My Latest Endeavor...

Cathie G

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The only thing worse than a cat bite is a human bite. I know people that have been hospitalized due to septicemia from cat bites. No fun. I just didn't know how bad it was for a bird of prey. The raptors seem to be immune to so many other things...
I think it's bad for all animals even if the bite or scratch isn't bad. Pregnant women should never clean litter boxes either. It could cause blindness in their child. I can't remember the name of the virus that they carry naturally. I'm glad your bird got quick medical care and wasn't killed.?
 

Moozillion

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I think it's bad for all animals even if the bite or scratch isn't bad. Pregnant women should never clean litter boxes either. It could cause blindness in their child. I can't remember the name of the virus that they carry naturally. I'm glad your bird got quick medical care and wasn't killed.?
Could you be thinking of toxoplasmosis, maybe? That's the ONLY thing I know of that people can unknowingly get from cats and cat litter, and it is a bad thing...
 

Moozillion

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There is more. Rick and Morty just couldn't be better. Anything that wasn't perfect about them in their first two seasons is getting perfect in this, their third season. As I walk along and watch their decisions and behavior, I just can't imagine how they could do or be any better. They are exactly what I want them to be, and usually do exactly what I want them to do. Its almost like they are trained...

We had a bit of an issue a couple of days ago. While trudging through heavy brush at one of our fields, Morty flew over to a large bush and indicated he saw prey in there. Rick and I joined him and I could hear the brush rustling. With a sudden explosion of gray fur, a large long haired CAT burst out of the bush and took off running for its life. Now we have hunted this field dozens of times and there are no residences anywhere near this area. Its a vacant lot in front of large hotel and next to the back side of a shopping center. I've never seen a cat anywhere near here, but there it was running away at top speed. It burst out so quickly that both birds went for it. There was nothing I could do to stop what was happening. The cat ran up a hill onto a higher plateau that I could not see with both birds in hot pursuit. I was sprinting after them praying as I went. I crested the hill at a full run and quickly saw one bird sitting atop a bush. I heard no screaming and no rustling, so I was terrified that the other bird might have it by the head. As I ran by, I saw that it was Morty sitting atop the bush wanting no part of whatever was going on, and after a moment of frantic searching, I found Rick all disheveled, feathers mussed up, standing looking bewildered behind a bush. The cat was nowhere to be seen. I went to Rick to look him over and the smell of cat **** was all over him. He'd lost some feathers on his chest, but appeared unharmed other than that. After examining him, I turned him loose and we headed back to the car. I didn't know where the cat went and I'd had enough excitement for one day.

Now here is where it is good to know people who know more than you yourself know. I am fortunate to be friends with several very experienced master falconers who have been doing this for decades, and also a board certified avian vet. I recall hearing and reading that cats are to be avoided, and you do NOT want your bird to tangle with one, as death is likely for your bird. As I drove home from the field a bit shaken up, but relieved that Rick seemed to have escaped serious harm, I decided to text a few of the aforementioned experienced friends to tell them what happen and see if they had any insight for me. They did. Four out of four friends all told me the same two things:
1. You're lucky your bird is still alive.
2. Put him on Clavamox right away whether you see any damage or not.
I didn't need any convincing at all. When I got off at my freeway exit, I went left to my local vet friend's office instead of right, to go home. I called ahead and told the receptionist at my local dog and cat vets office what dose I needed and how many. My vet friend there didn't even question it and had it ready for me upon arrival. My bird vet, who is about an hour away, wanted to see him too, but wouldn't be home until the evening.

Rick smelled horribly of tom cat pee, so my wife and I gave him a good warm water rinse off and followed that up with a thorough examination in the sunshine. We parted the feather and looked him over top to bottom, side to side. We weren't finding anything, but then my wife notice a small blood spot on the light colored towel that we were holding him in. It took some searching, but we found a small wound under the feathers of his wing.
View attachment 338774

We sent pics to my avian vet friend, and he told us that it needed to be stitched up. We now had plans for after dinner! My friend is a brilliant surgeon. Watching him work is a joy. All he does is birds, reptiles and other exotics all day long, so he has all the right equipment and supplies ad knows exactly what to do and what to watch out for. We put the gas hood on Rick, did the stitches, and I held him while he woke up, all in the space of a few minutes.
View attachment 338776

By this point Rick had already had his first dose of Clavamox, so he was good to go. The vet advised that I could fly him again in a couple of days, and begin hunting again in 5-7 days. He used stitches that will dissolve and go away on their own, so that is the end of it. Rick seems totally fine and he doesn't understand why we aren't going hunting daily like usual.

