Weight Management Fundamentals
Weight management is the foundation of falconry training. Understanding how weight affects behavior—and how to maintain the right balance—makes everything else possible.
Why Weight Matters
A wild raptor hunts because it’s hungry. A fat hawk has no reason to work with you—it can simply sit on a perch and wait. A too-thin hawk lacks the energy to hunt effectively and may be in physical danger.
Weight management is about finding the sweet spot: a bird that’s motivated to hunt and return, but healthy and strong enough to do so effectively.
The Core Principle
You’re not “starving” your bird. You’re managing its motivation through controlled feeding, similar to how an athlete manages nutrition for peak performance. A well-managed hawk is alert, responsive, and eager—not weak or desperate.
El manejo del peso funciona porque las rapaces están impulsadas por un imperativo biológico simple: el hambre genera motivación. En la naturaleza, el peso de un halcón fluctúa diariamente según el éxito de caza, el clima y el gasto energético. Al controlar la ingesta de alimentos, los cetreros replican el estado natural donde el ave está alerta y motivada para cazar. Esto no es privación—refleja el equilibrio calórico que las rapaces salvajes experimentan. El metabolismo, el tono muscular y la agudeza mental del ave alcanzan su punto máximo dentro del rango de peso de vuelo, similar a un atleta humano rindiendo al máximo en su peso de competición.
Key Terms
- Trap Weight (TW)
- The weight when first acquired. Your baseline reference point.
- Flying Weight (FW)
- The weight at which your specific bird responds well and hunts effectively. Usually 90-95% of trap weight, but varies by individual.
- Fat Weight
- Weight above which the bird becomes unresponsive or lazy. Still healthy, just not motivated.
- Sharp Weight
- Weight below which the bird becomes weak, desperate, or unhealthy. Dangerous territory.
- Casting
- Indigestible material (fur, feathers) that raptors regurgitate. Important for digestion tracking.
Finding Flying Weight
There’s no formula that tells you exactly what your bird’s flying weight should be. You find it through careful observation over time.
The Process
- Record trap weight. This is your baseline.
- Begin reducing weight slowly through controlled feeding—typically dropping 2-5% over the first week.
- Test response regularly. Offer food and observe: How quickly does the bird respond? How focused is it?
- Note the weight where behavior changes. When the bird starts responding promptly and eagerly, you’re approaching flying weight.
- Fine-tune from there. Every bird is different. Some respond well at 95% trap weight; others need to be at 88%.
Typical Ranges (Very Approximate)
These are starting points only. Your bird is an individual.
- Red-tailed Hawk (female): TW 1100-1400g → FW ~950-1300g
- Red-tailed Hawk (male): TW 850-1100g → FW ~750-1000g
- Harris’s Hawk (female): TW 900-1100g → FW ~800-1000g
- American Kestrel (female): TW 110-140g → FW ~100-130g
Daily Weight Routine
Weighing your bird should become automatic—like brushing your teeth. Most falconers weigh daily, always at the same time under the same conditions.
Best Practices
- Same time daily: Morning, before feeding, is most common
- Same conditions: Empty crop, after casting if applicable
- Good scale: Digital gram scale accurate to 1-2g
- Record everything: Date, weight, feeding, casting, behavior notes
- Look for patterns: How does weight correlate with behavior?
The FalconryLab app is designed to make this tracking easy—but a notebook works too. The important thing is consistency and attention to patterns.
Reading Your Bird
The scale tells you one number. Your bird’s behavior tells you everything else. Learn to read the signs:
Good Signs (At Weight)
- • Alert and focused when you approach
- • Responds promptly to the glove
- • Strong, confident flight
- • Eager to hunt but not desperate
- • Mantles over food (protective, not frantic)
- • Returns reliably to the glove
Warning Signs (Too Low)
- • Puffed-up feathers (conserving heat)
- • Lethargic, weak movements
- • Frantic, desperate behavior around food
- • Foot-grabbing (grabbing anything, including you)
- • Visible keel bone (breastbone)
- • Slow reactions, poor flight
Feeding Basics
What you feed and how much directly affects weight management.
