1. any place that sells feeder rats. 2. chicken necks from your grocery store. 3. beef heart is a viable food for a hawk in a pinch. 4. trap your own food legally. make a sparrow trap, a non poisinous rat trap, squirrel trap, starling trap.
Will someone tell me where to buy food for a RT in Oklahoma City? Thanks
If you want to drop a little coin order some quail from Brad Mitchell. The quality of his birds is outstanding. The last time i ordered they were 1.80 per bird which is a little high in comparison to some other quail breeders but they are huge, tons of fat under the skin and very dark rich meat. I ordered 50 and think shipping was only about $25 plus the cost. A very easy way to put plenty of high quality food in the freezer to get a new bird started.
PS, I do not know, work for etc Brad. I was just very impressed with his product.
Some people grin and bear it, other people smile and change it.
Post by forestfalcon on May 22, 2010 9:14:31 GMT -5
I wouldn't say that chicken necks is a good food to feed any bird. Raptors need a steady diet of various, whole bodied animals. I order quail, day old chicks, and mice from commercial breeders, but my freezer also has cottontails, ducks, pheasants, squirrels, etc. Wild food is also better than commercially raised animals, but you do what you have to do.
Don't get your hawks food from a grocery store.
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
I wouldn't say that chicken necks is a good food to feed any bird. Raptors need a steady diet of various, whole bodied animals. I order quail, day old chicks, and mice from commercial breeders, but my freezer also has cottontails, ducks, pheasants, squirrels, etc. Wild food is also better than commercially raised animals, but you do what you have to do.
Don't get your hawks food from a grocery store.
i would like to point out that this is her personal opinion and not the opinion of every one on this forum.
I say this cause during the moult my sponsor with 40+ years of falconry uses them to feed as well as help cope the beak naturally.
but if you dont believe me please see what was printed on the sight about chicken necks
from the modern apprentice: Chicken and Turkey Necks Charles Knight, an English falconer from the 1920s, and Frank Beebe both swear by chicken heads and turkey necks. Like much commercially produced meat, research points to low nutritional values of chicken as a whole. However, raptors that have a substantial part of their natural diet comprised of birds do very well on this as a staple and wild hawks that feed on poultry do quite well. Necks and chicken wings make great dressing for a lure or tirings. A chicken neck which has been cut open lengthwise as to open the marrow of the bone to the bird also offers more nutrition than otherwise. Chicken and turkey necks with the bones crushed contain a lot of calcium available to the bird and will also satiate her hunger without adding much fat to her diet. Be careful, though, to cut up necks into smallish pieces or use a hammer to bash the neck bones into small gravel, again checking that there are no sharp edges or points by feeling around it well with your fingers. Some greedy birds will suck down a chicken neck intact making chicken necks dangerous. They can have trouble turning over their crop and develop sour crop or get it caught in the proventriculus, so cut the neck lengthwise first to expose the marrow, then slice into pieces so she cannot choke or end up with the neck stuck in her crop. If you are unable to cut this into proper sized pieces, you can feed this from your hand by getting a clamp from a set of jumper cables in order to hold onto the neck, however without the bones broken up the calcium will not be available to the bird. The neck is very slippery and will otherwise slip through your hand, and the clamp will let you hold it while she works on the meat. Turkey necks make excellent coping foods in that you can strip off as much meat as you can and give it to the bird to work on. The fats grease her beak and the bone provides friction. It's also good exercise for her muscles. You may want to remove the smallest bones from the neck before giving it to the bird. If you cut the bone or crush it, it is an excellent source of calcium. The bone is very ossilated and mature and has a lot of mineral to offer.
Chicken necks may be as readily available as your grocery store (check the frozen area for bags of chicken necks). If you have trouble finding them, look for local suppliers of canine raw food diets as they will normally have this component in their diets, too. Some falconers are nervous about using chicken necks as in the past the neck was the injection site for antibiotics, however there is no strong evidence to write off this food source. Another point about market raised poultry, even that approved for human consumption, is the possibility of salmonella presence. Some rehabilitators will rinse poultry meats in a 10% bleach solution for a few minutes, pat dry, then return to the refrigerator for several hours for the bleach to inactivate. With birds in good health this should not be necessary, but with sick or diseased birds, this may be a good practice. These will run about $1.20 per pound.
