Quote Originally Posted by rocgwp View Post
Tonight I installed braided dacron anklets on him. There was no fear chittering and they went on super easy. I really like this style anklet. I've used them on coops and several falcons and they hold up well with no abrasion. The only issue I've had was with a lanner that liked to pick at his gear. Other than that, they are wonderful.
Jeff,

You caught my attention with the braided anklets you mention. A little over 10 years ago I switched to braided anklets because my climate is so wet that leather anklets were failing after about 4 weeks of use. The first ones I used were braided tarred nylon, and I was worried they would be too abraisive so I lined them with leather. Since the leather wasn't structural, I was able to get them to last quite a while. One pair is still serviceable after 4 years of active use and several more sitting in a bin, but they looked pretty ugly.

For my breeding birds that I rarely handle, where abraision is not a serious concern I have been using some traditional jesses made out of parachute cord.

For my falconry birds that are handled regularly I am currently using anklets I make out of 1500 pound test spectra, but they are a pain to size and install. So far they are holding up well.

Your braided Dacron looks quite elegant. Would you be willing to take a close up photo of it?

One thing I have done different with Ruger's imprint tank as opposed to Apache's, is I changed the lining material. With my birds in the past I've lined the imprint tank with a shower curtain or other plastic material. The mutes would hit the plastic and slide down. I would then change it as needed every couple of days. The only problem was that the wet mutes would pile up at the base of the plastic and the odor was pretty strong if not changed often enough. With Ruger's, I lined it with a canvas painter's drop cloth. The canvas absorbs the liquid and has really cut down on odor (which makes my wife happy). I have 2 drop cloths that I rotate since all i have to do is throw it in the wash to clean it.
Been doing that during my entire falconry career. Cleanup is much easier, and you don't have to worry about drips happening as you change them out or clean them. I keep a few heavy retired absorbant blankets around for that purpose.