Post by Falcon Boy on Sept 3, 2013 12:38:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the update! Have you dropped his weight at all or is he still being fed as much as he wants everyday? I know this weight is higher than your last update, but i didn't know if he topped out during that time.
Falcon Boy Apprentice Falconry Administrator
Ethics make the individual, not the other way around.
Post by shortwingn on Sept 3, 2013 17:37:26 GMT -5
Not in the traditional sense. I have been flying him at times when he is ready to eat. Some days I feed him mice the day before and his weight isn't real high the next and others quail and its higher. Not sure what you would call it. His lowest weight has been 1410(as of late) and his highest weight 1642. He remembers the lower weights and will respond the next day at higher weights. It wont work for too long. Just for the branching period.
Post by shortwingn on Sept 4, 2013 11:36:40 GMT -5
"Every time a bell rings an Angel gets his wings"? Well then......"When an owl kills something he gets his Horns" Baaahh! Yup, Ozzy's horns are starting to grow in.
Last Edit: Sept 5, 2013 15:57:10 GMT -5 by Falcon Boy
That didn't work? I have to shine the Falcon Boy spot light in the sky! "Que the music" Dun Na Na Na Naw Na Na Falcon Boy........... He will be here any minute.
Post by shortwingn on Sept 10, 2013 15:52:26 GMT -5
09-10-2013, 114 days 1,815grams Things are clicking with Ozzy. He is coming to the lure and fist very well from long distances. He is flying at night as well as the day at the same weight. Day time he is a bit slower to respond but mainly due to all the distractions. It was time to begin raising his weight and it went up. He is flying at just over 4 lb. I know a 1/2 lb. weight increase sounds insane. But everything just started to click and I went with it. Funny as I am not at the top yet either. He has quite a bit of muscle to build. I love how falconers feel the keel of a young imprint and wince. The face they make is unmistakeable(I am trying to get a picture). He has just started to put effort into chasing rabbits. I don't like to use bags and if necessary only one or two at most! More hawks have been devastated by bags(IMHO). He went from bobbing his head at game to slowly leaning and tensing up to making an attempt that needs work. At this rate he will figure it out on his own. I am really enjoying this owl now. They are a lot of work. Still, every time I look back I crack a smile. I am often reminded of a similarity between accipiters and owls. "They are impossible to train" and "They are as useless as tits on a bull" come to mind along with hundreds of other misnomers. (Taken from Wikipedia, "Misnomers often arise because the thing named received its name long before its true nature was known") Can you say stupid owl?
Post by shortwingn on Sept 17, 2013 10:51:15 GMT -5
He still looks small to me! 07-07-2013 Hack gets funny. I figured I would share this. I have an approximately 10 acre abandoned lot 2 blocks from where I live. There isn't much going on there as it's an environmental clean up site. We have them all over this area. There is a bunch of wildlife for an owl to play with there. Skunks, raccoon, squirrels, deer, etc. I have been putting Ozzy in there to lose weight and calling him down in the morning. He has always been happy to see me and comes down to the fist in the morning. Got to love it when your owl comes out of a 120 foot tree from a foot ball sized area to your fist. I really want to get it on video! I have always felt it was a good spot to do this. I have done it with several birds. My wife and I were having a peaceful nights sleep. When at 4:30 in the morning my door bell rings. I thought I was dreaming as the dogs didn't bark when my wife asks "Did you hear the doorbell"? OK, it isn't a dream. I went to the door and it's my neighbor. He tells me my owl is trying to eat his dog. Well, that woke me up! I ran to the fridge, grabbed some mice, quail, and my vest on my way out the door. I go up his driveway and there are three more people there. I was having visions of Oz dragging someones dog around and an old lady hitting him with a broom. I was thinking, this isn't gonna help with carrying. As it turned out he was up high in a stand of trees and doing his owl scream. I couldn't locate him as he was bouncing from tree to tree. I decided to pull a mouse out and call him to the fist. He came right down. I figured here it comes. I am not going to be too popular in my neighborhood. The first comment was "that was the coolest thing I ever saw"! The second "$&%*! The third "How did you do that"? After they stopped talking I explained. He wasn't trying to eat your dogs. He is use to getting fed around small dogs and makes a food association to them. Thats why he came here. They all seemed happy and I figured this is a good time to beat feet. They actually said to me "fly him here anytime" as I was leaving. I took him in and tied him up in my kitchen and went back to bed. I don't think I am going to put him out to lose weight and build muscle anymore. I just don't like getting up at 4:30 in the morning!
Post by shortwingn on Sept 20, 2013 22:38:27 GMT -5
09-20-2013 54oz Two nice chases on rabbits. Almost. The harvest moon was out last night so it's still a bit bright. Not a lot of rabbits out tonight. Oh well. Instead of waiting for the rabbits to come out decided on a few quick pulls to the fist. I posted two vids one short and one two mins.
Last Edit: Sept 21, 2013 22:37:34 GMT -5 by Falcon Boy