Memoirs of Geisha

[RedNoseK9]

Well this is a story that has been a long time coming as most will already since febuary this year i have had the pleasure of looking after a female golden eagle.
She is a pure berkut Female bred by George Musserad in 2006 her history is a little bit of a mystery but it is belived to be something like this she was sold to man to imprint i belive he her for a few months but she was kept as a garden ornament and was never trained so was sold back to George who sold her on to Terry (kentish falconry).
Terry put the female into an aviary but soon realised that a young eagle was wasted sat there doing nothing so after a conversation we decided that i would train and fly her.
This is a story that will follow both of our progress all be it not a diary as i will not be making daily updates just as and when they are needed.
The first thing i did with the eagle was to name her and due to the time i spent in japan and the beauty in what i saw i decided to name her Geisha after the japaneese geisha girls.


When i collected Geisha she had no training at all and was not comfortable on the glove she had damage to her primarys due to being freelofted and to her tail tips but it is only minor as well as her talons not being as sharp as i would like.
When i got her home and put her out on her bow she immediately baited away and refused to sit on the bow and at any sight of people would bait in the opposite direction, if i did manage to get in and pick her up when i got hr to sit on the fist she would clamp my hand so hard that it made my eyes water (literally) but i knew i had to persevere.

Well lets skip forward and let you know where i am at.
Geisha is currently at a very fat weight as i am trying to encourage here to molt but before i put her fat i had managed to get to the stage of her coming on the creance a distance of about 100 yds, she was still aggressive on food and would try to intimidate me but i kept pushing through this as i knew i couldnt give her an inch.
Now i am at the point that i can walk over to geisha on her bow and she will not bait atall but simply step up to the fist where she seems very at home perhaps due to the endless hours i have spent walking with her.
Another hurdle i have had to try an overcome has been hooding as she had never been hooded but she will now hood although not happy with it she can be hooded.
Her aggression on food is practically disappeared now as i sit with her everytime she feeds and try to play with her whilst she is eating she does try and carry some times as she was used to grabing her food and moving to a food ledge but i am sure this will straighten out.
Well i belive thats all for now i am looking forward to this season and getting her entred although i will not be able to hunt her everyday i will fly her everyday and try to do at least 2 days a week serious hunting.
This is the first eagle i have trained but iam very happy with my progress so far and i am looking forward to sharing ideas with everyone.

[Talon]

good looking bird,i wish you all the best with her.




kev

[Liam_Thompson]

looking forward to hearing her progress mate she is a beatui and a big girl atb

[OutFlying]

Fair sized lump that Wez,
What you going to hunt with her ?

Jim.

[GaryPCO]

all good wez,shes come along well wish you all the best with her m8!!!;)

[RedNoseK9]

Intending to fly her at hare and fox although i heard bambi is crappin it

Lots of blue hare though frequent trips to scotland i hope

Wez

[Graham Stuart]

You seem to be doing a very good job mate i couldnt believe the size of her when i visited Terry earlier in the year...all the best and keep us updated....Graham

[PeregrinesUK]

Are you treating her as if shes an imprint or more traditional p/r training?
good luck with her mate

[Berkut]

Nice one Wez.She is a stunner.

[Kentish Falconry]

Just to set the record straight, she was bred by George Mussared and collected from him at 10 weeks old, she was pretty tame to handle when I bought her but this was from her new owner not George, When she arrived here the weather was pretty sh*t so we decided to free loft her until the weather improved and then Wez wanted to take her on and fly her. There was at one time some slagging going on behind the scenes for my allowing a novice to take on a Golden Eagle but IMHO a Falconer with 12 years experience is not a novice and the slagging was unjustified. All Eagle Falconers had to start somewhere so why not Wez at least we know he is fit enough to keep up with her :lol:
I get weekly if not more frequent updates from Wez and I know he has been talking to Berkut regarding her training so we will see how she goes this year with Wez.
She was bought to go into our breeding project when she comes of age but until then I feel it is better for her to be flown and hunted.
All the best with her Wez, just get her on those Blue Hares I need a few hundred to feed all her friends on over the next year :lol:
Terry

[Berkut]

Is that your date of birth on your arm Wez.

[Ostler]

good work Wez hope to hear more Geisha Chronicles soon.

[Kentish Falconry]

No it's his batch number and thank goodness they broke the mould after he was manufactured :lol: :lol: :supz:

[Goldie]

Is that your date of birth on your arm Wez.

