Lost Red-tail

[wingman]

My new Red-tail got away from me last week. I had suffered a heart attack 3 weeks ago and was home recuperating(sp) when a co-worker and his wife came to visit. They wanted to see the raptor, so I went to the mews to show them. As I entered the mews to retrieve the bird, my co-worker opened the door behind me( I did not know he did that) to show his wife. The Red-tail managed to get away from me and out the door he went. He was fairly new to me and might have returned if not for the crows that arrived and chased him away. I was not in any kind of shape to do any chasing him around in all the snow we still had so he is a goner.frus


Greg

[silverleapers]

Nasty story....sorry for your loss.

When you say "the" door...you mean the doorS....right? Just thought I'd limit the "you didn't have a double door system?" posts for ya. Also many people will not free loft a first year non-imprint bird, but remember everyone - it is a personal choice for sure. And this guy was kind enough to post a "don't let this happen to you" warning to all of us and was obvious not at 100% at the time.

[wingman]

Yes there was a double door system on the mews and it was not being free-lofted. I was trying to get the jesses just right when it all happened so fast. Buddy was holding one door open and his wife was standing in the other. I guess it is my own fault for not mentioning to my guests to stay away until I had him secured properly.
The old saying goes "you live and learn". It's just too bad it was good money spent to learn my lesson.


stupd

Greg

[silverleapers]

Hi;

At least you didn't lose your black gloves one icy windy day and buy emergency back-up mittens from the local gas station. Wouldn't have been an issue if they didn't look exactly like the hind leg of a snow shoe hare (white wool with tiny beige flecks)! You can imagine what happen once in the woods and my right hand got cold just before letting the large female RT that was in yarak loose! Yep, on goes the mitten and as soon as I reached for her jesses...WHACK! Blood everywhere...which of course made the hawk happy as it started to pick the wool mitten to pieces to get at the meat underneith! Thank Heavens she knew that Ech! Ech! Ech! meant she had done something wrong and she unbound from my hand! But, then the question became, how do you secure a hungry FRT with a bloody ripped up hand without getting nailed again?? Luckily the blood stopped (eventually) and I got her tied back on the gauntlet and traded what was left of my mitten for some quail and got the mitten back on my freezing hand. Needless to say she held tightly by the jesses as she was now very keen on said white mitten as I walked back out of the woods and drove home one-handed!

stupd

Cheers;
Bill

[hawking]

Hi;

At least you didn't lose your black gloves one icy windy day and buy emergency back-up mittens from the local gas station. Wouldn't have been an issue if they didn't look exactly like the hind leg of a snow shoe hare (white wool with tiny beige flecks)! You can imagine what happen once in the woods and my right hand got cold just before letting the large female RT that was in yarak loose! Yep, on goes the mitten and as soon as I reached for her jesses...WHACK! Blood everywhere...which of course made the hawk happy as it started to pick the wool mitten to pieces to get at the meat underneith! Thank Heavens she knew that Ech! Ech! Ech! meant she had done something wrong and she unbound from my hand! But, then the question became, how do you secure a hungry FRT with a bloody ripped up hand without getting nailed again?? Luckily the blood stopped (eventually) and I got her tied back on the gauntlet and traded what was left of my mitten for some quail and got the mitten back on my freezing hand. Needless to say she held tightly by the jesses as she was now very keen on said white mitten as I walked back out of the woods and drove home one-handed!

stupd

Cheers;
Bill


one word OUCH frus

[areal]

But, then the question became, how do you secure a hungry FRT with a bloody ripped up hand without getting nailed again??
Cheers;
Bill
Speaking from painful experience with an imprint ferru who likes to cleave the back of my hand with his beak when he's frustrated, you turn your hand the other way round while its bleeding.

In other words if you've been done in the back of the hand grab the jesses palm facing upward (towards the birds face) and dont turn the wrist as you bring the jesses into the secure position.
(they seem to go for the blood but if you turn your hand so they cant see it they cant seem to figure out that the blood is the other side and they just cant see it. I didnt figure it out till we had my daughter but that's way off topic)
If you can, get footed in the back of the hand, not in the palm of your hand and definitely not the inside of your fingers near the tendons, they take the longest to heal in a busy season.

Or as people keep telling me, dont get footed in the first place. Wish they would tell that to the imprint.
Best of luck.

[Hawkmom]

I use a fingerless right hand welding glove. That way I have dexterity at the fingers, but the back of my hand is protected. Make a big difference.

[GONEHAWKN]

believe it or not, i dont use my "falconry" glove all that often except around the house, to and from the field. once in the field, i use these cheap suede winter gloves with this fake wool lining. i find that the bird does not go through them, she can, she does not very often. they also keep my hands warm and protected from sticker bushes when beatin' the bush......i usually have several pairs in the hawkin' wagon to exchange out when one pair gets wet or just worn out........

[silverleapers]

I use a fingerless right hand welding glove. That way I have dexterity at the fingers, but the back of my hand is protected. Make a big difference.

I thought I was being smart to buy the "flip-top" mittens with glove fingers underneith....Dooh!

Oh and she got me around the heel of my tumb...ie both sides of my hand...thank heavens I knew not to move or struggle and she never brought the second foot into play...phew. Got some scares as a reminder...lol.