Scary stuff

Arion is ill.
We couldn't figure out why we were having to push his weight down so far to get an active response--24-25 oz is low even for a tiercel RT. His keel was so sharp at that weight, by all rights he should have been ravenous... but at 28, 27, 26 oz he just wasn't terribly interested. He'd fly, he'd eat, he responded, but not with any particular zeal.

We took him out for his first free flight last week and, as usual, he was responsive but not keen. He had a couple decent flights, things went okay, but something just wasn't right.

Over the next couple days he became less and less interested in flying, until one day he just sat on the perch with no response at all. He was acting like he was trying to cast a pellet, over and over opening his mouth wide, bobbing his head, trying to yak it up but nothing was happening. After a few minutes he chucked up a small piece of meat he'd flown for a few minutes before.

That's when I called Callan and that's when the connections were made. He has frounce. It's a protozoan, Trichomonas, if you PPH ladies can believe that old friend.

Thinking back over the past few weeks, I remember hard flights and very slight wheezing. I remember taking longer than it should to swallow a tidbit of food. I remember slow response times and low weights despite huge volumes of food. I remember sudden sharp yarak, pleasing to see at the time. The one thing missing is the classic symptom--cheesy plaque in the mouth and throat. He could, and very likely does, have it built up in his esophagus or crop, invisible to me but making it difficult and painful to swallow, another reason he hasn't cast a pellet in five or six days.

This, among a million other reasons, is why we serve a two-year apprenticeship in the US. Frounce is, luckily, easy to treat and red tails are difficult to kill, good for both Arion and me as untreated it's likely to kill them in fairly short order once they start exhibiting visible symptoms. Wild animals don't get sick and languish; visible symptoms make a you an easy target. When birds of prey get sick, they're fine one day then belly-up the next and you get your answers in a necropsy.

The symptoms I saw, painfully clear in retrospect, went right by me. Without the guidance of my sponsors I'd have had a dead hawk in a few days. He's been treated with Flagyl, last course tomorrow, and with any luck the disease is dead and the plaques will recede enough for him to eat comfortably and gain weight within a week or two. The chances are very good he'll be just fine. I'm feeding him ground cottontail, small amounts several times a day, and he's stuffing down everything I offer him and is severely pissed there's not more when he's done. He's drinking and bathing daily, is preening and he's in good feather.

Even still, every time I check on him I'm terrified I'll find him dead.

I will never, never forget how incredibly, remarkably easily I could have killed my hawk in sheer ignorance. I've got two years, and a whole lot to learn.

On the horizon...

Just now back to work for real, for the first time since all the weirdness. Am cranking through orders like mad and promise to have everything in the post on Monday! We have stuff shipping out to Texas, Illinois, and Florida, amongst others.

Arion and I are getting along quite nicely. After a couple days of terrible weather and surly attitudes about flying in it, we had two very nice workouts over the past two days. I think we're at combat weight--or he is, anyway, I've still got a bit to go on that one ;0)--and Callan thinks we're ready to ditch the creance as soon as there's a good, clear day for it. Hooray!

In the meantime I'll keep working on making him to the lure and conditioning his flight muscles with ground-to-glove jumps and increasing flight distance on the creance, though I think he hates the feel of the drag.

Yesterday we were flying on the football field at the local middle school. I didn't know anyone else was there, but we gathered a bit of a crowd when they came out to see what all the whistling was about. Oops.

2008

In light of some very recent, and very personal events, I would like to take this space to extend my deepest sympathy and compassion to those suffering with mental illness, personally, or in a partner, family, or friends. These events have been profoundly upsetting to witness in loved ones as a bystander; I can't even begin to imagine what life must be like for those personally afflicted... what a tremendously terrifying and ultimately lonely existence that must be.

My heart goes out to those who suffer.

At the close of 2007 I am supremely grateful for my good health, both physical and mental; I wish you all the same. Please take care of yourselves and each other in this new year.

