Blackjack, 2012 Imprint NA tiercel goshawk

[Kachina]

As far as entering on parrots and cats, I'd wait at least 3-4 months before doing so.

In case anyone else lacks the intelligence to see what's going on, my comment was a JOKE.

Some of y'all take yourselves way too seriously. Try being friendly once in a while.

[goshawks00]

In case anyone else lacks the intelligence to see what's going on, my comment was a JOKE.

Some of y'all take yourselves way too seriously. Try being friendly once in a while.

HA!HA! in case you also lack a sense of humor, as you seem to, so was mine. OR... do you real think I was advocating fur and feather at the same time?

[FredFogg]

Yeee Haaaa, the breeding season is over and the molt is in full force, let the games begin!

[Ally]

Well I got both jokes. And they were funny. So there.
Everybody place nice please!

[Ally]

20 days -

Had to work today, left Jack with some chopped food in his imprint kennel and was able to run home and check on him at lunch. He didn't eat more than a few bites of it on his own, so I brought him out and hand-fed him. He was hungry by this point, so he was making a little noise, but just whistles. If he got too eager about it, I stopped and waited until he was quiet, then marked the "quiet," even if it was only for a second, and gave him a piece.

This is also the first time he's attempted to "chase" down his dish of food, so I followed what Steve talked about during his lecture in Vernal, and turned into the "sibling" by "mantling" over the food dish and guarding it from him. Once he lost interest and sat back on his haunches, I clicked and resumed feeding him until it was gone.

Tonight he came with me to do some shopping--making a new lure so needed some rope, etc. and went to our local feed and farm store. He got SWARMED by the employees and a few customers, got fawned over and petted and messed with. He was nervous when we first walked in, but by 10 minutes into the store he was preening and ready to go to sleep. One person was rubbing his head and if he would have been a cat, I swear he would have been purring. I like him getting his face/head messed with...maybe it will de-sensitize him to the hood later on?

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention--I've also introduced a "no reward" marker (vocal "ah-ah") paired with a negative punishment (withholding of food). For anyone not familiar with OC out there--punishment simply means that the behavior being marked is less likely to continue.

At 20 days he is MUCH stronger on his feet, and I can't believe the feather growth! There's a good inch or better of wing feathers sticking out. Crazy!

Here are some more pictures from the BBQ on Saturday, taken by a friend. The same little girl wanted to feed Jack, but she took one look at the chopped up pieces of sparrow and decided otherwise. So instead, she got a little lesson in OC and learned how to operate the clicker She was a great little helper. Enjoy!