Lee has been a bit of a pain in the butt going through what I term the equivalent of the "terrible two's". He really wants to be with us all the time. He doesn't quite know what he wants, he just wants it now! He tries to get into every thing. Much of the time the things that he wants to do are the very things that he should not be doing, such as rummaging around on the dining room table.
The remedy seems to be to pick him up, carry him around for a bit, then stick him outside on the window ledge and close the window.
I try to sit with him as much as possible, and he enjoys the company. On a whim I got a rubber bath and filled it with about 2 inches of water, and put it on his playpen. I was quite surprised when after a bit of inspection he went over to examine it. He jumped in and seemed to like it quite a lot. He eventually took a bath. It is surprising that there are certain things such as bathing that seem to be pre programed into their memory.
Then its off to the Hot tub for a good flat play area. He got to examine Josie and give her a few nibbles on the leg. She doesn't seem to mind.
The sun got a bit hot so he took refuge behind my coffee cup.
Later when we go inside, he is quite content to lay on the top of the playpen while we have dinner, and perhaps take a nap or two.
After a particularly irritating bout of " I don't want to behave" Karen decided that it was time that he was taught some restraint. I dug up a leash and some jesses and he learned to sit on a perch like a big boy. I have to say he accepted it with very little trouble.
I spent the evening trying to cut an hour of video down to an acceptable length. My first cut was 12 minutes, and then I finally settled on about 7-8 minutes.
I have to say, raising an eyass Falcon properly to the point where the result is a sane and well adjusted hunting partner is a daunting task. I have not ever succeeded in my earlier attempts, to my satisfaction, though I haven't tried all that much simply because there were factors that could not be overcome in that time and place.
The task, while so far looks good, is far from complete. Although if I were living where I have been all my previous life, this point would be the finish line. What would happen from here on would be that he would stay on a perch until he became "hard Penned" and then we would attempt training. Of course he would then have to learn all the nuances of flying and pursuit of game. Not an easy task. He would in the wild get about 30 days of support from his parents to get to the point that flying became automatic and thought becomes action. Pretty hard to get good at something like that with about 30 minutes of flying a day.
Although it is pretty labor intensive, he will have that 30 days or what ever he requires to learn that skill. The only hazards here are the ones put here by nature, and they are plentiful. So while the risks are great, the goal is worth it. So far we are about 1/4 of the way through the process. There is still a lot to go wrong.
As I sat here typing my thoughts, he began "peeping". It is morning and he has had 1/2 a Quail to break his fast. Karen is on her computer catching up on overnight catastrophes. I got up to see what he wanted. As I got to the playpen he jumped down off the perch and came over to nibble on my fingers. I put the glove on so that I could survive his attention. He climbed on the fist and fluffed out his chin feathers in contentment. After holding him a bit I took him out to the window.
He is now out rummaging around in Karen's rock garden. She would like me to go pick him up, but I have chosen to let him do as he wants. Hoping that he will keep out of trouble. The next week or so is one of the choke points.
https://vimeo.com/170732380 password owyheeflyer
No comments:
Post a Comment