🎯 Hunting & Training · 7 min
Manning the new bird
Why this matters
The first two weeks decide the next two years. Nearly everything the manual says about manning is about doing less, more calmly, than instinct suggests.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Describe how manning proceeds and what the first goal is
- Explain why hunger accelerates training and where the limit is
- Recognise the signs of a bird in trouble during early handling
Where to man
It is easier to man a freshly caught hawk indoors, away from noise and distraction. But the initial handling should generally take place outside, or in an outbuilding where it is cool or even cold: a nervous bird bating hard generates a lot of heat, and overheating is a real danger. Both statements are true at once, which is exactly why the exam asks about it.
The twitch
If at any point during handling the bird shows uncontrollable jerking or twitching of the shoulder or wings, stop. Place it immediately in a cool, dark, quiet room and leave it strictly alone. This is a stress reaction, and in Cooper's Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks especially it can progress to fatal seizures within minutes. Cooper's Hawks are the most susceptible species; goshawks are less prone but not immune.
The sequence
- The bird bates repeatedly, then tires and sits quietly on the fist.
- The next goal is to get it to feed off the fist. Nothing else happens until that does.
- From there, food is used to encourage a response: step to the fist, jump to the fist, come a few feet, come further.
Hunger, honestly described
A hungry raptor trains faster than a well-fed one. Its attention has to be focused through the medium of the daily feed, and this early period is where most of your progress happens. The manual's phrasing is worth keeping: never starve your bird, but get it on the wing quickly so it can reach its potential. Use a scale daily and keep a log so you are managing a pattern, not reacting to a number.
Falconers want a bird sharp-set, meaning hungry, keen and alert, before it enters the field.
Tameness is the goal, not a risk
The claim that hawks should not be made too tame and should be encouraged to keep their wild nature is false. Tameness is a refinement of the art and should be encouraged at all times. The better-manned the bird and the more it trusts you, the better its attitude and the better its later game flights.
That said, a bird can look tame for the wrong reason. If your freshly trapped red-tail seems suspiciously calm after one day out of the trap, the answer is not to press on: call your sponsor and follow their instructions. Unnatural docility in a wild-caught bird is a symptom before it is a triumph.
From the field
Day three. The bird eats from the fist while you stand still, but bates the moment you take a step. What is the next step? Not a longer session; a quieter one. Sit, keep the food on the glove, let the bird finish while nothing changes around it, and add movement only once feeding is reliable. Progress here is measured in calm minutes, not in yards.
This lesson is part of the NY Falconry Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.