I did not know how serious any injury from a cat could be to a hawk. The slightest bite or scratch and the bird could be dead within 24-48 hours. This has happened to many a falconer who was ignorant as I was. I am so thankful to have such knowledgable friends. They literally saved my bird's life. Rick seemed fine to me, and I really didn't think much of it other than hoping that he learned a good lesson about not messing with feral cats. I knew that cats could physically kill a hawk, but I did not realize that infection was so likely to kill them later. I'm lucky that I did not have to learn this lesson the hard way, and I'm overjoyed that Rick and I will hunt together again in a few days.
HOLY MOLY!!!!!! Thank GOODNESS you were smart enough and caring enough to check in with your falconry pals!!!!!
 

Cathie G

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Could you be thinking of toxoplasmosis, maybe? That's the ONLY thing I know of that people can unknowingly get from cats and cat litter, and it is a bad thing...
Yes that's what it is. It's not a a virus. The subject here on TFO made me Google it to bring up 40 years of past knowledge. I just didn't get a chance to clarify it here. I do know our cat could probably never pass this to us. He's never been outside, exposed to raw meat, killing mice, etc. His parents neither. But I still don't trust getting a bite from a cat. As nice as he is he will still bite. After years with him I do know how to avoid it. If I want to stop petting or brushing him I just take off running ?
 

Tom

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Summer is working out great with her new job. She's flying daily and having a good time. Her new owner says she's perfect for his needs.

Rick and Morty couldn't be better. Rick has made a full recovery from his cat adventure and is flying great now despite missing a couple of feathers. He will grow them back during the molt. We saw a bobcat in the field today. It busted out at very close range, much like a rabbit would. For a split second my heart stopped and I thought I was going to witness round two, but both birds decided NOT to pursue. Thank you Angels! It seems they learned their lesson about chasing any kind of cat. We left that field post haste.
 

Thomas tortoise

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Its taken a long time to jump through all the government hoops and other obstacles, but I am finally realizing my dream of becoming a licensed Falconer. I'm only just beginning my journey, after 20 years of dabbling, but here I go...

I will post lots of pics and keep this thread ongoing, and I invite all discussion about keeping wild animals, hunting, and of course the awesomeness of raptors in general. I find that many people (myself included) are ignorant of what is really going on, and how beneficial to the species falconry is. For example, the Peregrine Falcon was saved from extinction by falconers and falconry, in spite of the dismal failure on the part of government programs to save it. Falconry is VERY different than pet keeping, and it has great benefit for the birds involved who hatch wild and are eventually returned to the wild healthier and better skilled at hunting.

I am now a licensed Apprentice Falconer. I will spend a minimum of two full years as an apprentice working closely under the direct supervision of my sponsor who is a Master Falconer and has been for 10 years. After 2 years, if all goes well, and my sponsor is willing to sign off on my abilities, I will become a General Falconer and be allowed to "fly solo" so to speak.

Enough with the boring words: Here is "Toothless" at our first formal meeting.
View attachment 163624
I almost named him "Phoenix" after I saw this picture. Its kind of a big deal to not stare them in the face at close range at first, so I did not know he was looking at me like that. I'm sure if he could have shot fire from his mouth at me, he would have. My sponsor is not 100% sure if this one is male or female. You can usually tell by the weight. This is either a big boy or a small girl as the weight is right in the middle. We will get some behavioral clues as time passes, but we are leaning male at this point. Toothless is a "passage" (meaning this years baby, or worded another way, he hatched this last spring) red-tailed hawk. Buteo jamaicensis.


Here he is on the drive home:
View attachment 163626
The hood blocks all the visual stimulation and keeps them a lot calmer and safer during this stressful time. Understand that this 9 month old bird was flying wild minutes before this picture and has never had any previous human contact.

Here he is on his weathering perch on day one, while I prepared the scale for his first weighing and got his mew (hawk house) all ready for him.
View attachment 163628


Here we are on day 2 when the old finally came off. This is what I was greeted with.
View attachment 163629


We are now on day 5. He began taking food from me on day 2 and I "man" him (handle him on my glove) for several hours a day as part of the desensitization process. I weigh him at least once a day and I am even more fascinated that I imagined I would be. My sponsor assures me he will be free flying and hunting with me in a month or so.