Raw Dog goes Hollywood! (sort of)

Well, here I am in Los Angeles, with weather as gray, cloudy, and drizzly as I left it back home--I couldn't have asked for more ;0).

We're off today for dim sum, then to see the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, the LA County Art Museum, and possibly the La Brea Tar Pits if time and weather allow.

Tomorrow it's a tour of chi-chi Beverley Hills and West Hollywood pet boutiques for ideas and networking. Am hoping to find some kind of crazy ethnic food for lunch and dinner--ideally something to delight the senses and make my innocent Western intestines anxious!

Left Arion with my falconry sponsor after an incredible series of 60-70 foot flights in the G-street park where a little cluster of gaping teenagers gave us an audience. He's spending the next week in Callan's weathering yard with the shrieking Zia and lovely Gyr, Magic.

More updates to come!

World, meet Arion.

From the Illiad: "The great Arion, the swift horse of Adrastus [king of Argos], whose birth is from the immortals"; sired by Poseidon and foaled of Gaia, the Earth herself.

Day 3 finds us jumping quite comfortably ten feet for bits of cottontail. He's a bit edgier today as the shock wears off and he's assessing his new situation. He had a huge feed yesterday, which he worked for, every bite. Today he's at 27 oz. even, having gained .6 with yesterday's full crop. He takes less today, he worked in the morning for about two ounces, and this afternoon for about another half-ounce, jumping twelve feet to the end of a short creance, three times. At that point, he was comfortably fed and paying more attention to the environment than the glove, so back to the mews we went.

On the Raw Dog front, life is good if a bit nutty. I had some issues getting a good-quality side of black latigo, so my deepest apologies to those folks still waiting for six-foot black leads. I am extremely choosy about my materials and I will not spend my money or yours on poor quality leather. I ended up sending back two subsequent shipments because they were extremely dry, had a weird, slick finish, and were far too light. My hide supplier takes good care of me, though, and ended up shipping in a side from a different tannery entirely. Anyway, the black latigo siege has ended and I picked up the new hide late today. Leads are cut and prepped and will be stitched and finished tomorrow. Thanks worlds for your patience.

Success!

Just a quick update--the last two days have been something of a blur.

Sunday evening I became the owner of a 30.2 oz tiercel red-tailed hawk. Spotted just before dark in an area we'd trapped over probably a dozen times, he sat calmly on the trap and allowed himself to be picked up with little fuss.

We spent a few hours the first night getting to know each other. He is remarkably calm, and has only bated (jumping from the fist and flapping around) once in two days.

He ate readily the next day, now down to 28 oz. Took three bites from forceps then did a face-plant in a quarter quail. Success!

This morning we worked on jumping to the glove for bites of food, which came with no problem.
He was down another two ounces to 26.4 this morning, even with the meal last night, so he worked for three ounces of food this AM and he's still looking around eagerly for more. Part of this morning's meal was a quail wing for "tiring"--not much actual food, but satisfying because it takes some work to pick apart. Left calm on perch at 6:30.


He still hasn't told me his name. I keep running through every source I can imagine, and haven't come across it yet. Will keep you posted!

Holy Buckets!

So I just, now, for the first time, have gotten a second to stop and breathe.
It's been a nutty couple of weeks. The Holiday Market is keeping me mighty busy, as are orders through the site--between the both of them I'm running myself a bit ragged. Call it ragged in a tremendously joyous way; if I'm a little sleep deprived because I'm doing good business, well... who can complain about that?

In the last two weeks we've shipped orders to four different countries and eight states, met Portuguese Water Dogs, Havanese, and a Pharaoh hound owner, though unfortunately not the pooch himself--I've still never seen one in person. It's been quite a run so far, and not halfway over, yet.

On the falconry front, things have pretty much come to a stand-still. The weather's now so bad that even in the spare moments I have to go out trapping, there aren't any birds out hunting. I've more or less spent every spare hour I can scrape together roaming the area and there just isn't anything to be had. After the holidays I'll have more time to take myself to the other side of the state or up to Washington. My trapping permit is good through February, so time's not out yet!