Looks good Matt but I don't see the stool you're going to need when your bird is on that high perch in the corner and doesn't want to come down to you. Just a thought (and please don't think you'll use food to get her to come)
im going to take after my sponsor, she will be always tethered during hunting season... for the molt... well... flash light and midnight seem like a good idea to grab a RT off of a perch....
I am going to take after my sponsor in saying that tethering your bird all the time is unnessisary, and as far as I am concerned no better then free lofting if you train your bird correctly. which I am sure you of all people matt will do.
"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." -Thomas Paine
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? -Marianne Williamson
He believes, and i do also, that when they are tethered, it keeps them in the mentality of the fact that they are too be hunting, or worked with, on a regular basis. and that during the molt, they wont be hunting, or worked with on a regular basis.
anyways...
i passed with beyond flying colors!!
'said that my mew was one of the best ones hes seen, and that the bottom grate was an idea hed never seen before, and that he believes it helps greatly with ventilation.
Well, I don't see the point in tethering all the time if the bird is steady enough to be freelofted, but you have to listen to your sponsor. You will still need that stool though, midnight and flashlight or not.
And why the hell would you want to be up at midnight anyways
Now, first of all, RT's don't have the ability to reason that, "Hey, I'm tethered, must be we're going hunting today or someone is going to work with me"
That being said, some birds do better tethered and some do better free lofted. My limited experience combined with common sense tells me that if at all possible, free lofted is best. It seems to me that having a perch in the mews that is out of reach is asking for trouble, or at least some inconvenience when you want the bird to come to you but it really doesn't want to. Maybe some veterans can chime in here and give some pros and cons to that school of thought.
Just trying to help ya, Matt, by averting problems before they show up.
"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." -Thomas Paine
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? -Marianne Williamson