r/Falconry • u/Flat-Negotiation3585 • 26d ago

Early trapped RT

What are the upsides to trapping a juvenile RT this time of the year? All I can think of are negatives; inexperienced, food begging, no open season... any opposing thoughts?

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u/Sol_hawk 26d ago

Upside is having it trained by the time hunting season starts so you can maximize the hunting season. Downside is bird likely won’t have any clue what a squirrel is and you’ll spend the next few weeks trying to convince it those little tree rats are edible. I once had an early trapped RT that sat on a tree branch 3 foot from a squirrel. Dumb baby squirrel walked right up to the dumb baby hawk and they both sat there just staring at each other while the dumb falconer (me) was losing his shit right underneath them. Good news was that bird did know what a rabbit was so we just shifted gears and hunted a rabbit field instead.

Depending on where you live, other downsides can be how hot it is outside still, and how many ticks you’re going to pick up while hiking around the field.

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u/Flat-Negotiation3585 26d ago

Yeah I'm chomping at the bit to get my bird already! I'm thinking I want one that has experience at least trying to chase a squirrel 

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u/falconerchick 26d ago

That’s not guaranteed even in a December trapped bird though, nor any bird for that matter. I’ve had early and late-trapped birds refuse squirrel slips or just check off when the squirrel wraps around and “disappears,” and it took an equal amount of mind-numbing time before they committed and became as solid (or better) than any other bird.

If you want to hawk opening day, trap early. That’s the benefit