Well imprints which are bird pulled as chicks, and captive bred birds are unreleasable, but passage birds that are first year fully grown birds are. They are around 6 months old when trapped.
Believe it or not the only bond I ever truly form with these birds are a food bond/association. They only work with us when we find their hunting weight believe it or not. Many good birds have been lost due to them being flown to heavy whether it's a imprint or passage bird, people are always disappointed it's not more magical than that. In that sense dogs are much easier to train for that reason. And I hate to use the word easy maybe different would be better.
Since that's really the only bond they ever form with us, and due to their wild instincts it's easy break that bond. I put him in his chamber, and feed him his fill every day for a month or so. I use a food chute ( pipe on the outside wall where the bird can't see who's feeding it) so the birds stops making the connection between humans and food and honestly within the first week they are almost totally wild and wouldn't come back to humans for food but we go for a month to make sure they are as fat and healthy as they can be and to make totally sure any human association is gone. And on a nice spring day when their weather will be good for a while, you go release them in a area where you know there's a good food source and set them free.
I guess I've never explained why though. We can keep a raptor for as long as we like till death if we please. But there are many reasons to release them whether it be they aren't great hunters, they reach sexual maturity and start acting odd as some will get aggressive, or if you've had your fill of the particular bird. Let's say because you want a bigger bird, or smaller. Or just a different bird in general because they all hunt differently not just species to species but even bird to bird. I particularly enjoy trapping, training, and hunting young birds. I feel like it also helps them as well. Over 70 percent of birds die there first year whether it's human or natrual causes. So by me trapping and hunting with the bird it automatically beats the odds. I also give it a year to hone it's hunting skills, and help it mature mentally. Young birds are more desperate hunters than older birds which makes them more fun to hunt as well but in the wild gets them killed.
Either way long story short yes I put a ton of time into training these birds but I feel like I'm making a difference trapping training hunting and realesing these birds after a year or two. It makes me happy knowing there are birds out there that hopefully I help survived and that maybe one day I can fly their young.
