Slow Progress . . . But Progress!
I’m beginning to think that it is very good for a fairly new person to falconry to work with a new bird every year. This is because each bird is different, and training them challenges the falconer to use that resource which they supposedly possess in greater measure than the subject of the training . . . their brains! This is probably how we get all the inventive and creative ways to train birds proposed in falconry publications and books. People try different things, and sometimes they work.
I have been a week with Abby, and she has barely progressed beyond the first basic lessons. I believe this is because she still terribly fears me. It is up to me to find ways to remove this fear. An e-mail from Bill Oakes encouraged me, and for now, I have decided to eliminate hooding her. For now. Any progress we are making during each manning session is being lost at the end of the session when I try to hood her. She is returned to her box with the unpleasantness of our final contact, and that surely cannot be good for building trust with her.
Yesterday I was finally able to convince her to take a tidbit from my fingers, by herself. Granted, she only had to stretch her neck a very short distance to do it, and still wants to bite me . . . and has a few times, but she did it by choice. This morning I removed her from her box, in very subdued lighting, only enough for myself to barely see, to prevent a bate while removing her from the box. She’s being kept in my utility room, where it is cool. Not as cold as outside (which right now is very cold) but not warm either. Her weight has been dropping slowly, as she’s not been getting too much to eat. We had a short session in the living room. I had very freshly cut up mouse parts . . . nice and bloody (um . . . ick!) Abby hesitated just a little, but she’s getting hungry now. She took the tidbit from my fingers, and all the rest of it, slowly increasing the distance, moving them towards the glove. At the end of the session, I returned her to the box, again in subdued lighting, to prevent any bates. To my mind, she was rewarded for her behavior, of accepting food from me, without any unpleasantness in the session. I feel this is progress.
Tonight I’ll do some final touch-ups on my mews, and place her in there. She needs to begin to get used to living in there. And the incredible coldness of late will only help in the training, as it will make her burn her calories faster, focusing her attention towards me as her source of food.
Slow Progress . . . but Progress Nonetheless!
I have been a week with Abby, and she has barely progressed beyond the first basic lessons. I believe this is because she still terribly fears me. It is up to me to find ways to remove this fear. An e-mail from Bill Oakes encouraged me, and for now, I have decided to eliminate hooding her. For now. Any progress we are making during each manning session is being lost at the end of the session when I try to hood her. She is returned to her box with the unpleasantness of our final contact, and that surely cannot be good for building trust with her.
Yesterday I was finally able to convince her to take a tidbit from my fingers, by herself. Granted, she only had to stretch her neck a very short distance to do it, and still wants to bite me . . . and has a few times, but she did it by choice. This morning I removed her from her box, in very subdued lighting, only enough for myself to barely see, to prevent a bate while removing her from the box. She’s being kept in my utility room, where it is cool. Not as cold as outside (which right now is very cold) but not warm either. Her weight has been dropping slowly, as she’s not been getting too much to eat. We had a short session in the living room. I had very freshly cut up mouse parts . . . nice and bloody (um . . . ick!) Abby hesitated just a little, but she’s getting hungry now. She took the tidbit from my fingers, and all the rest of it, slowly increasing the distance, moving them towards the glove. At the end of the session, I returned her to the box, again in subdued lighting, to prevent any bates. To my mind, she was rewarded for her behavior, of accepting food from me, without any unpleasantness in the session. I feel this is progress.
Tonight I’ll do some final touch-ups on my mews, and place her in there. She needs to begin to get used to living in there. And the incredible coldness of late will only help in the training, as it will make her burn her calories faster, focusing her attention towards me as her source of food.
Slow Progress . . . but Progress Nonetheless!
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