Off topic: bird of prey - care info

[maryco]

Hello,

I need some urgent care info for a bird of prey, either falcon of hawk, not sure.

I was touring in the famous landmark of Dar al Hajar in Yemen today for the 3rd time, there were a lot of foreigners like myself and a yemeni man had this little bird and people could take pictures with it.

I noticed the bird but really didn't pay much attention, then before we left noticed him walking down the stairs again with the little bird so I headed over just to hold the little bird at least. My tour guide asked if he was selling it, he agreed for 3000 Yemeni riyals (thats like 15$) so I asked someone to exchange 20$ for me to Yemeni currency so I can pay him, but no one wanted to really do it and they discouraged me about buying the little guy so I handed the man the 20$ and took the little birdy -- and am really glad I did!

He's sooooooooooooo cute!!! but I don't know what kind he is, a hawk or falcon and i was told he doesn't drink water and just needs meat, so i bought some meat and he ate earlier, if anyone can provide me with basic cfare info as to how many times a day and any other requirements he may need? ..

Also i noticed a swelling on one of his feet, it seems there is a wound .. I will try to work on that, but I untied all the string they had attached to one foot, the little guy is resting now safely in my apartment.

He does not bite by the way .. . and thanks in advance for any help or info.

I'll attach some pics once i get them uploaded to webshots or something

[Trees Gray]

Hi Mary,

I am so glad to hear from you. Sounds like you have your hands full with this little cutie.Yes, do provide pictures....we love pictures. Is this a youngster?

The only thing I can tell you is that my rehabber buys frozen chicks and keeps them in her freezer for the hawk she has. He had such bad injuries that he was not releasable. I know they eat raw meat.

I'm sure others will come along with more info. Just wanted to say a big

HELLO!

[maryco]

HI!
Nice to hear from you Treesa!!

My little one ate all the meat I put on the plate, amazing, he's so skiny (like a sack of bones really) and it just seems like he's relaxed now, what a hard life he must have had.

Here is the picture that i took with my webcam, don't have a digital cam and can't figure out how to get the pics on my cell phone to the pc. Anyway, if anyone can identify what kind of bird of prey he is that would be great!

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...54844263sxjbzm

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Mary,

Good to hear from you again...sounds like your adventures just keep coming! I can't believe they just sold this bird for $20 to ANYONE! That would be illegal in North America (USA & Canada). Seems so wrong that anyone could purchase one of these falcons and do what they wished

I'm unfamiliar with overseas birds mostly, all my bird books have to do with North American species but it looks like a sparrowhawk. Perhaps they have different subspecies in the middle east or maybe it's a different type of falcon altogether.

You said that it's a bag of bones, but I don't think small birds of prey are very fat, not like a plump pigeon anyway. How big is this bird...is it the size of a pigeon in length?

Sorry, I have no suggestions on how often it should be fed, but I would feed it small little meals as often as it wants for now, in case it is truly thin and underfed.

Best of luck and wishes with this bird, keep us posted and try to get some better pictures

Take care,

[maryco]

Hello Brad,

Nice to hear from you as well... *smiles*

Actually the falcon hobby is very common in the middle east and more so in Arabia, it is part of their culture for thousands of years so to them it's like Americans owning dogs (and here they don't own dogs by the way, nor cats)
Pigeons, Farm Animals and Falcons are mostly what they got ..

When I went downtown to Tahrir square, there were also some people with falcons whom make business by letting tourists hold the bird then they take the picture for them.

See Here in the album of another tourist in Yemen:

http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/40670645


My birdy did not look in good condition like those other ones i've seen, he has no tail nor long flight feathers and one leg is abit twisted due to a swelling on one side of the foot. Also had lots of string wrapped around one foot when the man had him.

I really wasn't expecting him to say he'd sell him, and neither did I expect that price, but people catch them all the time and either sell to people or to the zoo. This is how Yemen is.

Anyway, you could be right about his weight, though I still thikn he needs to put on some weight for a healthy feel. At least he doesnt bite and I haven't got a name for him yet.. (the man had called him Nawris and so I'll keep that name as his last name - it means seagull *I think*) any suggestions would be welcome. I'll try to upload some more pics later. God willing.

He's so adorable, and now sitting down and just so relaxed.. there is a butcher around the corner from here so I can just walk over and get him some meat occassionally, and do they eat fish?? Since I'm a vegetarian I got tons of fish in the fridge (fillet) so if he can eat that once in awhile then that's good I guess.

As for parasites, I don't see any so far, but like pigeons they come out later sometimes, it's enough that I got a flea problem in my house and am bitten all over (yeah i'm sure they are fleas because I finally saw one with my own eyes!) **Anyone got any successful anti flea remedies for my apartment please email to mary_pigeons@hotmail.com keeping in mind that I may not be able to locate most of the things here in Yemen like available in the west.

[cyro51]

Hi Mary,

Nice to hear from you again! Helen is an expert on this subject, at least as far as British birds are concerned hopefully she will be here soon.

