Getting raptors through the moult quicker......

Two factors have a profound effect on the hunting performance of our raptors - fitness and feather quality. For fitness there is no substitute for training but for feather quality a good moult is critical.

From talking with people, it seems that many falconers consider that they have a bit of trouble getting their birds through the moult in time to start hunting, despite feeding large quantities of food, however, the key is nutritional quality not quantity. Research carried out at the Institute of Animal Nutrition in Hanover, clearly demonstrates the importance of sulphur-containing amino acids to the quality of feather and the speed of moulting.

Quite simply, feathers contain far more of these amino acids than protein derived from muscle, liver or other internal organs. So the traditional diets fed to captive birds are not as well balanced for feather production as they could be. By adding these particular important amino acids to the diet along with extra vitamins and minerals, the birds will be much better able to rapidly produce new feathers. Equally importantly, these new feathers will have the strength you want for good hunting. Actually growing the feathers more rapidly enables the bird to progress through the moult more quickly, meaning you can get your birds into the fitness training that they require so much sooner.

The supplement system we recommend for this is quite simple to use. Raptor Essentials contains multi-vitamins, "Rapisorb" minerals, calcium and the vital amino acids all in the one product. You simply bare some of the meat and dip it into the supplement. Moulting can be further enhanced by adding the very powerful probiotic Potent Brew and Calcivet once a week. Again these can be added directly to the meat and are quite compatible with the Raptor Essentials.

For further information on supplementing your raptor birds please feel free to contact us.