Lots more pics to come. Please ask any questions you might have about falconry or raptors in general. I'm no expert yet, but I know a few things, and I know lots of guys that can answer any questions I don't know the answers to.
Wow, yeah I would like to do that but I don't have the time and I heard they are very needy.
 

Moozillion

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Summer is working out great with her new job. She's flying daily and having a good time. Her new owner says she's perfect for his needs.

Rick and Morty couldn't be better. Rick has made a full recovery from his cat adventure and is flying great now despite missing a couple of feathers. He will grow them back during the molt. We saw a bobcat in the field today. It busted out at very close range, much like a rabbit would. For a split second my heart stopped and I thought I was going to witness round two, but both birds decided NOT to pursue. Thank you Angels! It seems they learned their lesson about chasing any kind of cat. We left that field post haste.
SO GLAD to hear Rick has made a full recovery!
And what a relief that they have learned to stay away from cats! :)
And I'm happy for Summer- that she has a home that suits her habits so well.
 

Tom

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YO!!!! Tom!
Isn’t it about time for an update on Rick and Morty? :)
I put them up for the molt in early March. They are fat and happy enjoying the fruits of their labor until we start all over again in September. Morty came through the entire season without so much as a ruffled feather. Poor Rick beat himself all up and also had that tangle with the cat, so he's is making good use of the recovery time. He will be good as new after the summer relaxation. He's already dropped some of the broken feathers and started re-growing the new ones.
 

Moozillion

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I put them up for the molt in early March. They are fat and happy enjoying the fruits of their labor until we start all over again in September. Morty came through the entire season without so much as a ruffled feather. Poor Rick beat himself all up and also had that tangle with the cat, so he's is making good use of the recovery time. He will be good as new after the summer relaxation. He's already dropped some of the broken feathers and started re-growing the new ones.
Thanks for the update!❤️
 

Tom

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@Moozillion
The new season is well under way. All is going great now, but as usual, I learn lots of lessons along the way.

Since this is the boys 4th year hunting together and with me, and with their excellent history together, I decided to take a couple of short cuts. Last year I started the season with both of them quite heavy, and all went swimmingly. I decided to go the same route this year, and Morty taught me a good lesson in why I should not have done that. When Harris hawks squabble with each other, we call it crabbing. In their very first year, I had just a little bit of crabbing. Not a big deal. I just swat the aggressor away and tell them to knock it off, and they do. Then, I quickly get them to focus their aggression back on the rabbits, instead of each other.

This year I decided to skip the "training" and weeks of weight management, and just went right out in the field to hunt after ensuring my recall was strong. Morty decided to be a great big jerk and wanted to fight with his brother instead of hunt. It was so bad that I ended up having to carry him like a football out of the field. He just wouldn't stop. This was a field with hardly any rabbits in it, so there was a lot of walking with no action, and plenty of time to think about squabbling with brother instead of flying after running rabbits. Thinking maybe it was just a bad day, I tried again two days later in a better field, and there was less crabbing, but still enough of it to give me pause and make me re-think my strategy.

I believe the "cause" of this issue was my failure to keep them together during the molt. In previous years, I'd get them fat and happy after hunting season, and then open up the cage doors, so they could hang out together and sleep side by side if they wanted at night, which they usually did. When they are at hunting weight they have to be housed separately for safety. Their cages are right next to each other, so they are "together" all day every day, but during the molt this year I kept them separated most of the time. That, it now seems, was a mistake.

My instinct was to go back to basics. Drop the weight down to where it should be while simultaneously exercising and training them individually. I did this for about two weeks. I also put the long perches back on their T-perch to give them more room when they were both riding on it, and I also put the vertical divider in the middle so they could not crowd each other on the T perch. When I got back out to the field and tried them together again, all went well. We had some minor instances a couple more times, but the crabbing is all gone now for the most part. Once Morty grabbed himself a jack rabbit and was going for a round of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, all of a sudden he was happy to have brother close by and helping to subdue the giant bucking beast. We've now been out almost daily for two weeks with no hint of any crabbing, so it seems the problem is solved. Whew... Lucky for me.

