Chapter 64: Opening Up Big Meal, Giving Down Feather Shaft
Although it was a very small amount, the Hawk could feel it.
The Hawk smacked its beak, as if it wanted more.
Seeing this, Yue Feng repeated the previous process, but this time with more force, and the meat strands left on the Hawk's beak were larger.
After a few rounds, the Hawk slowly realized that eating the meat from this person's hand didn't seem dangerous.
When Yue Feng once again held the meat and rubbed it against the Hawk's beak, the Tie Bei Hong pecked at it slightly aggressively.
Seeing that there was a chance, Yue Feng didn't snatch it back from the Hawk and let go, allowing the Hawk to hold the meat in its mouth.
Such a large piece of meat definitely couldn't be swallowed in one bite. The Hawk lowered its head, then lifted its right claw, using the large ring on its right claw to step on the meat.
Soon, the Great Eagle lowered its head and began tearing at the meat under its feet. The matchbox-sized piece of meat was completely eaten by the Great Eagle in a very short time.
With the first piece of meat in its stomach, Yue Feng's goal of opening up the Hawk's Bright Meal was achieved.
Next, Yue Feng didn't immediately strike while the iron was hot and continue feeding, but instead carried the bowl into the house and found his Mom to help.
"Mom! The Hawk just had its Bright Meal in the courtyard!"
"Can you do me a favor? Slice the remaining pieces of meat into thin slices, then take out a portion of the fine down bird feathers I've saved, wet them with water, and mix them into the meat!"
"Okay, I'll do it for you first!" His Mom, who was making breakfast, responded and immediately put down the cutting board to slice the meat for her son.
In a moment, the food Yue Feng wanted was ready.
His Mom's knife skills were excellent; the meat was sliced almost transparently, very thin.
Yue Feng picked up a slice of meat with his left hand, then with a single hand, rolled the bird feathers into the meat slice, forming a meat roll slightly larger than the tip of his little finger.
Holding the meat roll in his left hand, he once again offered it to the Great Eagle's beak.
The Great Eagle had already eaten one piece of meat. After overcoming its psychological barrier, it was clearly no longer hesitant about eating from a person's hand. It habitually picked up the meat, ready to tear and eat it.
However, this time Yue Feng didn't give it a chance to tear the meat. He tightly gripped the two ends in the cage sleeve with his right hand and didn't let go.
The Hawk's claws were fixed by the two ends and tightly gripped underneath, so it couldn't lift them at all.
Without the assistance of its claws, the Hawk had only one option to eat the meat: swallow it directly.
The bird feather meat roll Yue Feng made was not too large, so it could be easily swallowed in one bite.
So, the Great Eagle held the meat, tilted its head back, and swallowed the thumb-thick meat roll.
After swallowing one roll, Yue Feng quickly rolled the second, then the third, the fourth...
Not much pure meat was actually eaten; instead, the down feathers soaked in water were all eaten completely by the Great Eagle.
Over the course of one night and one morning, the Great Eagle achieved two milestones in Yue Feng's hands: Opening Up Bright Meal (eating from a person's hand in an open area is called Bright Meal) and Opening Up Big Meal (eating from a person's hand in an open area, and directly swallowing relatively large pieces of meat without the need for the large ring to assist in tearing).
As mentioned earlier, feeding soft bird feathers to a Hawk is to give it a shaft.
According to the shafting methods passed down from ancestors, the most commonly used shafts for training Great Eagles are hemp shafts, straw shafts, radish shafts, and rock candy shafts.
A hemp shaft is made by the Hawk Keeper chewing hemp thread in their mouth to make the fibers fine, then steaming them in boiling water, and finally hand-weaving them using a special method into a thread ball similar to a silkworm cocoon, pointed at both ends and thicker in the middle. After the Hawk has opened up Big Meal, this hemp thread ball is wrapped in meat and fed to the Great Eagle.
A straw shaft is similar to a hemp shaft, just made of different material, so I won't go into detail here.
Radish shafts and rock candy shafts are a bit unorthodox. Although they can temporarily boost a Hawk's spirit, they can easily harm the Hawk if not done properly.
Yue Feng had used these different types of Hawk shafts when training Great Eagles in his previous life, but after some practical testing, the gentlest and most natural method was this feather shaft, which involves wetting bird feathers and feeding them.
Hemp shafts and straw shafts occasionally break apart in the crop if the Hawk is unlucky. If they scatter in the crop, they cannot be vomited out and sometimes stay in the stomach for ten to twenty days. This is called a stuck shaft, which greatly affects the Hawk's condition and can even lead to the Hawk's death in severe cases.
Giving a feather shaft carries no risk. As long as the Hawk's digestive function is normal, after eating a feather shaft the day before, it will definitely produce the shaft precisely at dawn the next morning.
After the shaft is produced, the Hawk's spirit (hunting desire) will immediately improve by a noticeable level.
According to Yue Feng's experience in training Hawks in his previous life, as long as the first shaft is produced, barring any accidents, it should be able to fly a fifty-meter lure on a string in about four to five days. Before becoming a mature Hawk, stretch it out with small and large meals, and when it lands, it will definitely be full of killing intent.
Yue Feng personally served the Tie Bei Hong its first meal, then carried the Great Eagle out of the house and strolled through the village.
The Yue Family raising a Great Eagle again and it going out daily to get used to faces was no longer a strange sight to the villagers. A Hawk with food in its crop is especially steady when held. Yue Feng carried the Hawk and walked around the village until after six o'clock, returning home on time.
Xiao Tao, Xiao Wen, and Xiao Wu also came to the house for breakfast. Yue Feng held the Hawk on one arm and slurped down corn porridge with everyone, eating leftover dishes from last night and two-grain steamed buns.
After eating their fill, the four members of the team flattened the Hawk, grabbed their bags, and headed up the mountain. Yue Feng also handed the Great Eagle in his hand to Yue Lei.
He still couldn't get much sleep in the evenings for the next few days. Yue Feng, having lived two lives, did not rely on his current youthful body to excessively overdraw his physical and mental strength. After giving the Hawk to his Dad and giving simple instructions, Yue Feng returned to the kang in the west room. Sleepiness soon overcame him, and he fell into a deep sleep.
This sleep lasted from 6:30 in the morning straight until after 3:00 in the afternoon. When he woke up, he felt refreshed!
After waking up, Yue Feng went to the kitchen in the outer room, found some lunch in the pot, and ate a little to tide him over. Then he went out to find his father, Yue Lei.
His Dad should have kept the Hawk on his arm from morning until now. Yue Feng was now well-rested, so he naturally had to relieve his father. After all, Yue Lei's leg hadn't fully recovered yet, and he still needed a crutch to move around, which was somewhat inconvenient.
Yue Lei was currently holding the Hawk under the big tree at the entrance of the house to get it used to faces. As usual, there were village kids around watching the spectacle.
"Dad! Give me the Hawk, you go back inside and rest for a bit!" Yue Feng called out.
"You're awake? Your Mom left food for you in the pot, did you eat?"
"I ate! Give me the Hawk!"
"Okay!" Yue Lei unwound the five-foot leash wrapped around his fingers, then took off the cage sleeve and very carefully handed it to Yue Feng.
Yue Feng took the Great Eagle and casually stroked the Great Eagle's sword tail.
The Great Eagle had been bothered by this kind of 'harassment' countless times last night and had long since given up completely. It squatted on Yue Feng's arm with a calm demeanor, not moving at all.
Yue Feng was very satisfied with the performance of this Iron-backed Red. This state indicated that the Hawk was no longer too afraid of people. As long as its body condition was lowered a little more, it would quickly get into form.
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