Hunting.1

Left- Me with Male Harris Hawk
Right- Brian Abby with Female Harris Hawk

Birds of prey hunt to survive, and as falconers we use this instinct to work with them.
By controlling a hawks diet and weight you can control their hunting performance.
The birds I currently work with are a male and female Harris Hawk, by gradually reducing the amount of food they get a week, the keener they get to hunt.
Gypsy, my female Harris Hawk at average weight is 2.5lb, after 6 weeks she is now 1.15lb.
Bo, my male Harris Hawk at average weight is 2lb, after 6 weeks he is now 1.9lb.
The birds will drop weight faster in the cold weather, so this time can be reduced.

Gypsy on scales

Harris Hawks are one of the only birds of prey which are a pack animal, they can actually hunt as a cast and help each other to catch game.
As a mating pair the two are familiar hunting side by side, Gypsy progresses a lot faster than Bo, and so encourages and teaches him to keep going when out in the field.