How To Make a Giant Hood, Tail, and Talon Saver Central Perch
By Lance Morrow, Wyoming
The following article originally appeared in the VFA HawkTalk, Spring 1994 ed., and retains its original copyright.
Many years ago I came up with a problem that many falconers have experienced. When you have a gos in the giant hood and driving to your hawking field, every time you come to a stop sign or a red light, your gos thinks it's time to get out of the box and go hunting. She jumps around in the box, damaging feathers and talons, scraping them on the gos box door trying to get out.
First I tried special inside liners and special enclosure designs. All failed. Then I came up with this central perch design. It has been very helpful. The height of the perch is one that keeps the tip of the birds tail about 1-in over the bottom of the box, allowing for the type of absorbent material you prefer. The box that I used for a gos size bird is 34x34x24-in high. The inside of the box should be perfectly smooth to keep the bird's primaries from catching and wearing on anything.
When she baits inside, the jesses should be long enough to keep her feet and talons from touching the ground. If she bates, her head should go down and her tail up. The perch design shown can be scaled up or down for any size bird.
One of the important features of this design is the tail rest ring (item B). This ring, which is made tight and is adjusted up or down for the specific bird, gives the bird a place to brace her tail while she is being bounced around in the car, thus allowing her to arrive less tired.
The leash is made long enough that when hooked, the bird can be brought out of the box while still tethered, allowing you to releash her before she is detached from the giant hood. A large button is placed at the end of the leash to keep it from pulling through the hole as it enters the bottom side of the box going to the bottom of the central perch.
I hope that my sketches (see Figure 3) are sufficient to allow you to duplicate one if the need arises. If not, give me a call. This should keep your bird's feathers nicer and talons sharper.
View a diagram of Lance's Perch