I brought Musket home! I had a red-tailed hawk in my house! It was like a dream come true.
After the trapping, I got my new bird home safe and sound. Rudy helped me put her equipment on, so she was bedecked with new anklets, jesses and a leash. I transported her tied to a perch in a box made special for her. They call it a “giant hood” and it’s basically a narrow tall box with breathing holes that a falconer uses to safely transport his/her bird.
I spent the rest of the day with her. I laid down some tarps (because a red-tail can shoot poop up to 6 feet, maybe they should make it an Olympic sport!) and watched a few movies with her on my fist in a darkened room. I first had her out with her hood on, which she had on since we had trapped her. She had no idea where she was. When I finally took the hood off for the first time, the look she gave me was absolutely priceless! It was this shell shocked look of panic, I could only imagine what was going through her head. Poor bird, she’d get used to it all soon enough. She was pretty calm for being freshly trapped and only baited (jumped off my fist) a few times that first day. I think she was sizing me up, she was definitely scared, but I was able to get her to swallow a few pieces of raw meat that day.
After the trapping, I got my new bird home safe and sound. Rudy helped me put her equipment on, so she was bedecked with new anklets, jesses and a leash. I transported her tied to a perch in a box made special for her. They call it a “giant hood” and it’s basically a narrow tall box with breathing holes that a falconer uses to safely transport his/her bird.
I spent the rest of the day with her. I laid down some tarps (because a red-tail can shoot poop up to 6 feet, maybe they should make it an Olympic sport!) and watched a few movies with her on my fist in a darkened room. I first had her out with her hood on, which she had on since we had trapped her. She had no idea where she was. When I finally took the hood off for the first time, the look she gave me was absolutely priceless! It was this shell shocked look of panic, I could only imagine what was going through her head. Poor bird, she’d get used to it all soon enough. She was pretty calm for being freshly trapped and only baited (jumped off my fist) a few times that first day. I think she was sizing me up, she was definitely scared, but I was able to get her to swallow a few pieces of raw meat that day.
You can see this funny picture of Musket and I on our first day together after Hazen got home. The house is a wreck, I’m in pajamas (typical) and Musket and I are a little unsure of each other. (You can see the giant hood in the background to the left, it’s the big white box).
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