Chapter 7: High Spirit, Stringing, Becoming an Eagle!
Its previously retracted neck suddenly elongated, and then it shook its head repeatedly.
After several shakes, a black bolus about the size of a thumb tip was quickly spat out from the young eagle's mouth.
This was the 'feather shaft' Yue Feng had mentioned.
Raptors in the wild survive by catching various prey. Some of the skin, bones, and even foreign objects from the food they eat cannot be digested in their stomachs and are regurgitated the next morning as these Sundries.
Yesterday, when feeding the soaked Sparrows, the eagle ate too eagerly and swallowed the wet feathers completely. Now, after a full night of digestion, it naturally threw them up.
It is a normal behavior for raptors to regurgitate indigestible food boluses.
In the long-term practice of Falconry, intelligent falconers discovered that the bolus carries digestive fluids and other substances from the eagle's gastrointestinal tract.
Eagles that have 'shafted' have a stronger desire to eat in real combat and are more aggressive when hunting, so in the process of Falconry, there is a practice of intentionally making the eagle 'shaft'.
There are several types of shafts. Common ones include feather shafts and hemp shafts. When training Great Eagles, different types like rock sugar shafts and radish shafts are also used.
Yue Feng feeding the eagle with wet Sparrows was giving it a feather shaft, which is also his favorite shaft to use for Falconry. Feathers are fine and soft, not easily injuring the eagle, and after regurgitating the shaft, it can bring out more internal digestive fluids, resulting in a better overall effect.
After regurgitating the shaft, the Da Qing Yao's state changed noticeably at a speed visible to the naked eye. Outside the courtyard wall, where it couldn't be seen, early-rising Sparrows were chirping. The young eagle standing on Yue Feng's hand was looking around with its eyes, and the fine down under its beak and around its eyes had spread out.
This is a characteristic state of being 'high-spirited'. Seeing this, Yue Feng immediately held the eagle flat in his hand and tied the 미리 prepared tire line end to the lowest position of the five-foot line.
Stringing successful!
Yue Feng called his mother, who was cooking in the main house, to take a live Sparrow from the cage. He pulled off the main feathers from one wing of the Sparrow, then thoroughly wet the feathers with clean water, broke one leg, and threw it into the courtyard.
The Sparrow kept in the cage had already undergone several days of torment and was not in good condition. Now, with a broken leg and no wing feathers, it was somewhat listless when thrown into the courtyard, only able to hop around in a small area and occasionally fall over.
With the preparations made, Yue Feng came out of the house holding the eagle flat. The high-spirited Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) immediately spotted the injured Sparrow about ten meters away.
Seeing this, Yue Feng held the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) flat with his right hand and threw it directly towards the Sparrow.
The Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female), released from his hand, shot out like an arrow from a bow. With a spread and fold of its wings, it accelerated several times and firmly pinned the Sparrow under its feet.
An expert's move reveals their skill. Although it was just a simple simulation of becoming an eagle, Yue Feng had already seen some clues from the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female)'s flight posture.
This Da Qing Yao was very fast at catching Sparrows, and even more remarkably, it flew with 'Great Eagle' after being released.
So-called 'Great Eagle' means flying with wings fully spread, which is fast but consumes more energy.
If this type of eagle is released, it is fast, chases prey fiercely, and has a very high success rate in striking.
Besides 'Great Eagle', there is another way of flying where the wings are only half-extended, which is called 'Xiao Fei'. This way of flying saves energy, but the speed of linear acceleration is much slower.
Standing under the eaves, Yue Feng was not in a hurry to rush over. Instead, he firmly held the other end of the tire line, and while reeling in the line, he cautiously walked towards the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) that was eating.
The Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Female) ate soaked white meat yesterday, and today it was switched to blood food, and its desire to eat clearly increased. It almost effortlessly tore off the large quill feathers from the Sparrow's wings, and then could tear off a piece of meat from the Sparrow in one bite.
A live Sparrow with wet feathers was torn into pieces and swallowed in just a few bites. Even the hard Sparrow beak, the small dry legs with no meat, and the Sparrow claws were roughly swallowed by this Da Qing Yao.
A seven-and-a-half-liang Da Qing Yao cannot be filled with one Sparrow. If measured by a normal eating amount, it needs to eat at least three to four per day.
However, Falconry cannot talk about human rights or animal protection laws. If you want to quickly become an eagle and start working, Yue Feng's current entire process is basically the most efficient choice.
After the eagle finished eating the Sparrow, Yue Feng had already re-straightened and put away the strung line of over ten meters. This line tied behind the five-foot line is equivalent to a safety rope during the Falconry process, which can ensure that if the eagle is accidentally startled, it will not be lost and all previous efforts will not be in vain.
Yue Feng was very satisfied with the courtyard training operation. This Da Qing Yao's performance was even better than Yue Feng's expectations.
It is bold, has sufficient physical strength, and flies with 'Great Eagle' acceleration without sparing energy when hunting. These characteristics are all concentrated in one eagle. In time, after the eagle is accustomed to flying, it will definitely be a fierce general.
Yue Feng re-perched the eagle and strolled around the courtyard. When he was tired, he sat on a stool for a while until it was completely dark, then went inside to eat with his parents.
After dinner, the food in the eagle's crop had completely pressed down and disappeared into the lower crop. Yue Feng held the eagle flat with gloves for a while, then released it and perched it again for a while, switching every hour on average.
According to the training plan, Yue Feng planned to take the eagle for real combat training tomorrow, so tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
Yue Feng lit the oil lamp and played with the eagle, persisting until 2:30 in the morning. The eagle was already standing on his hand with its head tucked into its wing feathers, completely asleep. Only then did he tie up the eagle and lie down on the heated brick bed to get some rest.
Around 4:30, as soon as the rooster crowed, Yue Feng scrambled out of bed, put on his clothes and shoes, and perched the eagle from the back of the chair.
Less than half an hour later, the Da Qing Yao routinely shook its head and regurgitated a feather shaft. Yue Feng pinched the feather shaft apart, glanced at it to confirm there were no issues, immediately held the eagle flat, and strolled out of the house.
It was just dawn, and the entire village was still quiet. The autumn field work was already finished, so the villagers were not up at this hour. As he walked out of the village, there were only a few scattered dog barks.
Yue Feng walked out of the village holding the eagle flat, keeping an eye out for small birds in the fields along the way.
Many novice eagles that have just started working do not recognize large prey, but the Da Qing Yao Yue Feng was holding was not such a weak eagle. Not far after Yue Feng left the village head, he noticed that the eagle he was holding flat was straining towards a bush about twenty meters away.
An eagle's eyesight is definitely far stronger than that of an ordinary person. After Yue Feng discovered that the Saker Falcon had spotted prey, he immediately stood still and observed carefully.
After observing for a few seconds, Yue Feng quickly discovered the prey in the bush.