Post by manok on Nov 28, 2006 18:30:43 GMT -5
There have been numerous threads / posts regarding putting chaps on your bird whilst squirrel hawking, or as seems to be the case in the U.K. anytime you're hawk is hunting.
A lot of them get into the pro's + con's of the necessity.
At the end of the day it's a personal choice, just like training your bird to the hood.
I flew Solomon for what I would call a " short season " last year, in that he was late trapped & got into the woods, January of this year.
My first pair of anklets were given to me by my sponsor, along with various pieces of equipment, such as bells & jesses. ( thanks for the equipment & support )
The anklets were the removable style, with grommets which I am now a fan of.
During the moult I was fortunate enough to get hold of some chaps, a pair of which I now use on my bird every time he hunts.
Various adaptations are common, but they all are made to serve a purpose.
To protect & minimize injury to your bird.
The chaps I use are approx, 1 + 3/4" wide covering the bird's leg, before they flare out, 1 + 1/4" offering cover over Solomon's toe area.
In the center of the anklet, there's a " pop type stud " that would allow me to further add material to cover the " flare ".
I have yet to add anything.
The width of the anklet concerned me, in that I thought it was too wide & thus extended up the birds leg too high.
I was considering making more, removable anklets, less wide ( not as high up the bird's leg ) & using the " pop type stud " in the middle to attach & remove the flare material.
I have heard comments along the lines of, " chaps are like attaching umbrella's to your bird's feet ", & " chaps affect the birds ability to foot game properly ".
I recently removed Solomon's chaps after a top of the toe bite, upon a suggestion from a friend as well as removing his bells.
This was done to allow more air to get to the wound & thus promote faster healing.
Whether it worked or not I can't be sure, but I'm open to suggestions if it'll improve the birds health & or his kill ratio.
The chaps & bells are back on him whilst hunting.
Today I was fortunate enough to catch a double, & the memorable part of both kills was.
The first squirrel ended up, what looked like, on first seeing it, twisting around the birds leg, like a snake trying to suffocate it's prey .
Upon assessing the situation & at the same time, " putting the squeeze on ", It became apparent the squirrel was biting or at least trying to bite the back of Solomon's leg. The height / width of the chap prevented an injury, resulting in damage to the rear of the chap near the grommet's.
Second squirrel had it's teeth, or at least the lower set in the " pop type stud ", it's head horizontal to the birds leg. biting the same leg as the first squirrel attempted to.
Both squirrel's were caught on the ground amongst the fallen leaves.
The first squirrel was struck from the side of the tree as it headed towards me & was momentarily dropped after Solomon brought it to the ground.
The second squirrel, Solomon had flew away from me & was laddering up from various trees, when I saw, what I had was a situation.
Three trees in close proximity to each other with nests in them, Solomon looking up in the trees, but no obvious intent to commit to crashing a nest .
I resorted to doing the only thing I could.
I grabbed the vine on a tree almost in the middle of the medley without a nest attached to it.
I gave a tug on the vine & looked up.
No sooner than I pulled the vine, Solomon struck the vines, he hit them just as I was whipping the vine off the tree preparing to slap it back against the trunk.
In that split second I don't know whether I whipped the squirrel loose, or it was already moving or Solomon had already struck it. Anyway as I looked up, there was a squirrel, free falling off the tree towards the ground, with Solomon, wings extended almost hovering, heading towards the ejected squirrel & me directly below both of them.
I tried to strike the squirrel, kicking with my leg extended, to break it's fall. ( & neck ) alas this was not to be.
The squirrel landed & took off like a downhill skier, so did Solomon.
( visions of a farmyard chicken getting chased around the yard, flapping but not flying )
Solomon was though, probably a foot or so off the ground, catching number two thirty foot from the tree.
A lot of them get into the pro's + con's of the necessity.
At the end of the day it's a personal choice, just like training your bird to the hood.
I flew Solomon for what I would call a " short season " last year, in that he was late trapped & got into the woods, January of this year.
My first pair of anklets were given to me by my sponsor, along with various pieces of equipment, such as bells & jesses. ( thanks for the equipment & support )
The anklets were the removable style, with grommets which I am now a fan of.
During the moult I was fortunate enough to get hold of some chaps, a pair of which I now use on my bird every time he hunts.
Various adaptations are common, but they all are made to serve a purpose.
To protect & minimize injury to your bird.
The chaps I use are approx, 1 + 3/4" wide covering the bird's leg, before they flare out, 1 + 1/4" offering cover over Solomon's toe area.
In the center of the anklet, there's a " pop type stud " that would allow me to further add material to cover the " flare ".
I have yet to add anything.
The width of the anklet concerned me, in that I thought it was too wide & thus extended up the birds leg too high.
I was considering making more, removable anklets, less wide ( not as high up the bird's leg ) & using the " pop type stud " in the middle to attach & remove the flare material.
I have heard comments along the lines of, " chaps are like attaching umbrella's to your bird's feet ", & " chaps affect the birds ability to foot game properly ".
I recently removed Solomon's chaps after a top of the toe bite, upon a suggestion from a friend as well as removing his bells.
This was done to allow more air to get to the wound & thus promote faster healing.
Whether it worked or not I can't be sure, but I'm open to suggestions if it'll improve the birds health & or his kill ratio.
The chaps & bells are back on him whilst hunting.
Today I was fortunate enough to catch a double, & the memorable part of both kills was.
The first squirrel ended up, what looked like, on first seeing it, twisting around the birds leg, like a snake trying to suffocate it's prey .
Upon assessing the situation & at the same time, " putting the squeeze on ", It became apparent the squirrel was biting or at least trying to bite the back of Solomon's leg. The height / width of the chap prevented an injury, resulting in damage to the rear of the chap near the grommet's.
Second squirrel had it's teeth, or at least the lower set in the " pop type stud ", it's head horizontal to the birds leg. biting the same leg as the first squirrel attempted to.
Both squirrel's were caught on the ground amongst the fallen leaves.
The first squirrel was struck from the side of the tree as it headed towards me & was momentarily dropped after Solomon brought it to the ground.
The second squirrel, Solomon had flew away from me & was laddering up from various trees, when I saw, what I had was a situation.
Three trees in close proximity to each other with nests in them, Solomon looking up in the trees, but no obvious intent to commit to crashing a nest .
I resorted to doing the only thing I could.
I grabbed the vine on a tree almost in the middle of the medley without a nest attached to it.
I gave a tug on the vine & looked up.
No sooner than I pulled the vine, Solomon struck the vines, he hit them just as I was whipping the vine off the tree preparing to slap it back against the trunk.
In that split second I don't know whether I whipped the squirrel loose, or it was already moving or Solomon had already struck it. Anyway as I looked up, there was a squirrel, free falling off the tree towards the ground, with Solomon, wings extended almost hovering, heading towards the ejected squirrel & me directly below both of them.
I tried to strike the squirrel, kicking with my leg extended, to break it's fall. ( & neck ) alas this was not to be.
The squirrel landed & took off like a downhill skier, so did Solomon.
( visions of a farmyard chicken getting chased around the yard, flapping but not flying )
Solomon was though, probably a foot or so off the ground, catching number two thirty foot from the tree.