No its his target for the season :supz:
25 hares
7 fox
84 misc.

Real nice looking bird Wes

[Rabbit Killer]

Very nice bird, hope she does the business in the field.
Despite what some people say, Goldies are spectacular.
I've been there and done it.
Been out with Tony Scott and seen these magnificant birds at work in the Cheviots (Northumberland).
ATB.

[FalconMistress]

lol Wez just remember treat her like a lady, just agree with everything she has to say and u will fine. :lol: :supz:

ATB

sophie

[HawkEagle]

She is a stunner, keep us posted and dont forget the pics.

[TimDog80]

good luck with her mate im sure you'll make a top bird out of her:supz:



.............tim:D

[ScuffMan]

I know it would take a fair bit of courage taking on the Mother of all birds with it being your first one as well. Good luck with her....nice one.
Neil.

[TLDWB]

She looks the part.

Good luck
Tom

[Thorwen]

Beautiful, with a very fitting name :) Good luck with her!

[Fawkes]

She is huge! Looks like if you want to go into eagles, you go the whole way! Looking forward to hearing of her training hunting this fall.

[PitBullOne]

wes when it comes it will be the quickest kick youve ever seen,and hurt the most ,shes looking good,get her going nice and early on all the silly gear get her confidence up,i will be flying imprint female this season.it will be interesting to see who ends up in causualty first,you are so right if you let hr bully you once ,alls lost

[RedNoseK9]

Is that your date of birth on your arm Wez.


Neil that is an ex girlfriend less said an all that.

Thanx for everyones words i am looking forward to the season and i will fill you all in

Wez

[Gary F]

nice one wez,good luck

[Tim Laycock]

Wes, Nice musket! :mrgreen:

[Shaun Byrne]

Good luck Wez, she's stunning.:supz:

Watch she dont "ground and pound" you:lol:

[Haskins]

hi wez stunning bird, my be i could come out with you when she gets going.
love eagles.

[Muddy.Waters]

Nice one wes,I know you will do well with her ,I hope to be flying the same type of bird in 2 years time,,well done m8:supz:

[RedNoseK9]

Thanx guys

Thankyou Neil (Berkut) you have been very helpfull mate


Well Geisha will be accompanying me at the festival so you will all get to see her up close.

Wez

[RedNoseK9]

Well Geisha racked up her second kill this morning thats two now but the flights were rather disappointing in both as was the quarry.

[GaryPCO]

Well Geisha racked up her second kill this morning thats two now but the flights were rather disappointing in both as was the quarry.


getting there now m8 u watch shel have a mole next and ul be right sorted!!!!:finga:

[Big JoeJoe]

A kil is a kill Wez, I know you will be successful and make this eagle a great hunting bird :supz: :supz: :supz: :supz:

Cheers Joe

[TiercelJim]

good stuff mate,sounds like she's found a good home!
atb,jim

[Pendleside]

A kil is a kill Wez, I know you will be successful and make this eagle a great hunting bird :supz: :supz:

Cheers Joe

even if she has no feet left at the end of the season .:lol: :lol:

[Golden Hayabusa]

that's one powerfull girl right there....:lol:

[KiteTrainer]

Wez

How is she doing now, has she finished her moult and has the training started in ernest

John

[RedNoseK9]

Well she is turning out to be a nightmare as she is still chucking feathers and has a deck about 3/4 way down her new feathers that are coming through are jet black and i wish she would chuck them all but she is stubborn as hell when it comes to moulting no training started yet as she has feathers in blood and she is being left alone but i may try an put her in an aviary for a few weeks to hurry things along an option i wish i had taken earlier but thats heinsite for you i guess ill get some pics up later

[KiteTrainer]

Well she is turning out to be a nightmare as she is still chucking feathers and has a deck about 3/4 way down her new feathers that are coming through are jet black and i wish she would chuck them all but she is stubborn as hell when it comes to moulting no training started yet as she has feathers in blood and she is being left alone but i may try an put her in an aviary for a few weeks to hurry things along an option i wish i had taken earlier but thats heinsite for you i guess ill get some pics up later

I know it must be frustrating but they seem to take forever to moult at times

[HawkEagle]

Wes, my eagle is still moulting too but I still man her, fly her and getting her used to all the surrounding but not hunting. She is half way between fat weight and hunting weight. It's good in the way that she has lots of daily exercise and it makes the bird bond much better. As her moult comes to an end I can just drop her weight and she will be ready to go.