Now if your sponsor doesnt like necks then follow his lead. but you asked for a food source and i gave you everything I and my sponsor use, and my sponsor is a big old school falconer if forrest falcon doesnt use the foods i use, fine with that, but keep an open mind.
Post by forestfalcon on May 22, 2010 10:58:56 GMT -5
Using chicken neck/meat isn't too far off from feeding your bird washed meat. You can also feed your bird rabbit and squirrel heads to help keep the beak coped.
Can you really argue, Killjoy, that a diet of whole animals isn't better than a chicken neck?
Just because your sponsor has done it for the past "40 + years" doesn't mean it's the right way... it doesn't mean it's the wrong way, but "keep an open mind."
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
actually in defense of Killjoy i don't think he is pertaining to a diet of soley chicken necks. All things in moderation are fine. I personally don't do it but thats down to him and his sponsor.
I also think this argument detracts away from the original question which was where to buy food in Oklahoma for a red-tail.
paytom you can get quail from Tulsa ( Sutton center) for about $1.75 a bird. You should also be able to find a local rabbit breeder , rabbits normally sell for $8 each. for the rest your on your own, either trap it or buy it on-line.
I also think this argument detracts away from the original question which was where to buy food in Oklahoma for a red-tail.
I disagree. For someone who appears to be new to the sport, I think telling him where to get appropriate food is important. If all you are looking for is quantity, not quality, the local grocery store is the perfect place to get low quality, over processed food. I was merely giving MY opinion as to what I feed, and as it's not chicken necks and beef hearts, I have to go outside of my state to get these items, and he may have to also...
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
Using chicken neck/meat isn't too far off from feeding your bird washed meat. You can also feed your bird rabbit and squirrel heads to help keep the beak coped.
Can you really argue, Killjoy, that a diet of whole animals isn't better than a chicken neck?
Just because your sponsor has done it for the past "40 + years" doesn't mean it's the right way... it doesn't mean it's the wrong way, but "keep an open mind."
FF, I am going to be as nice as possible and once again point out the error in you diarrhea of a post. Ok I posted everything he can get in Oklahoma you just spouted your incorrect and not asked for opinion. On top of the necks I also said to legally trap sparrows, squirrels and others. Notice I said legally cause there are some places that have seasons for squirrels. Did you not see feeder rat also? Guess that's not part of that varied whole diet is it? So you want me to listen to a person with 4 years exp tops over my sponsors 40+ years.
My sides are splitting from the laughing please stop. 1000 starving comedians and your doing ot for free. Please keep your day job, unless it's giving reasonable advice. Then you might want to quit.
Yea necks are horrible with the marrow and calcium in them, ew yuck.
The funny thing as soon as I saw your post today I knew you were disagreeing with someone, cause I can't remember a time you post anything agreeing with someone.
It's like you wake up looking to poke an argument with someone.
Dude sorry about your thread. I tried to give you advice for what you asked for with out living in OK. All the foods listed by me I have used to feed kestrels on up to golden eagles. Hope that helps.
Still hurting from that sponsor being wrong statement. As Adam sandler said in the water boy.
Using chicken neck/meat isn't too far off from feeding your bird washed meat. You can also feed your bird rabbit and squirrel heads to help keep the beak coped.
Can you really argue, Killjoy, that a diet of whole animals isn't better than a chicken neck?
Just because your sponsor has done it for the past "40 + years" doesn't mean it's the right way... it doesn't mean it's the wrong way, but "keep an open mind."
FF, I am going to be as nice as possible and once again point out the error in you diarrhea of a post. Ok I posted everything he can get in Oklahoma you just spouted your incorrect and not asked for opinion. On top of the necks I also said to legally trap sparrows, squirrels and others. Notice I said legally cause there are some places that have seasons for squirrels. Did you not see feeder rat also? Guess that's not part of that varied whole diet is it? So you want me to listen to a person with 4 years exp tops over my sponsors 40+ years.
