Goshawk info please

[Hawkin Bob 2]

just wondering how people keep their goshawks ie freelofted and if parent reared how often u fiy be honest:?:i know of guys who fly parent reared at weekends and jump them during the week and to me there good birds

[Tom Kent Gos]

I keep mine on a bow perch all the time. I fly her as much as I can, I dont really have set days. Some times I fly her twice a week some times every day, but normally I fly about four times a week.

I don't do jump ups or rope training, I find that for me personally that I get no gain from it.

Regards

Tom

[ScuffMan]

I keep my GOS on Screen Perch, Bow and Raptor Post. I take her out obviousley as much as possible with rope/ jump ups in between. I have a decent GOS.......I think :lol:

[Stu Bailey]

Raptor post most of the time p/r

[GosBags]

Always kept on bow perch, flown 4times weekly, unless its lashing down with rain, definately flys better in strong winds!!

Regards
Bags.

[Lee Brindley]

I keep mine on a bow perch all the time.


Always kept on bow perch.

Does this mean you moult them out on a bow?

[Hawkin Bob 2]

I keep mine on a bow perch all the time. I fly her as much as I can, I dont really have set days. Some times I fly her twice a week some times every day, but normally I fly about four times a week.

I don't do jump ups or rope training, I find that for me personally that I get no gain from it.

Regards

Tom

thanks tom is she p/r

[Hawkin Bob 2]

are goshawks ok on bowes or posts in the mews if it cold

[OutFlying]

are goshawks ok on bowes or posts in the mews if it cold


Yes,
The design of your mews so be that drafts or windchill are at a minimum.

Jim.

[Hawkin Bob 2]

thanks jim so they can handly the cold better than harris hawks

[W Jenkins]

Hi Jim hope you are well regaring this lads post due the cold nights coming in i was contemplating the raptor post whats your views on i was always told that if were used it should be watched constantly,1.0 metre off the ground:confused:

ATB


Wullie

[OutFlying]

Being a european species yes they can handle the cold better.

A gos only flown at weekends will not obtain it's full potential.

Jim

[OutFlying]

Hi Jim hope you are well regaring this lads post due the cold nights coming in i was contemplating the raptor post whats your views on i was always told that if were used it should be watched constantly,1.0 metre off the ground:confused:

ATB


Wullie

Hello Wullie,
Never used a raptor post, or want to.

All the best Jim.

[GosBags]

Does this mean you moult them out on a bow?

moults out in small avairy! kept on bow perch in flying season.

[Hawkin Bob 2]

moults out in small avairy! kept on bow perch in flying season.

is it p/r and do u fly alot thanks

[Hawkin Bob 2]

just another :?: the rabbits u catch do u use for food or is it all the goodies rat,quail etc

[GosBags]

Its flown roughly about 4 times a wk its now in its 5th season and just seems 2 get better every yr!!

[OutFlying]

just another :?: the rabbits u catch do u use for food or is it all the goodies rat,quail etc


A gos fed on rats and quail is in the moult - keeping a gos in hunting condition, this won't be fed on rats and quail. Rabbit is fine.

[MusketMad]

I keep mine on a bow perch all the time. I fly her as much as I can, I dont really have set days. Some times I fly her twice a week some times every day, but normally I fly about four times a week.

I don't do jump ups or rope training, I find that for me personally that I get no gain from it.

Regards

Tom
well you wouldnt get any gain ...you aint jumping are you:D

i personally find that when flying shortwings jump ups are an essential part of the birds exercise when they cant be flown...each to their own though

[Hawkin Bob 2]

what about them missing game and heading for the nearest trees and sulking does that happen alot to u guys

[OutFlying]

what about them missing game and heading for the nearest trees and sulking does that happen alot to u guys


No, not when a gos is on weight or in true condition.

[W Jenkins]

Hello Wullie,
Never used a raptor post, or want to.

All the best Jim.

So you dont trust them Jim


ATB


Wullie

[OutFlying]

So you dont trust them Jim


ATB


Wullie


Never had a reason to use one Wullie.

