This thread is always fascinating!
I don't eat rabbit but I have cooked and ate it in the past. I found a recipe with pineapple and stuff, much like sweet and sour chicken. It was good but it needs cooked a long time and several steps.I haven't yet. I'm told the jack rabbits taste terrible, but the cottontails tase good. I've been wanting to try it and probably will soon. Those back legs seem like they would be tasty. Very soft light colored meat there. I'm not much of a cook, and my wife isn't into the rabbit thing, so I'll have to figure it out on my own. I figure some butter, garlic, salt and pepper, ought to do it. I'll probably fry them up in an iron skillet.
We have 3 full time professional animal caretakers, plus my wife and daughter, plus another falconer that I work with, all looking after them and feeding them daily.I know I asked this on the Cats and Dogs section, but I'll ask again, here; What happens with Rick and Morty when you're out of town so long doing TV and movie shoots?
Rabbit is very tasty. Eric wants to start raising them as a meat source for us. Their poop will also be used as an excellent fertilizer for the garden. We have bought rabbit at the local butcher shop and made stew. It was delicious. The kids didn't know what it was until afterward. They said it was still yummy even after finding out it was rabbit.I haven't yet. I'm told the jack rabbits taste terrible, but the cottontails tase good. I've been wanting to try it and probably will soon. Those back legs seem like they would be tasty. Very soft light colored meat there. I'm not much of a cook, and my wife isn't into the rabbit thing, so I'll have to figure it out on my own. I figure some butter, garlic, salt and pepper, ought to do it. I'll probably fry them up in an iron skillet.
Beautiful, what type is it?The hunting season is almost upon us. There has been a new addition. For anyone who watches the show "Rick And Morty", the boys have a new big sister that will bully them and keep them in line. Care to guess her name??? She is a beast! She's not messin' around.
A friend had her as part of an abatement program, and she wasn't content just scaring the other birdies away. She wanted to hunt them. She needs to hunt, and hunt she will. A lot. He decided to give er to me. It will be an adventure for sure.
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Such cool birds!The hunting season is almost upon us. There has been a new addition. For anyone who watches the show "Rick And Morty", the boys have a new big sister that will bully them and keep them in line. Care to guess her name??? She is a beast! She's not messin' around.
A friend had her as part of an abatement program, and she wasn't content just scaring the other birdies away. She wanted to hunt them. She needs to hunt, and hunt she will. A lot. He decided to give er to me. It will be an adventure for sure.
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She is also a Harris's Hawk. Same species as the boys.Beautiful, what type is it?
How are your birds? You getting ready for the season?Such cool birds!
3 birds up at once is the plan. She has been flying with two boys her whole life and they are around the same age, so it should work, in theory. I've got them living side-by-side now and no issues or funny looks what so ever. She actually seems protective of the boys. I'll make the perch up top just a little longer. It will be rare for all three to be on it at once, but they don't weigh much and it balances well. She weighs around 900 grams when hunting and the boys weigh around 650 each. I can manage that.Will you actually hunt with 3 birds at once? That huge perch you carry in the field only has 2 perches, doesn't it? And 3 would be kind of heavy.
BTW, rabbit is AWFUL!! I've only had it one time and never again. Yuck!
@TriciaStringer sorry, but I had to warn him!
I got a parrot a couple of years ago that I think would object to another bird. But, I really have gotten a lot busier with tortoises and kids etc. and worry about a lack of time. I have kept up with my permit though. So, one of these days I may jump back in.How are your birds? You getting ready for the season?
Tom, what's an abatement program?The hunting season is almost upon us. There has been a new addition. For anyone who watches the show "Rick And Morty", the boys have a new big sister that will bully them and keep them in line. Care to guess her name??? She is a beast! She's not messin' around.
A friend had her as part of an abatement program, and she wasn't content just scaring the other birdies away. She wanted to hunt them. She needs to hunt, and hunt she will. A lot. He decided to give er to me. It will be an adventure for sure.
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I'll try to keep it short, but its a long answer to do thoroughly.Tom, what's an abatement program?
Very interesting, at the landscape dept at Lowe's. They have a recording of a certain bird playing all the time. I guess it keeps other birds from coming in and nesting.I'll try to keep it short, but its a long answer to do thoroughly.