Food Types
- Whole prey: Quail, mice, chicks—provides complete nutrition including casting material
- Meat: Beef heart, chicken, rabbit—convenient but lacks roughage
- Tidbits: Small pieces for training rewards
Feeding Strategy
- Calculate daily ration: Typically 5-10% of body weight for maintenance
- Adjust based on activity: More food on hunting days; less on rest days
- Time meals consistently: Same time each day when possible
- Include casting material: Fur/feathers aid digestion; cast before weighing
Common Mistakes
❌ What Not to Do
- Dropping weight too fast: Rapid weight loss is dangerous. Take your time.
- Chasing a number: Flying weight isn’t a fixed target—it changes with season, condition, and activity.
- Ignoring behavior: The bird’s response matters more than the scale reading.
- Skipping meals carelessly: Fasting should be intentional, not forgetful.
- Comparing to other birds: Your hawk isn’t “supposed to” fly at any particular weight. Find its optimal weight.
- Overfeeding on catches: After a catch, reward appropriately—not excessively.
Seasonal Considerations
Flying weight isn’t static throughout the year:
- Cold weather: Birds need more fuel to maintain body temperature. Flying weight may be higher.
- Hot weather: Less energy needed for thermoregulation. Flying weight may be lower.
- Molt: Growing feathers requires energy. Allow slightly higher weight during active molt.
- Breeding condition: Hormonal changes affect weight and behavior (usually off-season).
The Ethical Foundation
Critics sometimes characterize weight management as “starving” the bird. This misunderstands the practice. Consider:
- Wild raptors fluctuate in weight naturally—feast and famine is their normal state
- A well-managed falconry bird eats more reliably than a wild one
- Flying weight is not “starving weight”—it’s peak athletic condition
- An overweight bird is actually less healthy than one at flying weight
- The bird’s welfare is the falconer’s primary responsibility
That said, irresponsible weight management can absolutely harm a bird. This is why the apprenticeship system exists—to ensure new falconers learn proper technique under supervision before they’re responsible for a bird on their own.
Si tu ave deja de responder a un peso que antes funcionaba, considera factores ambientales antes de ajustar más. Las caídas de temperatura, enfermedades o el estrés por un nuevo estímulo pueden alterar temporalmente el peso de vuelo. Un ave que se vuelve repentinamente indiferente puede estar incubando una infección—revisa plumas esponjadas, apetito reducido y excrementos anormales. Si la reducción de peso no produce el cambio conductual esperado, deténte y consulta a tu sponsor. Forzar a un ave enferma a bajar más es peligroso. Ante la duda, alimenta al ave y reevalua al día siguiente.
Summary
Weight management is simple in concept but nuanced in practice:
- Weigh your bird daily, consistently
- Find the weight range where it responds well
- Feed to maintain that range (adjusting for conditions)
- Watch behavior more than numbers
- Keep detailed records
- Ask your sponsor when uncertain
Master this, and everything else in falconry becomes easier. Struggle with this, and nothing else will work right.
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Los cetreros experimentados van más allá de los simples objetivos de peso diarios para desarrollar programas de alimentación sofisticados que tienen en cuenta el nivel de actividad, el clima y la fase de entrenamiento. En días de caza intensa, el ave recibe una buche más grande después del último vuelo para reponer las reservas de energía. En días de descanso, la alimentación se reduce para mantener el peso de vuelo para la siguiente salida. Algunos cetreros registran la ingesta de alimento en gramos junto con el peso corporal, creando conjuntos de datos emparejados que revelan los patrones metabólicos individuales de cada ave. Herramientas digitales como FalconryLab hacen práctico este seguimiento multivariable, permitiendo a los cetreros predecir la respuesta de peso de su ave a diferentes cantidades de alimentación con una precisión creciente a lo largo del tiempo.