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342 Hand-Rearing Birds

slats, with no chain link or wire used anywhere the birds have access for clinging or climbing.
Ample clean drinking and bathing water must be available at all times. Plastic artificial turf or
indoor–outdoor carpeting must be used to pad round dowel or plastic pipe perches to help pre -
vent pododermatitis (bumblefoot). Natural branches with textured bark make excellent perches.
Provide at least two perches of varying heights and angles. Many rehabilitation centers suspend
perches from pulleys such that when raised they form a “swing,” which provides excellent exer-
cise and practice landing on moving objects, and when lowered they allow easier cleaning or
capturing of birds.

Weaning

For most raptors, catching live prey is obviously a critical skill. Presentation of whole food items
should begin as soon as the birds learn to hold food down and tear it up. Darkly colored mice make
an excellent starting point for most species. With kestrels and the insectivorous kites, mealworms
make a good starting food because their movement attracts the birds’ attention. Adding live crick-
ets is often the second step, then young mice, then older mice, and then providing the mice with
hiding places. There is no way to really provide sufficient experience in captivity to prepare them
for the real-world difficulties of wild prey, so releasing them at a time when, and in a place where,
naïve young prey are available is critical.

­ Preparation­for Wild­Release

A kestrel or harrier, possibly a merlin, and most of the buteos can probably receive adequate tuition
in a large flight cage with a live-prey arena. Live-prey arenas are typically large, secure, open-
topped containers placed within the aviary, where live prey is presented to the birds for hunting
practice. These can be set into the ground or placed on the surface. These can be constructed of
plywood with a secure bottom that cannot be dug through, or be a large pre-made container such
as horse trough. Important aspects are that they must be rodent escape-proof and must be large
enough for the birds to maneuver to capture their dinner.
For several species, however, live-prey arenas are not sufficient. Assuming re-nesting or wild
fostering was not an option, hacking is the method of choice for accipiters, large falcons, and
osprey. The latter should also be released in an area with other osprey, so as to provide models
for fishing. The larger falcons and accipiters are best transferred to licensed falconers, if they
cannot be hacked. The amount of practice, experience, and skill needed to catch birds on the
wing needs to be learned with a backup system in place that can really be provided only by one
of these two systems.

Release

Besides flight conditioning and live-prey training, finding an appropriate release site is critical. A
cavity-nester like a kestrel is best released into a nest box rather than simply allowed to fly off.
Being hidden in a box adds a level of security and provides extra time for birds to recover from the
stress of transport and handling. They can then look out of the box and get used to their surround-
ings rather than simply taking off for the horizon.