I may be completely wrong about this but I think that birds of prey need more than just the meat of an animal to get all the nutrients they need, they need the bone, fur/feather as well (depending, I suppose, on whether his normal diet is birds, mammals etc).

What state are his breast muscles in?


Cynthia

[maryco]

http://community.webshots.com/album/131657719SpwMfd

More pics... thats as clear as it gets with the webcam. As for size he is like a skiny squeaker. I just gave him some more meat since he was going after a piece of red ribbon, he ate it all and looks really happy, makes noises like a puppy actually, I wonder why?

[maryco]

Cynthia!! How are you doing??

Yep, thats why I immediately emailed Helen though the email came back (failure to deliver on her hotmail email)

I hope she sees the thread and since she has a lot of experience with the birds of prey then she may be able to give me some tips.

Hmm.. thats sounds right, Maybe they eat mice or rodents or smaller birds?? I'm not sure whats available here form wildlife in Yemen that these birds eat but i'll try to find out.

Thanks again everyone and birdy thanks you all too!! *smiles*

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Mary,

Thanks for the clarification on the general customs and practices of the middle east and falcons...still don't like it though, lol

Yes, this bird is probably a hunter of other birds and possibly mice. Falcons generally go for birds whereas other hawks will go more for mammals. This is a small falcon then, still could be a sparrowhawk. The name is misleading though because a sparrow hawk is actually a falcon. He might also eat large insects for prey too.

Hope this helps.

[jazaroo]

Hi Mary,

What a beautiful little guy.

Cynthia is right on the mark in terms of a full diet for raptors, here is a link to some feeding instructions which is quite a change of pace to pigeon seed:

http://tinyurl.com/rs9yy (click on the falcon link)

Also, if for some reason you do not manage to get a hold of Helen, here is a link to a raptor rehabber in my area. Seems like a good guy, perhaps if you contacted him he may be good enough to offer some help.

http://www.hawkeye.ca/rehabilitation.shtml

Ron

[AZfiddler_1996]

Originally Posted by cyro51

Hi Mary,

Nice to hear from you again! Helen is an expert on this subject, at least as far as British birds are concerned hopefully she will be here soon.

I may be completely wrong about this but I think that birds of prey need more than just the meat of an animal to get all the nutrients they need, they need the bone, fur/feather as well (depending, I suppose, on whether his normal diet is birds, mammals etc).

What state are his breast muscles in?


Cynthia

You're right, you have to feed them the bone, fur/feathers. They "cast it off" in little balls and they have to have it or they'll get sick. My friend used to grind up the chicken with the bone and feed it. Sparrow hawks are the sweetest! They are so cute! If your bird is a sparrow hawk, they usually eat bugs in the summer and then go to small birds in the winter when their bug supply has gone down. They eat the whole bug and cast off the legs and stuff. It's pretty interesting to watch them eat the bugs...
Webshots doesn't work on my computer but the picture of the boy and falcon looks like a female American Kestral (sparrow hawk). Does your bird look like that? Males are smaller with more color. I don't know how to post a link but I'll give it a try.

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critter...parverius.html

Here is a picture of a male Kestrel:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattybr...ool-birdguide/

and his female:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pattybruno/99921882/

Hope this helps...
Alice

[maryco]

Thanks Brad and Ron,

I'll try to email the man and see what advice he has to offer, thanks so much. And indeed she/he is such a cutie, the water issue was a major one, the man I bought him from said just to give her meat and she doesn't need water, and I read that on some sites also but some sites said to give them water. ((Confused)) Anyway, its here, if he wants it he can have and if he doesnt then it's up to him.

Alice, thanks for the info, I'm not sure this is the American Kestral and I'm not even sure if we have those in Yemen. The little guy is brown with black stripes on each feather on the whole body, and head is striped with thin stripes and has some black below the eyes, like a wide stripe. If anyone can save the pic and attach it below in a new post that would be good.. I wasn't able to do it myself. Thanks

[Lady Tarheel]

Mary, my rehabber friend has rehabbed raptors and I know they eat white mice. When they are babies/fledglings you have to cut the meat up but as they get bigger you just give them whole so they get the fur and gristle as well as the meat. I have never heard of them not drinking water.

I will be seeing my friend this afternoon and will ask more.

Hope you're having a great time.

[Pigeonpal2002]

Hi Mary,

We have a member here, "Happy" and he used to be a falconer as well. He will probably have some advice for you once he sees this There are lots of people who will be able to offer you assistance with this bird. Are you going to keep it?

[maryco]

Ohh wonderful Brad and Lady Tarheel.

Thanks.. and yes I just recieved my residency for one year, and after that I'll see what I can do, but for now I want to take care of him to make sure his foot is well and his feathers grow back.

Oh Ron, interesting, I didn't even notice that the site belonging to the rehabber is in Ontario. I never came across that page, ever, but it's good to know (My home is back in Toronto as well)

The major Q i need answered I guess for now is, how many times a day does she need to eat, and the meat should be room temp? I got it in the fridge and not freezer now, and is fish ok? Also with regard sleeping, should he perch, or is the window ledge ok as he is sitting now, he seems to sit alot, maybe because of his leg. Poor thing!!