After about a week of my back to basics strategy, I decided to call "The Godfather" of Harris hawking. I think I mentioned him previously in this thread. His name is Tom Coulson. He and his wife Jennifer literally wrote the book on Harris hawks. This fantastic book is commonly referred to as "The Bible" for Harris hawkers, and it is the gospel without a doubt. Well it turns out that Tom is also a super nice guy, extremely helpful, and is happy to have some hawk talk with fellow falconers. Last year, I got his number from a friend who has bought birds from him and left a message requesting a call back for some advice. He called me back the same day last year and talked to me on the phone for a good while. The man has tremendous insight into how these birds work due to the incredible amount of experience he has with flying, hunting, training, breeding, and rearing them for several decades now. Well he called me back again this year, and we thoroughly reviewed my situation, agreed on the solution, and he let me know he is pretty sure of the aforementioned cause of the problem. I told him what I was doing to fix the problem, and he agreed that is what he thought the best course of action would be. This guy is the rock star of rock stars in the falconry world, and yet he takes the time to generously help beginners for no other reason than sharing a love of the birds and the sport. I simply cannot compliment him enough. Those of us that fly these birds are incredibly lucky that Tom and Jennifer are the way they are, and are so willing to help and share info. Not everyone is.

The problem has been solved, and we are back to the usual business of hunting for our food every day, and putting rabbits in the freezer for later feeding. Lessons learned, and they will spend every summer at each other's side from now on. Now my challenge is to find new fields and new pockets of rabbits for them to hunt.

Morty is certain there is a rabbit at the base of this fallen tree:
IMG_7842.jpg
 

Ray--Opo

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Sounds like there is definitely a commitment to be a falconer. Very interesting hobby.
 

Tom

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@Tom
On my walks in the desert over the past 2 weeks, I haven't seen a single jackrabbit! :(

I did see 4 coyotes together...maybe that's why there aren't any jackrabbits? 🤷‍♀️
It is going to take a while for things to balance back out.

1. The rabbits have a natural cycle of population ebb and flow. They reach high densities and then have die-offs and a few years of low population densities. We are currently at the low end now, just naturally and with no other factors.
2. We've had three years or low rainfall now. This takes a terrible toll.
3. RHD wiped out a huge percentage of the breeding population. This, when added to the other problems, has created a terrible dearth.
4. Meanwhile all the normal predators still have to eat and feed their babies, so it is tough out there.

In time some number of predators will starve and die off due to the lack of prey. This will allow prey populations to rebound. Favorable weather and rainfall will help. Fewer prey animals should also mean more territory and more food for those that remain to expand into. More of the prey species babies should survive and repopulate with the added resources and reduction of predators. The whole thing takes years to balance out.
 

Moozillion

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WOWIE-ZOWIE!!!! Thanks SO MUCH for this update, Tom!!!
Man, the more we learn- through YOU, the more clear it becomes about just how complex these creatures are!
They're really fascinating!!!
QUESTION: You mentioned that you have to house them separately, for their safety when they're at hunting weight. Why is this?? What is the danger about them being housed together when they're at hunting weight? (I assume hunting weight is LOW to inspire them to hunt so they can eat...)

It's fantastic that Tom Coulson is willing to share his knowledge and experience with you (and any serious falconers) so readily. It's so wonderful to have a "guru" of sorts in anything we love to do. And I feel I must point out that YOU are very like Tom Coulson in your attitude: you are very willing and available to share YOUR extensive knowledge of working with tortoises and ANY animals. Not many people would share the details of their decisions that went awry- But it helps all of us to know that we are human and our mistakes serve a purpose: educating us to better steps.

(And, sorry, but I just had to giggle at the mental image of you carrying Morty under your arm like a football back to the truck! It reminds me of occasionally seeing resigned parents carrying screaming two-year olds back to the car because they won't behave!)

You totally ROCK!!!!
 

KarenSoCal

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The whole thing takes years to balance out.
Fascinating! I had no idea of this increase/decrease in populations. But since you've pointed it out, I think that had I thought about it, I may have figured it out. Nature is never static, there is always ebb and flow, changing circumstances, and encroachment by humans.

I must say, I also had a good laugh at Morty the football. That reminds me of when I was about 3. I was terrified of getting new shoes and began screaming immediately upon entry to the store. At the doorway, my dad picked me up and put me under his left arm, like a football, and took me to a chair, where he had to restrain me so I didn't make an escape. I may have been only 3, but I actually remember this incident.

And yes, I did get over my terror, so I can buy shoes without any drama. :)
 

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