How big are you talking about? if your going to make it that big why dont you just make a bigger mews and have it a mews x weathering area?
there is just as much damage availible to your bird in the weathering area as in the mews. What i have noticed trapping sparrows, these birds literally bash their heads in trying to escape the trap, do you think your bird wont do the same?
in the mews you bird will bash against the walls trying to escape, with all the open enviroment it will crash into the bars all day. if a coop sees your bird weathering, it will make an attempt a it, untethered it will fly as fast as it can into the walls of the weathering area.
these are just my reasons as explianed to me by my sponsor, the proof is a local falconer that free lofts and all his birds have SEVIER bumble foot issues.
my kessie has spent about 3 hours in his mews, he is an inside bird.
As long as a the conditions are right, there is no reason you couldn't keep a kestrel free lofted in a flight pen/weathering area. Some of the things you need to consider are
The weathering area should be somewhere where it is not going to have a lot of disturbances
The weathering area needs to have a double door to prevent the bird from flying past you when you enter.
The bird needs to be manned and have some training.
The weathering area needs to be large enough that the bird can fly and easily turn.
Perches need to be place where the bird is going to feel comfortable sitting.
While I'm referring to a kestrel here, the conditions listed are really needed when free lofting any bird.
What i have noticed trapping sparrows, these birds literally bash their heads in trying to escape the trap, do you think your bird wont do the same?
Hawks aren't sparrows. And yes, if the bird is manned and has some training and isn't being harassed by something outside I wouldn't expect him to be bouncing off the walls. It doesn't take the birds long to learn how to navigate it's space without collisions.
in the mews you bird will bash against the walls trying to escape, with all the open enviroment it will crash into the bars all day.
If your bird has been manned and is bashing against the wall of your mews then there is probably something wrong with the mews design.
if a coop sees your bird weathering, it will make an attempt a it, untethered it will fly as fast as it can into the walls of the weathering area.
What makes you think that? Do you think the bird forgets the wall is there or does it think that it can now break through it?
the proof is a local falconer that free lofts and all his birds have SEVIER bumble foot issues.
Most people that free loft don't have bumble foot issues. If this person has bumble foot issues with all his birds then you are looking at poor husbandry as a cause. Not free lofting.
With this being said, I have only free lofted one kestrel (without any problems) the rest I have kept inside tied to a perch.
mark i am not going to say you are right or wrong.
but the 2 examples i have, my sponsor that teathers and the local guy who free lofts, the proof is in the pudding.
i have known my sponsoer longer than the other guy, and he has had 0 bumble foot. the other guy, he went to the place i volunteer at and they removed the puss, it was a perfect mold of his foot.
so teathering for me.
as for the sparrow referance, if that wasnt true then why do the bars need to be smaller than the body. they will try to leave the mews or weathering just like the sparrow tries to exit the trap, thru the bars or what ever is in their way.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothig against teathering. If I had to guess I would estimate that 50% of the time through my career my birds were teathered. For me now it is just easier to free loft with what I have to work with. It also seems a lot easier for me to keep very sharp talons when free lofting.
If I were to get a new bird now it would probably be teathered for at least the first year. Then I would assess how I wanted to house it after that.
I just hope you don't entirely write off free lofting based on the bad husbandry of one falconer. Bumble foot is not a side effect of free lofting.
if a coop sees your bird weathering, it will make an attempt a it, untethered it will fly as fast as it can into the walls of the weathering area.
1. The closest coop I've EVER seen around here was atleast 30 minutes away. 2. Any weathering area we have in the backyard will cover. We have a porch, as well as an oak tree that covers most of the backyard.