[RedNoseK9]

A few pics of my baby during the moult notice the tail feather coming down her primarys are still in bad shape and she hasnt dropped any of them unfortunateley

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i244/immortal831/IMG_53391.jpg


http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i244/immortal831/IMG_53501.jpg


http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i244/immortal831/IMG_53521.jpg


http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i244/immortal831/IMG_53481.jpg

[HawkEagle]

I thought my eagle was way slow in her moult but your goldie is a lot slower. It looks like she will only moult out about 30% of her flight feathers this season.

[RedNoseK9]

I know i am gutted that she has not moulted her primaries as they were damaged before i got her so it would of been nice.
A goldie takes a couple of years to fully moult so it is disappointin but we will make the most of the season

Wez

[Berkut]

I know i am gutted that she has not moulted her primaries as they were damaged before i got her so it would of been nice.
A goldie takes a couple of years to fully moult so it is disappointin but we will make the most of the season

Wez

Wez,
How is the hooding going. If you need feathers for imping give me a shout.
Neil.

[RedNoseK9]

Thanx so much neil i have not been hooding for a couple of weeks because as u can she has dropped all the feathers around her head and nape so the new dark ones are coming through as for imping mate i may pop an see you when she is finished an you can tell me what you think thanx again mate

wez

[RedNoseK9]

Just a quick update,

Geisha has 8 tail feathers and 4 are on their way down its very dpressing just watching her sit there,
She hasnt moulted any primaries and this is very disappointing as they are still in a bad way from her previous owner i am now starting to increase socialisation with her and will start the manning process a bit more as from monday but those tail feathers have a bit to go yet.

[SolidLeo]

Cracking looking bird m8 & nice pics:supz: :supz:

[Onyx25]

I know i am gutted that she has not moulted her primaries as they were damaged before i got her so it would of been nice.
A goldie takes a couple of years to fully moult so it is disappointin but we will make the most of the season

Wez

For what its worth my Bald eagle had some battered feathers before I bought him as he was kept on pea shingle, he moulted a bit when I was flying him, then a bit quicker when fat tethered. Once he reached somewhere near a fat weight I free lofted him in a seclusion aviary (2 weeks ago max) and an explosion of feathers happened instantly :lol: I know its too late now as she needs flying but it may be worth considering for the spring? Also natural honey helped I am sure. Good luck with her.

[Tim Laycock]

Wes,
Go easy on the honey or you will have a bald eagle like Titus :lol:

(Sorry :oops: )

[RedNoseK9]

Titus i am considering putting her in an aviary but i cant do that until there is room and that means im gonna have to man a male imprint until either her feathers drop or i decide to get her back out but it is something that is already in progress mate

Wez




Tim im gonna keep my honey on toast for now:yawinkle:

[Austringer84]

Great thread, keep it coming. and good luck.

si

[JoHo]

Hey Wez, how is Geisha's moult coming along? Been a while since any updates.

Johann

[RedNoseK9]

Hey johann

she has been put in an aviary and i am told dropped some feathers this week so i am afraid it is not looking like i will be flying her which i am absolutely gutted about but i am currently training a full imprint male which i will do i diary on as soon as things get to a more interesting stage thanx for the intrest

Wez

[JoHo]

Aw, that's a bummer mate, well in one respect but it must also be quite nice to know that next year she will look much better. She looks like a nice bird. I look forward to the diary , well of both birds.

[Gary F]

Hey johann

she has been put in an aviary and i am told dropped some feathers this week so i am afraid it is not looking like i will be flying her which i am absolutely gutted about but i am currently training a full imprint male which i will do i diary on as soon as things get to a more interesting stage thanx for the intrest

Wez
shame about female goldie,but look forward to reading diary on the male imprint,
atb
gary

[Pearl]

cracking looking goldie wez please keep us all informed mate good luck :supz:

[Laggan]

Hey johann

she has been put in an aviary and i am told dropped some feathers this week so i am afraid it is not looking like i will be flying her which i am absolutely gutted about but i am currently training a full imprint male which i will do i diary on as soon as things get to a more interesting stage thanx for the intrest

Wez

Disappointed for you Wez regarding Geisha but looking forward to your diary and learning about how things go with the imprint. Regards.

Iain