Chapter 65: The Great Eagle Gets in Shape
Holding the Great Eagle, Yue Feng stayed outside the house from past 3 PM until past 5 PM. Xiao Tao and his father, along with brothers Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu, also returned one after another.
Today it was Li Wentong's turn to use Yue Feng's Da Qing Yao. As soon as Xiao Tao and his father met Yue Feng, Xiao Tao excitedly came over.
"Brother! Guess what my dad caught today using your Da Qing Yao?"
"What? Couldn't be a Purple Sable, could it!" Yue Feng asked with a smile.
"Caught another Weasel! It's about the same size as the one you caught last time! Caught it near that waterhole I told you about last time!" Xiao Tao said proudly.
"The Great Eagle wasn't injured, was it?" Yue Feng was a bit nervous hearing they caught a Weasel, after all, an Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) doing this kind of work is somewhat strenuous.
"No injury, my dad said this Northern Goshawk is really smart. It used one claw to hold its mouth and the other to hold its head. By the time my dad got there, the Weasel's eyes had been pecked blind by the Northern Goshawk!"
Yue Feng's heart trembled upon hearing this, and he continued to ask, "Uncle, when you released the Great Eagle, was the distance quite far?"
Li Wentong nodded, "The Great Eagle is flying smoothly now, it's very bold when going out for Falconry. This Da Qing Yao dares to be released from forty or fifty meters away, and it's rarely lost prey! By the time I got there, the Weasel had already given up struggling!"
Getting the answer he wanted, Yue Feng said, "Alright! It's good that the Great Eagle wasn't hurt! Later, skin it, and take the meat off to feed the Great Eagle! With so many Great Eagles at home now, the daily food consumption is not a small amount!"
The previous Weasel was easily taken down with Yue Feng's help, but this second one was truly the Northern Goshawk's own strength. Pecking both eyes blind, the Northern Goshawk's practical combat ability has improved again!!
"Brother, when can this Great Eagle in your hand go out? I see it's perching quite steadily now!" Xiao Tao asked again.
Yue Feng: "Probably another three to five days. It's a bit fat now, it should be in shape when its weight drops to around two catties!"
"Okay, when the time comes, I'll take a day off and go with you to release the Great Eagle to catch Rabbits, alright?" Xiao Tao said shamelessly, continuing to pester.
For a teenager under 18 to be able to calmly go up the mountain every day for Falconry and hunt small game, in Yue Feng's opinion, was already quite good. He didn't want to refuse his younger brother's request.
"Alright! You can come with me then! But the place for Falconry to catch Rabbits won't be in the mountains!"
"Then where?"
"By the edge of the village, at the end of the fields, in the furrows, by the River, by the edge of the woods, in small orchards! These places have Rabbits and pheasants. Going into the mountains without snow is actually harder to find them!"
"Okay, whatever you say goes, I'll listen to all your commands!"
"Done! Go into the house, tidy up, and rest for a bit!"
"Okay!"
The sky slowly darkened, and Yue Feng, carrying the Great Eagle, also returned to his own home. The lights were on inside, and a table full of people ate lively, chatting about the interesting things from the day.
The next two days were almost a repeat of the first day of training the Great Eagle. Yue Feng and Yue Lei, father and son, took turns, changing people but not the Great Eagle, never letting it close its eyes.
Although it was very draining, the effect was still immediate.
Early on the third day after coming down from the perch, when Yue Feng fed the Great Eagle, it could already easily jump to the fist.
Next, Yue Feng consciously controlled the distance of the jump to the fist. By the second attempt, the Great Eagle could already perform calling far two meters.
Another full day of carrying the perch and training the Great Eagle overnight. On the fourth day, the Great Eagle's tether had reached ten meters, and when fed meat wrapped in bird feathers, it ate with extreme relish, which could be described as wolfing it down.
That night, the Great Eagle was completely in shape.
As the old saying goes, when a Great Eagle is trained enough to be in shape, there are a few vivid descriptions: head like a pinecone, eyes like sesame seeds, crotch feathers covering the legs, and tail drooping.
Head like a pinecone refers to the feathers on the Great Eagle's head. At this moment, whether on the crown or around the eyes, they are completely fluffed out, like a pinecone.
Eyes like sesame seeds refers to the Great Eagle's pupils, narrowed into tiny dots, like sesame seeds.
Crotch feathers covering the legs refers to the feathers on the Great Eagle's crotch, which will fluff out, even covering its two long legs.
Tail drooping is literal. When the Great Eagle stands on a person's hand, its tail is closed together, hanging vertically towards the ground, looking like a straight stick.
When a Great Eagle exhibits the behaviors described, it means the Great Eagle's wariness towards people has completely dropped, and its wildness has been mostly worn away.
A Great Eagle in this state is not afraid of being touched; it won't react no matter how you stroke or touch it. Yue Feng was very satisfied with Tie Bei Hong's state and stroked the Great Eagle from head to tail again.
The bell on its tail jingled, but the Great Eagle didn't even open its eyelids.
By the time it was 2:30 AM, the Great Eagle had even tucked its head into its neck, completely giving up.
Seeing this scene, Yue Feng knew tonight was the final battle. The last push was now!
Many novice players with insufficient Falconry experience, upon seeing the Great Eagle get into shape at home at night, think the time is right and put the Great Eagle down early, preparing to go out and hunt the next morning, unaware that they have made a common mistake.
The Great Eagle has completely given up, but before it's fully trained, you cannot let it sleep. For Great Eagles with a more docile personality, the impact might be less, but many cunning Great Eagles, after sleeping for two or three hours at night, might seem almost ready the next morning, but that slight difference is enough to turn practical hunting into a tragedy.
Carrying the Great Eagle out, seeing prey, releasing the Great Eagle, only for it to symbolically chase for a few dozen meters and land on a tree, then ignoring calls from below. Add in some troublesome birds like magpies or crows, and the Great Eagle flies far away, leaving you to stare at the sky with tearful eyes.
The Great Eagle's behavior at night is not entirely equivalent to its behavior outdoors during the day. This is why Yue Feng insists on feeding it outdoors in the open, giving it large meals.
Insufficient carrying time, insufficient exposure, the Great Eagle eats well indoors, but it's not the same when it sees the sky. These details are hard for ordinary people to know unless they are true Falconry masters.
Getting sidetracked, let's return the focus to Yue Feng.
Seeing the Great Eagle tuck its head under its wing and act like a rogue, Yue Feng once again employed the wrist-twisting technique to prevent the Great Eagle from resting, waiting until the sky was completely bright and the Great Eagle cast a pellet in the courtyard.
Yue Feng picked up the pellet from the ground, squeezed it open, and examined it. The food mass was moderately soft and hard, with moderate moisture, no peculiar smell, and no green or other colors.
This indicated that this Iron-backed Red's crop was cleared, and the Great Eagle was in good condition.
Yue Feng hung the Great Eagle on its leash and placed it on the perch by the south wall. Then, holding the feeding bowl, he came to a distance of about thirty meters from the Great Eagle, turned sideways, extended his arm, and held the enticing meat in his right hand.
Hey!
A command.
The next second, the Tie Bei Hong was seen nodding its head up and down, then spreading its wings and flying straight towards Yue Feng.
Chapter two, there will be another chapter around 12 AM, continue to ask for votes!!! Hand over all your votes!