Hawks are wild birds of prey that never show aggression towards humans except when heavily threatened. Hawks are not naturally friendly to humans and may attack in certain circumstances.
However, some have been trained and domesticated by humans through disciplined processes. Read this guide to know if hawks can be friendly and ideal pets.
Can You Have a Hawk as A Pet?
A hawk is a bird of prey and is not the ideal pet due to its nature. However, you can domesticate a pet enough for it to see you as the one in charge and respect your commands. However, there are steps you must be ready to implement before you can get a pet hawk.
Get the License
In developed countries like the US, the UK, and some European and Asian Countries, getting a license to have a pet hawk is essential.
Owning a pet hawk in these areas without the proper license can attract fines and other possible legal punishments. In Spain, the hawk must have been born in captivity before you can even apply for a license to keep it.
In countries with no restrictions to owning these animals, it is important to consider if your surroundings are perfect for training the pet. Living in an area with many neighbors will probably see you have many issues with the police.
Get the Hawk as A Baby
You will only be able to tame the hawk if you had it as a baby. A tamed hawk will never behave like a normal bird but will be less enthusiastic to try foods you do not give it.
It will learn to follow commands if you put in the effort. Once it starts showing positive signs that it is leaning, you can allow it to roam occasionally.
Get A Good Barricaded Home
Hawks do not attack people who do not try to hurt them, so you do not necessarily need a cage to keep your pet from hurting people. You only need a cage or a well-barricaded home to ensure it doesn’t fly off.
A cage will restrict your hawk’s movement throughout the training stage until you are almost sure it will always return home. It is typically advised not to take the risk, though, and always have some form of restraining equipment that restricts your hawk independence to a level.
As a point to note, having a hawk pet near poultry is not the best, as you will be causing heavy losses to the poultry owners almost daily.
Take Classes
If you want your hawk to have full independence while being submissive and loyal to you, a full-time dedicated class on falconry will help massively.
Completing a class will expose you to the secrets of teaching hawks to become subject to your authority. They can even hunt prey, kill them and bring them to you. Most classes take at least two years to become an apprentice and seven years to become a falcon master.
It is essential to understand that hawks are not the ideal pet. They are wild and extremely independent, so a tame lifestyle is foreign to them.
You will have better luck training a hawk to respect authority than having it become a real pet, like a dog or cat. You will be able to control it if you are a falcon master.
Also read: What Eats Hawks? Main Hawk Predators
How to Get a Hawk to Come to You?
You cannot convince a hawk to come to you. They are not that trusting of humans and will actually see your gesture as a threat and fly off. What you can do, however, is make your area or home attractive to them.
You can make your home attractive to hawks, so they feel comfortable enough to come around for relaxation or nesting.
- Have at least one huge tree that is great for nests.
- Ensure the environment is often very quiet.
- Create water baths to attract hawks for baths.
- Make the environment natural with trees and grasses.
