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Modern Captive Breeding by Peter Gill……….continued |
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From the point of view of the
falconer buying a young bird for hunting, nutrition is obviously crucial as
it affects the quality of the bird and its subsequent performance in the
field. An eyass Harris with a calcium deficiency which breaks its leg on its
first hunting day out, means a ruined hunting season as well as being
heartbreaking from a personal point of view. In extreme cases problems can
occur even before the bird gets to the field. Some propagators go for the
cheapest option where nutrition is concerned, and the results can be seen
when observing their progeny, if they have managed to produce any. A simple
test asto whether an eyass has received enough calcium in its diet,
is to run your finger the whole length of the breastbone. If any bends or
chinks can be felt, particularly towards the bottom of the sternum, then this
is a positive sign that the calcium level received during its growing period
was insufficient. |
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Some Concluding
Thoughts With the proliferation of raptors,
bred and offered for sale each year, it would appear to the ill informed that
all aspects of raptor propagation are straightforward and any initial
problems have now been totally overcome. This is far from the truth. After
breeding various raptors for twenty years and reflecting on all the
information and experienced gained, there are still questions to be answered.
More research is needed, particularly into areas such as nutrition, and
hopefully Falcon Mews and other breeders will have the opportunity to carry
out this research in the future. In the next article
in this series I will be covering breeding behaviour, and voluntary and
involuntary artificial insemination. |
