|
Modern Captive Breeding continued |
|
respective widows they can look across the
service passageway onto each other's nest ledge. We soon noticed
that several of the voting female peregrines would vocalise and try to pass
food through their bars as they observed the older falcons feeding chicks.
Once this behaviour is seen we introduce a couple of chicks in with the young
falcon, which has resulted in a number of one year old peregrines
rearing chicks. This occurred again last year and due to having a
lot of chicks of the same age, the young peregrine ended up
with a brood of five |
|
ten day old hybrids.
Usually we would not tax an inexperienced falcon with such a large brood size
and especially when all five young turned out to be females. But she was a
very attentive mother and as the chicks grew she had to stand on a rock to be
able to reach when feeding. One female gyr/peregrine of the brood was the
largest (by far) individual of this hybrid that we have ever produced, with
an empty fat weight of 1600 grams. Not all young imprint females will show
willingness to rear in |
|
their first year, but if they do, they should be
given the chance. Although not suitable for brooding young
chicks, some male imprints will rear chicks, if introduced once they are past
the brooding stage. When dealing with natural pairs of some species,
in particular goshawks and merlins, it is not uncommon for the
male to be aggressive with chicks. Subsequently Some breeders remove the male
from the breeding chamber prior to introducing chicks. We try wherever possible to rear pure species
under a female of the same type. This will help in the chick's
perception of his or her own species if destined for future breeding. From
learned behaviour it is often seen that eyasses reared under a female who is
of a nervous temperament, will themselves he more reserved when first manned
for falconry and vice versa. When rearing chicks in open fronted chambers
this learned behaviour can lead to problems. If we take a pair of Harris'
hawks rearing chicks, any aggression or fear shown toward dogs etc. that they
view, will lead to the eyasses having a deep distrust in them (even more than
they usually do). All eyasses should be left with their parents
until at least two weeks post hard penning unless they are
destined for a wild hack. Independence Chamber A small number of eyasses when manned,
immediately after being removed from the parents may start to show classic
imprinting signs. I put this down to the eyass switching its dependency from
its raptor parents to its new handler. With this in mind, once two weeks post
hard penned we started to move eyasses into a independence chamber away from
both their parents and any human contact.
These pens are constructed as large as possible to assist in early
flight lessons and to accomplish a modicum of fitness. But the major
advantage of these chambers is the eyass has to learn to look after itself
and gain a more independent state of mind. We regularly keep up to 25 eyass
falcons in each chamber for the short period. |
|
Closing Notes I
hope this series of four articles have been of interest. If they have at least prompted some questions and
debate on any of the subjects covered, then it has been worthwhile. When
covering such a vast' subject in so few words, it is always difficult to
consider what to say and what to leave out. Several recent falconry books
have included excellent chapters on breeding, but with the exception of Falcon Propagation published by the Peregrine Fund, no single book has
been written solely on the subject. I feel sure that one must be in the
making. Good luck with your future breeding aspirations in the new
millennium, I'm off to start the whole cycle over again. |
|
Article and pictures courtesy of International
Falconer Magazine |
