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Eagles 357

be weighed and evaluated at the same time. In the wild, eagle nests contain food past its prime that
is not sanitized. It is important that the eaglets are exposed to the bacteria they will encounter in
the wild. In doing so they will develop the strong immune system needed for a life in the wild.
Several eaglets can be reared together without danger if they are all well‐adjusted (not imprinted)
and adequate food is supplied. The large chamber allows the eaglets to exercise and begin flying
when ready. Ideally, the eaglets should remain with the foster parent in the rearing chamber for a
month or more past the time they fledged. This time will give them additional behavioral informa-
tion and confidence which will be important when they are put into a flight enclosure with other
eagles to begin conditioning for release to the wild.

Flight­Aviary

The conditioning flight is a large enclosure 110 × 35 × 28 ft. (33.5 × 10.7 × 8.5 m) (Figure 21.6) that
allows the young eagles to develop their flight muscles and hone flight maneuvers while learning
to interact with other eagles of all age groups. The building should be free of support structures
that could cause injury to birds in flight. Perches on each side of the structure should be padded
and covered in artificial turf or loop‐free pile carpet to protect the eagles’ feet from injury. Food is

Figure­21.6­ Eagles require a very large flight conditioning enclosure in order to develop flight muscles
and practice flight maneuvers while socializing with other eagles.