most for tibits thats not much at all or buy a cheap roast only a couple of bucks and then soak it over night in water and the bird wont gain much weight on that so you can drop weight fast
well now there a bird in the mew im happy now the bunny slaying beggins
Post by Master Yarak on Sept 24, 2006 8:38:02 GMT -5
Do not soak Beef Heart! Just feed smaller portions. Washed meat robs the bird of the nutrients. So it drops weight quicker. Then what, you have lean hawk that is nutritionally deficient. Bad. Just because you were impatient. Do not feed washed meat, it is unnecessary. 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
Simple to prep. Thaw one rat. Gut as you would a bunny. Cut off the head for tiring and skin the rest of the carcass. Then useing shears, cut the rest of the body into tid-bit sized pieces. I do it all the time with a;l sorts of game such as sparrows, rats, squirrels, pigeons, starlings, bunnies etc....
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."
I trapped fox squirrels in town for my redtail and a re-habber. Pellet gun into the brain behind the ear gave a quick end, but I couldn't use the head for tiring. Lead pellet didn't exit. Trapped in cage traps where they were not wanted around. Game shears were used to cut off head and tail. Gutted squirrel and removed everything but the kidneys, heart, liver and lungs. Cut into rough quarters or smaller. Didn't look at it as tidbits, but part of weighed feed. Hide and fur made great well formed casting Side note : Hawk began to respond quicker when I started to feed squirrel as opposed to domestic rabbit.
Post by Master Yarak on Sept 24, 2006 21:52:52 GMT -5
Oldguy and I do the same thing. Fox squirrel is great as a diet. Rats.... they are good to eat and will provide good nutrition. If you can teach a bird what to hunt by feeding it that type of food, then feeding rats with fur could very easily encourage the bird to rat. Now once the bird starts to rat and does so with success, it will be very hard to get it to hunt something more difficult. In all the times I have caught game I have only caught 3 rats. I have never used rats as food. Can I prove a correlation...nope. I do believe that it is more than coincidence. By preparing the rat to be unidentifiable you may avoid the association. Simply said you should feed mainly what you want to hunt. Each to there own. 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
so i prepped my rat, and got the perfect system! (for me atleast).
It starts with a partial defrost (for frozen things).
I then cut the rat in half with my hunting knife (goes through it like butter!). I then use the flat part of the knife, scoop the guts out of both cavities. After I do that, I then pull the fur off (it comes off really easy, like a sock). I use my game sheers to cut the feet and tail off (but i save them for tidbits). I then cut the head off using my knife. and there you have it... you are ended up with 4 feet, 1 tail, a head, the skin, the upper body, and lower body. You can then dispose of the viscera.
I plan on freezing the vicera in a tupperware container, tossing it out once a week (sunday night before the trash pick up monday morning).
**EDIT** The reason behind the partial defrost, is that most the blood is still frozen (so there is less mess), also, you can cut the rat in half with reckless abandon (lol) because it's still frozen, even if you do puncture an organ, it won't taint the meat.
Last Edit: Sept 24, 2006 22:15:36 GMT -5 by morganf
I like the partial defrost as well. Most of my food is squirrels and rabbits though. I usually just slice along the belly and gut it first. Then start cutting it in half or peices. Lots of my tidbitting though is done with deer meat. Deer are abundant here. And they make for a free source of tidbits. I have been lucky. I dont think i have ever paid for hawk food.
I know very little about falconry, as I am just starting, but I know a lot about rodents, or the preparation of them. I feed my snake mice and rats. Sometimes the rats need to be "groomed" if they are too large. I don't have to do it too often, but this may work for you (or you may have already found an easier way. Go to a cooking store, or any store where you can get knives and such. Buy a cheap cleaver, sharpener (can even improvise on this). I use a rubber mallet as well, again, something you can improvise I'm sure. Simply use the cleaver to chop what you need. The mallet I use to pound the cleaver through (when needed). Sharpen the cleaver when needed, buy new ones when needed. There are a lot of expensive ones out there, just try to get a decent priced one. Again, just how I do things, and you may or may not want to give it a try. Good luck!