[Gary B]

Never had a reason to use one Wullie.

can some one explain reason why some like the post and some dont please whats main reason they were designed please thank you gary

[Pendleside]

my gos is kept on a bow with no problems .
last season she was flown most days with regular kills the order of the day .
she was a pleasure to fly on fur or feather and flew hard , pumping all the way intent on killing the quarry .
pheasants were regularly taken at considerable distances from the point of slip.

this year due to my ankle injury it is a completely different story .
we had a very late start and all seemed well at first .
a few rabbits were killed and she seemed happy enough .
as quarry on my flat land got harder to find then the problems started .
i am still not mobile enough to cover rough terrain to find enough quarry for her as my ankle gives up and is then useless for a few days.
her commitment on pheasants is not to the same standard , a previously completely silent imprint has started calling at home when she see's me (still silent away from home -even by a matter of yards) and there are early signs of aggression to the dog in the field .
in my opinion these problems are directly linked to the lack of regular kills .

you cant fly a gos to its full potential as a weekend bird .
she is still flown most days , but if i am to be truthful its more excercise than flying as its quarry in her feet that she really needs .:oops:
with hindsight i would have been better to leave her this season , get my ankle 100% right for next season and fly a harris this year as they are more suited to the kind of flying i can currently offer to my gos .

being a clever tw&t i didnt listen to good advice from friends who said i would struggle with a dodgy leg .
how right they were .:(

[Jack]

I never did like to tether a hawk or a falcon unless in transport or weathering. I have always free lofted my hawks, and I have built myself a specially designed mews ( aviary to most of you guys) for my accipiters. I have free lofted falcon, hawk, buteo, and parabuteo, and they all seemed to do quite well. I am not sure why others prefer to tether their hawks and falcons during the hunting season or even during the molt. I have found that if the chamber has plenty of flying room you can place your perches high and low and they stay a bit more fit. They don't take a lot of flying to harden them up. In fact, I seldom ever use exercise techniques with my hawks. I feel that if I have time to do all that, I probably have time to fly them at something. But then I am fully retired and have plenty of time to fly them.

Jack

[rktaylor56]

Dear Sir,
I have flown goshawks a while. My favorite, a Blue Mountains Western, was kept for eight years before we parted company. She flew extremely well, thereafter for Mr. Steve Layman for a considerable while. In the process, as a falconer, I went from a novice position to beyond. Here is my experience:

I began committed, but not too. I built a predator proof fencing of cedar and posts around a part of my back yard. An overhead shake awning was provided with a bow perch. A bath was provided for each bird. The birds were subject to Owl attack at night. Since my hawk caught and killed Horned Owls, I did not consider it a problem in my youth. Do not believe that this is infallable. A tethered Gos is a hindered Gos.

In her first year, she killed 17 Belgian Hare on a weekend jaunt to San Juan Island, (and a total of a few hundred over the years).

As time went on, I moved from the Western Coast over the Cascade Range and bought a small new ranchette and built a mews. The Gos went into a mews 16' high at the center, and 12' x12'. Corner perches at 12' high. Her condition improved immensly.

Suddenly she was able to fly and kill Jackrabbits at 1000 yards and come back to the fist if I called. She suddenly started to produce eggs and build nest.

A gos is a long lived critter. Anything goes, depending on your means. Good luck.

[Redeye]

just wondering how people keep their goshawks ie freelofted and if parent reared how often u fiy be honest:?:i know of guys who fly parent reared at weekends and jump them during the week and to me there good birds

Moulted loose in a large pen. During the season he is kept on a high ring when not being flown and goes into a small weathering at night.
A good week he is flown 6days, a poor week 4days. If I could not fly him a min of 4days I would not have a gos.
Dont bother with jumps etc on the non flying days as I think the high ring replicates this, never tried rope training.

[Gos]

i allways bow mine

[GoodFooter]

I keep mine on a bow or shelf loop perch while hunting and moult loose in a seclusion pen. Feed alot of rabbit though the season + some of what ever else she catches. ( fed a few chick recently as they are easy to sneak medication in).

In the depths winter I hunt 2 days a week and try to spread those days as far apart. weather permitting Thurs & Sunday there are weeks where I do more eg beginning and end of the season.

Fitness I now do rope training in favour of jump but no question that chasing game is the way to get a gos fit.Along with rope I give my hawk what I call a flap about every day and that might be 5 or so casts in to a tree or I 'll have her semi following on through the orchards at the back of my house.....this keeps her manageable and also on her toes by throwing a lure out now and again.