As we humans expand our territories and make places for ourselves to live, work and play, other species sometimes capitalize on the situations that we create. Sometimes these animals become pests, over-breed without the normal natural controls that would be there if humans and their settlements weren't there, and often these pests do terrible damage, and or create unsanitary conditions. Some examples: 1. Who can forget Bill Murray in Caddy Shack? "Oh Mr. Gopher..." Gophers, ground squirrels and rabbits can wreak havoc on a golf course. 2. I grow grape vines to feed the leaves to my torts. My family likes to eat the grapes, but the local birds and rodents take a toll. Imagine that toll for a 1000 acre vineyard. 3. Everyone throws trash away. That trash goes to a landfill, aka "the dump". Seagulls and other birds come in by the 1000's root around the rotting waste, and spread pathogens everywhere they go. Having a protocol for "pest management" is a government requirement for anyone operating a landfill.
In each of these scenarios, the pests need to be dealt with and their damage brought to a halt. Throughout history we've used poisons, traps, netting, guns, scarecrows, and all manner of methods to fight the war against the animals who damage our stuff. We talk about keeping predatory pests away from our tortoises here constantly. One handy tool that has recently been discovered and put to good use is falconry. Pest animals don't want to be where their predators are flying about. Rather than try to kill a 1000 seagulls at the dump, and then have to kill 1000 more that move in after those first ones are gone, it turns out all you have to do is pay a guy to fly his raptors around the area a few times a week. The seagulls leave the area of their own free will, and hopefully seek out more natural areas to do their seagull business. Another human makes a living, raptors get exercise and mental fulfillment, pest animals go back to living free and in the wild where they belong, and nothing has to die and no toxic chemicals or poisons get spread around the earth. Its a win win win win win win win situation for all parties involved. There are limitless ways to make this work.
Here are some examples off the top of my head of falconry birds being used for "abatement":
Getting seagulls and other pest birds out of the dump.
Protecting fruit harvests in berry fields and vineyards all over the world.
Keeping pigeons and seagulls away from outdoor eating areas at Cafés and restaurants.
Keeping pest numbers down at golf courses and parks.
Keeping ducks, geese, and other birds off the tarmac and away from runways and other areas where planes and helicopters are taking off.
Here in SoCal we have feral parrots. They come to the film sets and make a lot of noise. This makes it difficult to film scenes for movies, TV and commercial and record dialogue. Pop a Harris Hawk up into a nearby tree and all the parrots go elsewhere. No muss no fuss.
I'm sure there are many more uses for trained raptors, but all of these are relatively inexpensive compared to the alternatives, environmentally sound, non-toxic, easy, sensible, and the "optics" are good for the public. I wish that last one wasn't a factor, but it is nowadays. Can't have a person walking around town with a shotgun blasting seagulls out of the sky, but nobody minds seeing a guy or gal walking around with a hawk following them around town for food treats. The myriad problems with poisons, and the difficulties of trapping are obvious, but what is the down side to a well trained birdy flying around at random times a few days a week? Most people love it.
That touches on something else that came to mind...what happens if she/they spot a puppy or small cat in the field? Or any other animal?My challenge, and I don't think it will be any challenge at all, is to get her on to rabbits. I'm pretty sure she will hit the first one she sees with years of pent up fury, and it will feel so natural and fulfilling to her.
Anything is possible, but they tend to be very picky about their prey. Every bird is different, and some are plain nutty, but mine have all been selective. Each redtail of mine caught one ground squirrel. Each time I made the difficult choice to rob them of their prize and give them no reward for grabbing the "wrong" thing, and none of them ever did it again despite seeing ground squirrels in the field almost daily. Rick and Morty each grabbed one in their first year, but only one. They each grabbed one at the start of their second year too, but then no reward so no more. Now, they just ignore them. The positive reinforcement (food) only comes when they catch the right things. They once caught a quail and got big reward for that, but usually don't even try for those anymore. Quail are too fast and not worth their effort when rabbits are so plentiful. When I first started hunting them in their first year, there was one warm day where Morty kept going after lizards. Lots of effort, no reward, and so that behavior stopped quickly. Last season Rick flew into a backyard and grabbed somebody's chicken through a gap in the pen. That wasn't fun, but the chicken got away with minor damage luckily. Never happened again after that day despite returning to that area many times. One time a lady came out her front door with a tiny off-leash chihuahua puppy right across the street from where my bird was perched on a light pole hunting. Tacoma looked at it, I nearly had a heart attack, and then she looked away. I literally began running to flush a rabbit, and luckily that held Tacoma's attention and worked to distract her from the possible morsel across the street.That touches on something else that came to mind...what happens if she/they spot a puppy or small cat in the field? Or any other animal?
How do you train them to only go after rabbits? Or DO you train them to only go after rabbits? ???️??
Or better, could they help to eliminate some of the nasties who invade our yards and houses? ??️?
This is just beyond fascinating! Thank you for the detailed anecdotes and explanations. I could sit and read this all night long.There is really no limit to what can be done, and there is something for almost everyone.