Working With What I've Got!

There are a million reasons not to do something. When it comes to Falconry and me, I can think of about 4 million reasons why I shouldn't be pursuing it right now. Some are valid points, but mostly challenges to overcome. At first I thought the Mews and Weathering Pen would cost me nearly a grand to build. Now I think I will construct both for under $200. The most expensive parts will be the gravel and paint. It's mostly sweat equity at this point, that and a lot of phone calls and paperwork. Oh, and training. When Ed was here he was telling me about training birds to perch on your arm, how they won't do it at first with jesses on their feet. I tried this with a hen, first without anything on her legs. I put her on my arm and she perched just fine for about thirty seconds. When I slipped on the jesses she went limp, feeling trapped she collapsed on my gauntlet. Ed says the best way to train a hawk to perch in jesses is to find a quiet, dark, place like a basement or dogless/catless living room at night and just walk slowly across the room propping the bird up when it goes limp. Eventually it realizes the leather thongs around its legs aren't traps at all but instead just extensions of its feathers and body. I decided to try this with the a barred rock. I don't know, I figure a bird is a bird, right? And if I can train a chicken to perch then I deserve that apprentice license! Here Here!