critique my muse or post yours for critique

[jimmyjohn]

Sorry if this belonged on another thread bu it looked like the one on muse designs hadn't been used in a while. Anyways heres the plan. This is for a Kestral. These are tentative plans. Its a pretty standard barn design 5 by 8. I'm going to put up a wall up at 5 feet on the long side. The first 5 feet will be the muse. Fore the other three feet I'm going to cut everything off of the frame above 3 feet and fence it up to the roof, so that it has an outdoor area. I'm going to build the window for the muse on the side facing the outdoor area.
The widow will be built so that I can slide it open giving acces to both areas or keep it closed. I'll put a perch right on the outside of the window so it has a place to pause between inside and out. For perches I,ll put up a couple natural ones outside and on the inside I'll put a ring and a couple of artificial ones. By the way the floors dirt I'll gravel it over.

[NelsonMandella]

A Muse is a source of inspiration.
A Mews is a place you keep birds.

[jimmyjohn]

Sorry force of habit.

[Beibhan]

What do the people flying Kestrels in your area use? Most folks I know do not use mews. They keep the birds indoors to keep the weight more stable. If you need one to pass inspection then that's different. I tried to build mine to house a RT or a Kestrel. I just used narrower spaces between the bars and put wire down to keep rats etc. from coming up thru the floor. Wire kept away from the bird of course.

When you say fence it up to the roof, what kind of fence? I don't think you want to free loft a Kestrel, they tend to fly along the walls and beat up their feathers too much or so I'm told. But others may have much different experiences. YMMV

[YoloKestrel]

Beibhan said:

What do the people flying Kestrels in your area use? Most folks I know do not use mews. They keep the birds indoors to keep the weight more stable.

When they keep them indoors, how do they do it? Is there a seperate enclosure? Or are they just tied up?

How does keeping kestrels indoors make the weight more stable?

[Minca]

you need to get Matthew Mullenix's "American Kestrels in Modern Falconry". It could probably explain alot of this stuff alot better than we could, and it's pretty cheap, 21.99 i believe.

[Beibhan]

YoloKestrel said:

When they keep them indoors, how do they do it? Is there a seperate enclosure? Or are they just tied up?

How does keeping kestrels indoors make the weight more stable?

If you read Kestrelfans archives you'd know. I have a neck injury that makes typing somewhat painful. If you follow my advice you will have answers to many of your questions.

But think about it. A bird uses energy keeping warm, in a small bird, that can mean rapid weight loss. Some falconers do use mews for Kestrels, many do not. The exact set up should be discussed with your sponsor so he/she can evaluate your living situation and help you find a safe way to house the bird.

I'm leary of giving you exact info any longer as you worry me. You've gone from seeking a sponsor to saying you don't need one. I'd hate to think you were considering ducking the law. Esp. since you are asking some VERY basic questions.

If I've misunderstood your intent, I apologize. But as a legal falconer, I would never want to encourage anyone I think might want to bend or break our current laws.
They are in place for the birds' protection.