My sides are splitting from the laughing please stop. 1000 starving comedians and your doing ot for free. Please keep your day job, unless it's giving reasonable advice. Then you might want to quit.
Yea necks are horrible with the marrow and calcium in them, ew yuck.
The funny thing as soon as I saw your post today I knew you were disagreeing with someone, cause I can't remember a time you post anything agreeing with someone.
It's like you wake up looking to poke an argument with someone.
Dude sorry about your thread. I tried to give you advice for what you asked for with out living in OK. All the foods listed by me I have used to feed kestrels on up to golden eagles. Hope that helps.
Still hurting from that sponsor being wrong statement. As Adam sandler said in the water boy.
No Col. Sanders your wrong!!!
Sure Killjoy, you're right. Because of your posts, which are misspelled and barely in legible English, I have learned that someone that caught a Grasshopper with a Kestrel once, and then flew at sparrows in his own BATHROOM, has all the right answers. You are "trying to be as nice as possible?" You are really just rude and arrogant.
Am I argumentative on a subject surrounding poor diet? Hell yes I am. You are advocating feeding chicken necks as a staple part of a diet. I merely disagreed with you, and I am called out as "spouting diarrhea" and "hilarious." Believe it or not, I have/had a sponsor too. He has had just as many years in the sport as YOUR sponsor, and yet, he doesn't do things the same way. Weird. Differing opinions? That can't be!
Falconry is an opinionated sport. There is no need to be aggressive to anyone and everyone that disagrees with you and your "all knowing" sponsor. I, too, have fed birds from kestrels to golden eagles in an education facility, and we didn't feed a single chicken neck.
I have my opinion and you have yours. Neither is an absolute right or wrong answer. Let it end at that.
"We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?" -Bloc Party
I agree with ForestFalcon. I don't think that chicken necks or beef heart is a good option for your birds. Perhaps if you're in a pinch. I stay away from grocery store bought food. I've never seen a raptor walk out of a grocery store with food so I wont bring it home for them. As far as coping goes, FF is perfectly right, rabbit skulls are perfect, just make sure you break the lower mandible, you dont want that stuck in your bird's crop.
My freezer has things my bird caught and quail. I have fed rats/mice but I find them to be too stinky and I'd rather feed quail. There are many quail breeders that will ship. I've never used RodentPro but they are a big supplier. You can find them online.
Trapping small birds is also a great source of vitamins for your raptor.
Let me also point out to everyone...I'm so sick of the statement "oh my sponsor of 40+ years...blah blah" That's a ridiculous statement!!! I know of several falconers who have had their licenses and been a falconer for many many years...but that doesnt mean they are any good with their bird or with their husbandry!!! Holding a falconry license and keeping/flying a falconry bird realy means SQUAT! After you've recieved your license you simply have to follow the rules and pay your dues. It proves NOTHING about your quality of husbandry.
This is a public forum and ForestFalcon was simply bringing light to something she thought someone newer might be interested in.
Killyjoy, get off your broken soap box and stop. I don't know where your attitude came from but I think you're trying to step in for Yarak just because he hasnt posted much lately. Well, you're doing a horrible job with your sorry rebuttles and jerk off statements. How about you come back once you've had some better experiences with your own birds.
Last Edit: May 24, 2010 12:50:28 GMT -5 by Starburst
Sage - Female American Kestrel 2008 -------------------------------------------- Zephyr - Female Red Tail 2008-2010 -------------------------------------------- Saffron - Female American Kestrel 2009-2010
Post by Master Yarak on May 24, 2010 14:19:16 GMT -5
A Yarak replacement. Times like this I miss Ooby. I have written many times on the importance of diet. It is one of the most significant factors in good husbandry. It is another good example of the K.I.S.S. principle. For the record a whole carcass diet is best. Try and focus your energy on that. My bird caught enough game to feed herself throughout the year as well as my apprentice's birds. I also gave some to the rehab facility. 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