Yes , as steve said , post pics of your whole setup . Perch , leash , hawk , etc. When you say "the swivel got between the jesses " , the swivel should be connected to both jesses so I don't understand what you mean by that .... When you say you don't have an area to free loft , do you not have a mews? When you say " I have been treating it " what are you using and how are you treating it?
It sounds as if something is spooking your hawk into a frenzy . Figure out what it is and stop it. Have you tried hooding ? What does your sponsor say ?
Last Edit: Feb 21, 2013 7:44:36 GMT -5 by echotadog
It is good to have an end to Journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the End. - Ernest Hemingway
The incident caused bruising and a scab on her tarsus. I took the anklet off the bad tarsus and have been treating it, but the other day she got tangled again and the bruising got worse.
How did the bird get tangled with one jess on?
The injuries you are describing are more common on smaller birds and can become a very serious and need to be addressed at a few levels. The progression of what you are seeing is the legs will scab up, the scabs will get torn off by the jesses when the bird bates and the wound will get deeper. This cycle can repeat until a tendon is cut.
If your facilities do not allow for free lofting then you need to make sure the bird does not have any outside disturbances while tied down and it doesn't (in the birds mind) have any other perching options. This pretty much means smooth walls with no protrusions higher than the level the bird is perched at.
The anklets should be from strong soft pliable leather. The jesses should rotate freely in the eyelets of the anklets and shouldn't be overly long. Jesses that are a little stiff are less likely to tangle. Using a jess extender will help prevent the swivel from flipping through the jesses and tangling.
If the injuries have not gone too far you and try bandaging the legs but you still need to address the problems above. If you can't get ahead of this problem it would be in the best interests of your bird to fatten it up and release it.
