re: Teague's New Falconry/Hawking Thread

Your boy took out a nice little rabbit.

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So, can you hunt them year round? I know dam well I would.

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Nah, not really. You pretty much have to follow the hunting season of whatever you're hunting. We do get a month longer than gun hunters do for rabbits and squirrels. Technically, you COULD hunt in the summer. If your hawk catches something that is out of season there's the "let it lie" law - meaning, the hawk can eat as much as it wants, but you have to leave the rest of it there. But, they're growing new feathers in the summer, so they need to be kept fat, and if they're fat, they won't come back to you.

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Now get you a cool hat

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That IS a cool hat. It may be reserved for wolf hunters though. I'm not sure my gopro would fit on it anyway.

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if you were closer, I would like to meet you and learn a bit more on Falconry.

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There are several guys in and around BR that do it. They recently put on a demostration for my son's cub scout pack.

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How much does a bird like that cost up front and how much annually to maintaine?

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It depends on the species and how you get it. This bird was trapped from the wild. The sport is very strictly regulated, and apprentices were required to trap their first hawk from the wild. This is changing, however, as the new federal regulations take effect. Some states now allow apprentices to buy a bird. Red tails generally aren't bred in the US, because they're readily available from the wild, and honestly, those are easier to deal with than a captive bred one. Other species (harris hawks, goshawks, peregrines, etc.) can range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Yearly maintenance - varies greatly again. I catch enough game that I don't have to buy food. I spent around $700 building my mews (hawk house). Vet bills can be very expensive if the bird gets sick. Your license has to be renewed every 3 years - I think I paid around $100 for mine, but that may be changing with the new regulations as well.

It really costs a lot more in time and commitment than it does in money, although it CAN be quite expensive in dollars if you want.

How do you go about trapping a hawk to train? I've got to do this!! My brother owns a few good squirrel dogs and I can't wait to smoke those hounds with my badass Hawk!!

But I want one now!

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You didn't answer my question

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Sure, I did. It's a process. If you get started on that list now, you could have your very own hawk by next fall.

But seriously, I don't want to post to specifics of trapping on a public forum. The info is out there, but it's best kept to sites that are devoted to falconry in order to weed out some of the random morons that might come across it.

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This shite is awesome!

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Thanks. It's a lot of fun. But, like anything else, you get out of it what you put in. You have to REALLY like falconry to be really successful at it.

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Can you take a hawk to a normal vet?

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Most of them won't treat hawks (or other wild animals either). I don't know if they need a special permit, or what. I called every vet anywhere near Huntsville, and I've only found two willing to treat hawks. They can do basic stuff. For anything major I have to go to Birmingham.