imprint

[Tony15]

why do people imprint birds?

[Jack Merlin]

why do people imprint birds?

Because they were wicked in a previous life and need to be punished?

[Pogger]

Because they were wicked in a previous life and need to be punished?

:lol:

[Hardcore Hawker]

I personally dont get it flying any bird of prey to a high standard is in itself a term of endherement without adding to it i take my hat off to people who do it properly and end up with a good imprint as there is so many pitfalls along the way and its easy for it to go all wrong with the smallest mistake. Mind you one advantage may be they are probably better at coping with stroppy teenagers if they have any of thier own.

[Graham Stuart]

You ever tried to handle a Parent reared EEO:yawinkle:

[Hardcore Hawker]

Quite right Barney im not attacking owl keepers but i would have taken it as read in the case of owls that they need to be imprints to be mangeable in any sense of the word and was refurring to hawks and falcons also now our knowledge of imprinting has evolved eagles when imprinted correctly seem to be an improvement over the parent reared alternative.

[Jackson]

for owls it is less stressful if you imprint them!!

also birds will fly at a higher weight!

if you want a display bird especially, ive heard it will make them stay closer - i gues this has to do with the high weight means they are not at a hunting weight!

a lot of people also say that you cant breed with an imprint - YOU CAN!

[Graham Stuart]

Quite right Barney im not attacking owl keepers but i would have taken it as read in the case of owls that they need to be imprints to be mangeable in any sense of the word and was refurring to hawks and falcons also now our knowledge of imprinting has evolved eagles when imprinted correctly seem to be an improvement over the parent reared alternative.

very true but tony may not know this.:yawinkle:

[Graham Stuart]

for owls it is less stressful if you imprint them!!

also birds will fly at a higher weight!

if you want a display bird especially, ive heard it will make them stay closer - i gues this has to do with the high weight means they are not at a hunting weight!

a lot of people also say that you cant breed with an imprint - YOU CAN!

Last christmas when i was away for a week my 2 nieghbours both decided to feed my barn owl not knowing the other was feeding him resulting in him going from 10 oz to nearly 15 oz, and when i returned he still came to me (a bit slower )the fat ****** lol:yawinkle:

[Jackson]

imprint barney???

does anyone actually fly an pr owl?? i cant imagine doing that with any of ours!!!

[Graham Stuart]

Reared from the day it hatched by the owner an i got him at 4 weeks :heart:

[Berkut]

why do people imprint birds?
Tony,
As a generalisation falcons are usually imprinted for breeding purposes ie they can then be bred quite easily by artificial insemination and the success rate is far higher than using natural pairs,therefore allowing the breeding of the hybrid falcons.Some gamehawkers like flying imprints and do very well with them.Flying falcons off the fist at gulls or crows with an imprint is less likely as you require a fair bit of weight reduction which encourages screaming.
I prefer parent reared for all types of hunting with falcons but that is just a personal preference.
Imprinting goshawks or any accipiter is primarily done to produce a far more easy going bird as they are by nature very nervous.You can fly them at a far higher weight and they are generally bomb proof if done properley.
They can also be bred from by AI as imprints but certainly initially the main reasons are related to hunting.
Owls I have little experience of, but generally I would say they tend to be far healthier and happier in captivity if imprinted.
Eagles can be imprinted but I am still sitting on the fence as to the advantages of this.My parent reared ones indicate from their behaviour that there is no real need to imprint an eagle.
I hope this answers your question to some degree but it is a topic that you could talk about all day.
All the best.

[Tony15]

thanks berkut:-D

[Game & Pursuit Falcon UK]

With the Gyr falcon its an extremely good way of reducing stress during training and handling thus avoiding asper.

[Tim Laycock]

why do people imprint birds?

Because some (myself included) like to start out with a blank canvas and colour it with learning from the onset.

[Barn Owl]

imprint barney???

does anyone actually fly an pr owl?? i cant imagine doing that with any of ours!!!
I fly a parent reared GHO, but only from glove to glove

[MitchellBrad]

With the Gyr falcon its an extremely good way of reducing stress during training and handling thus avoiding asper.

Hey K,

I've got a passage gyrfalcon that has survived two hawking seasons, well 1 1/4. A little sporonox and that was it. There are quite a few older intermewed passage gyrs about. Gyrfalcons get asper, no doubt about it. Parent reared and imprints get asper and, if your bird is going to get it it will get it. I'm now leaning towards the idea asper may be one of nature's controls on these birds populations. Face it, anything that is as effective as a gyr there has to be some sort of natural control otherwise they'd have eaten everything in sight and invaded everywhere. It's like mom nature said, "I made you to be the biggest, fastest and most effective falcon. There is only one better than you, the golden eagle, remember that. Oh, by the way if you venture south some of you are gonna die. Fungus and little bugs called mosquitoes have your number." In short, I'm not 100% convinced imprinting gyrfalcons is actually the reason to prevent disease. It may help but possibly these birds were going to tip over no matter what. Plus an eyeas gyr is as cute as a new puppy, which has a lot of appeal. I can't tell you the number of times the ones I had would untie my shoes. If they'd learned to tie them together I'd have been on my nose. Plus if you don't do it right an imprinted gyr might not lay until it's 8 or olders. A lot of chamber raised gyrs have laid at 3 or 4.

[Game & Pursuit Falcon UK]

My jerkin has been copulating for most of this A.I. season here in the UK. Also he was mounting the hat as a first year bird. So as you say it deffinately accelerates breeding. You never know he might actually give me some semen before the years out.

[MitchellBrad]

My jerkin has been copulating for most of this A.I. season here in the UK. Also he was mounting the hat as a first year bird. So as you say it deffinately accelerates breeding. You never know he might actually give me some semen before the years out.

The one I had mounted the foot as a one year old. Went to the knee in his second season. The third season he'd hop the hat and make a deposit. I think gyrkins are a lot different than the females when it comes to reproduction. In other words you can screw them up a little and they will still turn into good hat birds. It's a male thing. On the other hand many of the females are pretty tight with their eggs. They may go through the motions but not drop an egg for a few more years, probably a female thing.

[Jackson]

I fly a parent reared GHO, but only from glove to glove

have you flown imprints? if so how do they compare?
what can and cant you do with your pr? i know if we try going near the pr owls they may get batey but that could be down to no training!

[Barn Owl]

have you flown imprints? if so how do they compare?
what can and cant you do with your pr? i know if we try going near the pr owls they may get batey but that could be down to no training!
I have an imprint EEO, but again I only fly him from glove to glove. I have decided to spend a lot more time with the GHO and see what he is capable of, who knows he may even catch a bunny????

[MattSpar]

For most of my falconry life an imprint was something to be avoided at all costs. Nasty, bad mannered screaming things we thought, and we were right, because we had no notion of social imprinting techniques.
Now, all that's changed. I have social imprints of my own and they bring a whole new concept into the game. Once the principles are understood, the production of a well adjusted, well mannered imprint has no mystery to it. It's certainly not rocket science. In fact, if one understands birds of prey, it's mostly a matter of commonsense.
I still fly non imprints as well, but as one may gather, I'm a convert.