ORIGINAL: AmateurHunter44857

I wish that eagle would pluck out the eyes of hillary and Bacrock Osama

ORIGINAL: AmateurHunter44857

I wish that eagle would pluck out the eyes of hillary and Bacrock Osama

ORIGINAL: huntingirl89

With falconry and hawking, you have to be completely dedicated to your bird. Its much more involved than having a hunting dog. You will never bond with your bird the way you do a dog. They are much like reptiles and maintain wild. They are not like household birds (parrots, parakeets, etc.) which have become accustomed to human interaction and actually enjoy it. They tolerate us as humans, see us as more of an ally than a master, and abhore being touched or handled for at least the first several years of their life with you. You have to cater to their every need, and they are tough and expensiveto take care of, especially since they do not do well in captivity. They tend to live longer healthier lives in the wild.

The only and I mean ONLY reason a bird should ever be taken in is in a case where the bird can no longer live wild. The birds I took care of were injured and unable to return to the wild. The redtail was hit by a car, the sparrow hawk broke her legs and had one amputated, and the barred owl fell out of the nest as a chick. All three were housed in falconry huts, and only the redtail was ever able to hunt. The other two were fed fresh chicks, pigeons and crows several times a week. They would all be pre-killed prior to giving them to the birds, because the prey could do some real damage to an inexperienced/wounded predator.

With having a bird of prey, you must also raise its prey and keep its prey in prime health to keep the predator healthy. You would require a breeding population of pigeons, (6-12 and they do multiply like rabbits), that is the preferred food of most hawks. They can survive off of factory-killed chicks, but their health suffers in the longrun since the chicks are never very well taken care of or fatty enough.

There are hundreds of National and Federal laws that you must abide by, your bird must be registered, you must be certified (which takes years), and you must have a legally obtainable bird (IE something common, not endangered or protected which requires more training and permits).

You must never bring the bird in the house unless it is very very ill and near death, and at that point in time it will be placed in an isolation box in a room of the house away from all noises and kept relatively cool. Children are a no-no around these birds, since their little hands look scrumptous, even when the bird is hooded, the smell is undeniable.

Study up on it, find a local falconer (you'll need to anyway to obtain your certification due to a required apprenticeship with a master falconer), and see if its really for you. If you have any doubt in your mind, don't do it. Its better for both yourself, but especially for the bird who would suffer. Seriously, I've seen marriages suffer over this because the party that owns the bird and takes care of the bird cannot leave to go away for a weekend, let alone a week on vacation.