Rosie isnt the most productive game hawk ...I openly acknowledge she would need to be hunted more but then again were I in a position to do that I'd fly an imprint. Bearing in mind she has been out of proper action for 1 month due to her foot she has still managed 19 decent kills and 5 or so that I wont count... were it not for her foot I would easily add 15 to that.

So I'd say it is certainly possible to hunt a gos just at weekends but it highly unlikely to be a 'top game hawk'. You have to work on fitness by artificial means. you will still clock up a good few bunnies in reasonable style. Dont expect the 1/2 mile pheasant flights as standard!....as getting her in the zone will be far more difficult buy good telemetry. You'll never take the gos to the top of her ability. You will probably also get some noise from a some what bored Gos. When training her in the first yr you'll have light evening so clock up as many kills as possible before the evening draw in.

Only my thoughts and I'd probably still fly a gos if I was restricted to weekend and accept it wont be a good as one flown more often.

Rob

[SparsTheOne]

I have a PR finnish female thats keep on a bow/screen perch on the weathering through the day,and boxed in the evenings,during the moult she will be free lofted,The only thing that has stopped me flying her is heavy rain and that didnt stop me today,and I agree with other people on here,To get the best out of your goshawk she or he should be hunting or rope training/flown in some way every day of the week.


jase.

[Bones]

I keep my PR reared goss on screen perch apart from when a bath is offered to her then she is placed on the bow as i find when i put her on the bow for any period of time she tends to bate a hell of a lot digging a big arc in the ground lol

PAUL

[Keith Barker]

hello bob,
i keep my gos on the high ringperch during the day all weathers except torrential constant rain. if the weather is this bad i put him under the barn for shelter.
at night he is roosted on a screenperch high up in the rafters of one of the buildings around the back, he is happy there, out of draughts and away from any predators.
he is flown every day when he makes weight regardless of the weather, he is an imprint male.
keith

[Tom Kent Gos]

Does this mean you moult them out on a bow?

This year she went to moult in a big free loft pen at my dads. But I have moulted a gos on a bow before and it was a good clean moult.

Tom

[Yeoman]

My pr female is kept on a screen perch and weathered on a raptor post and is out hunting 7 days a week weather permitting
Kev

[Gosman_2]

My P/R female gos is kept on a raptor post in the mews about 5 ft high and weathered on another type of post in the garden about 6 ft high

[OutFlying]

My imprint male is weathered on the bow perch, otherwise on a screen perch.

Jim.

[Hawkin Bob 2]

how about ferreting are ur goshawks fine with ferrets or do most of u work dogs thanks

[SparsTheOne]

how about ferreting are ur goshawks fine with ferrets or do most of u work dogs thanks

both,my female isnt that keen on strange dogs but is great with my dog that she,s seen since day one,as for the ferrets she,s mustard with them and has also seen them since day one,if i,m ferreting on my own I dont hold the jesses at all and if the ferret comes out of the hole with any speed all I get is a twitch on the glove,then she settles,waiting for the ferret to go back in and the rabbit to bolt and then she changes and turns into a demon hunting machine when the rabbit bolts.


jase.

[Bones]

Mine is fine with my own dogs but gets a little unsteady with strange dogs and was wanting to nail the ferret when she first seen them but since has settled with them but i still wouldnt trust her 100% with a ferret just yet lol

PAUL

[Yeoman]

how about ferreting are ur goshawks fine with ferrets or do most of u work dogs thanks

My Gos will work with any type of dog and ferrets
Kev

[Wapity]

this year my gos start to work with different dogs, and exept the fist minutes everithigs is ok

ciao Gaicomo

[Stu Bailey]

My Gos will work with any type of dog and ferrets
Kev

I think ive been lucky,never worked with ferrets but my current Gos will work well over any dog so far inc-Vizlas,gsp's,gwp's springers & brittanies,6 dogs on 1 meet & has took well to groups (feild meets) in this his 1st season.

Atb Stu..

[EagleMan]

My bird was a parent reared gos, 6 months old when I saved her, she was caugh by an pigeon fancier, I recuperated her, healed an feed.
Now she is free hunting in the woods