Hoods: That's a bit more controversial. I have had several ppl tell me that hooding a RT is not only unnecessary, it can be detrimental. One published Falconer has conducted a study on this. He claims that his research indicates that hooding a RT leads to agression. I have seen his data, critiqued his study design or his methodology so i can't say how sound his study is. But he is a credible author. I'll copy this to the "hoods" thread for further comment
Hoods: That's a bit more controversial. I have had several ppl tell me that hooding a RT is not only unnecessary, it can be detrimental. One published Falconer has conducted a study on this. He claims that his research indicates that hooding a RT leads to agression. I have seen his data, critiqued his study design or his methodology so i can't say how sound his study is. But he is a credible author. I'll copy this to the "hoods" thread for further comment
I agree that under certain circumstances it can cause a resentment towards the falconer. Not that I'm any kind of expert, but from what I have seen with this bird, hooding without a "purpose" can certainly make my bird "angry". Example: When I repeatedly try to hood the bird to get her used to it, she becomes harder and harder to hood and she begins grabbing the glove in an aggresive manner. Now, on the lighter side of this, when I go to the field, I pull the bird out of the giant hood and she is wound up since she knows what happens next. She will gladly hood at this point since she knows that when she is next unhooded, she gets to hunt. It is this absolutely positive reinforcment that I think aids her in accepting the hood. Some birds hood well from the start and some birds refuse the hood alltogether.. Hooding takes time and ALOT of patience(not one of my virtues, but I work on it) and in my opinion, based on my limited experiences (note what was said there) I find the hood a neccesity in the field.
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."
Like i said earlier, i haven't seen this persons study. I really have no idea whether it is a real study in the scientific sense of the word. But, he's stongly of the opinion that it does more harm than good. I tried to hood my bird when i dusted her for parasites. I wanted to protect her eyes. She would have none of that! I'm taking her to the vet this saturday. Hooding her there could be a good thing. But, again, i don't think i'll be successful. I see your point about the field. That has merit. When i first started dealing with raptors i liked hoods because they were so strongly identified with falconry tradition. Besides that, they looked neat! Those are the wrong reasons for using hoods. Your reasons have more meaning. It seems to me that getting the bird used to the hood can have distinct advantages, even if you don't use it all the time.
I could not live without the hood. It makes doing almost anything with the bird that much easier. I use condition reinforcement when training my bird to take the hood. I first introduce a whistle that the bird learns to associate with food. Once the bird associates the food and the whistle I show the bird the hood from a distance. If the bird looks at the hood I blow the whistle and he gets a tidbit. I repeat this process slowly letting the hood come closer. Finally I get it so that the bird lets me touch it with the hood, whistle and a tidbit. Next the hood goes on and braces stay open. Eventually the braces are struck. This can happen in one day or may take many depends on the bird. The key is not to push it but to stop before the bird starts to get nervous, I try to end each session on a good note with a jackpot of food. This same condition reinforcement whistle can be used when the bird starts jumping as well as well as shaping other behavior. With this method I have seen extremely hood shy birds take the hood as well as my bird lets me hood it repeatedly without any issues.
Hrm, i read it in one of the CHC journals, and i think it was a re-print of one of NAFA's hawk chalk. You basically gave the exact same information that was in the article, and ive bounced it off of a few falconers, and they all agree its a great way to train a hood shy bird.
Post by Master Yarak on Oct 8, 2004 10:20:06 GMT -5
My bird almost self hoods. It and the lure should always be part of your training routine with a passage Redtail. Both have proven repeatedly indispensable. Take this as gospel. 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
What type of hood would you guys recommend for use on a male RT? By that I mean Anglo Indian, Dutch...ect. Just wanted to know what you guys use and why they are good for RT's.
"You're a smart kid Johny, you really are, but as long as I'm around you'll only be second best." The Godfather