Braiding

The Baron has a taste for leather. Not in some kinky way, mind you, he just likes to chew on his jesses; constantly. I even bought some "Thum" stuff you paint on your kids' thumb or fingers to prevent them from biting nails or sucking thumbs. It didn't bother him at all on the leather. He did try to bite the brush and it got wiped through his mouth and he did a cartoon head shake and smacked his lips a little after that. But then he went right back to the Thum-coated jess buttons.

I have seen people use braided jesses made from synthetic fibers that seem to be more durable. Some people even use clothes buttons rather than tying a knot button. My problem is I have no idea how to braid and the internet is so big, I didn't know where to start. So I consulted my small circle of friendly falconers and found that Sandie (another DIY-on-the-cheap falconer like myself) knows how to braid stuff. *high-five* She emailed me copious quantities of instructional commodities which were very useful in teaching me how to get done what I needed. I was really surprised to be able to turn out very serviceable, though neon yellow, jesses in just 30 minutes including learning and false starts.

I have this spool of 500ft of neon yellow nylon mason line from Home Depot. I use it for everything: leashes, lure line, creance (it's on a reel and has a handle to wind it up), and now jesses. I think it's #18 line and when I measure the width it's about 1/16" wide. I think it was rated at 150lb breaking point, and though this kestrel is massive and manly, I don't think he'll be breaking this line any time soon.

I got the new jesses on him and he's tried to pull at the buttons but they're metal and flat rounded so he can't get much of a grip on them. (ha-ha sucka!) I'll keep watch on the braided parts and see if they fray or wear from his biting but I'm thinking they'll do fine. As I'm writing this I'm noticing that he's just sitting quietly on his perch where normally he'd be chewing and jerking on his buttons like crazy.