bow perches and running chains

[Claire]

most people on her seem to free loft there hawks so I guess it doesn't apply but of those who tether thir hawks, i wondered how many use running chains. we used this system at the centre i worked in and it worked well. the only problem was it was possible for a bird to go under the bow and get stuck so we didnt use them at night.
Your views please

[Shaun Byrne]

There is a way to prevent this. At each end of the running line, thread on a tennis ball with a hole through it. You will need either a stop knot or something to stop the tennis ball sliding any closer than about 1/2 metre from the bow. The sliding ring goes on the line on the opposite side of the tennis ball to the bow. When you tie or clip your bird to the sliding ring all you need to do is make sure it only has enough leash to reach the bow plus a little slack. This way the bird cannot pass the bow either ove or under.

Hope you can follow this lol!!

[Claire]

I dont have a pic but you have two bow perches connected by a chain. thre is a ring on the chain and you tether the bird to this this way the bird is free to use either bow usually one sheltered and one open

[Bill]

I'm not dure hawka has a solution to the bird going through the bow. If it has enough leash to sit on it, surely it can walk under.

How about:
As you are not tethering to a ring on the bow (it is on the wire / chain) the bow can have some cross pieces, as are fitted to ring perches, to stop the hawk walking through it. Simple. :wink:

[IAmTheWeasel]

Here is a perch set up that you may want to try. It deals with the cable set up tied between a shelter and this a- frame perch The perch is set at 90 degrees to the birds approach which forces the bird to slow down more to land.
http://www.falconrybirds.com/Pics/perches/aframe_perch.jpg

[Shaun Byrne]

I'm not dure hawka has a solution to the bird going through the bow. If it has enough leash to sit on it, surely it can walk under.

How about:
As you are not tethering to a ring on the bow (it is on the wire / chain) the bow can have some cross pieces, as are fitted to ring perches, to stop the hawk walking through it. Simple. :wink:

It works perfect Bill, I have 2 HH on a similar rig right now. To walk through the bow the birds need enough slack to get past the bow and back on from the other side, with this rig there is only enough slack to reach the bow and no further.

One point to remember is to have some kind of backboard or wall behind the bow to prevent the bird overshooting at full speed.

[Shaun Byrne]

Just had a look at the frame Weasel, the only problem with it is like I said. the bird can come to an abrupt stop if it overshoots the perch.

[IAmTheWeasel]

Well, to be honest...I wouldn't use a set up like this as it has too many possible disasters waiting to happen. This type of wire from perch to perch is more commonly used with creanceing. Just add about a 5-6 foot leash to the ring that slides along the cable.....

[Sparrow Hawker]

Hi All,

Found this courtesey of Derry Argue's Website, Hope he doesn't mind me putting this up on here.

http://www.adviegundogs.co.uk/buyadvie.htm#quail

"The Trolley System -- I am indebted to Henri Desmont for describing the trolley system for keeping hawks. Basically, this involves tethering the hawk to a running wire. The hawk has the choice of two "houses" at either end of the wire, plus perches and a bath in betwen. Of course, everything has to be constructed and arranged so there is no chance of the hawk becoming hung up or snagged. I have kept my goshawk on this system for over two years without a single bent feather and I am thoroughly converted. I can even call my hawk to the fist for feeding along the length of the wire during the moult and there is no risk of panic attacks when I enter an aviary. It also seems to keep the hawk relatively fit as KK took two pheasants on the wing in three days in February after sitting idle for eight weeks while I was off following prostate surgery".

[Sparrow Hawker]

Another Pic

"Details: Left is the only photo I have at the moment. Click to enlarge as usual. I will post more later. The hawk's leash is attached to a small yachting pulley (a small steel ring would be just as good) which runs on a length of galvanized is 2.5mm high tensile fencing wire that I use for permanent electric fencing on the farm. The ends of the wire are run right through the huts and tied to a steel stake at each end. There is a wire tensioner on the line outside beyond the hut to keep the wire tight. The wire is an inch or two above ground level so the leash drags on the grass and (I think) makes the hawk work and keeps him fit. A stop clamped onto the wire stops the pulley so the leash is left just long enough for the hawk to sit on the perch. The perch is 2 inch diameter hard wood (hazel). I cut a flat on the underside with the bandsaw and bolted this to 1 inch box section which in turn is welded to a bracket, then bolted to the 1 inch X 3 inch upright at the back of the hut. I put the windbreak under the perch after the gos got a jess either side of the perch and got caught up. I also pushed a piece of wire into the ground, bent the top 2 inches at right angles, and drove it into the end of the perch as an added precaution. The windbreak under the bow perch is there for the same reason -- to prevent the possibility of the hawk going under the perch and getting the leash tangled. The bow perch is a hazel staff cut out of the wood, then steam bent and held in shape with a "bow string" of galvanized steel wire. The huts are each made from two sheets of secondhand corrugated iron sheeting on timber frames. I secured the frames by driving lengths of steel angle iron into the ground, then bolting to the wooden frame -- we get wind here in the north of Scotland! The whole set up cost me under 5GBP (about 7USD) as nearly all the materials were secondhand".

All The Best HH

[Claire]

wow thats an impressive set up what I have seen before was much simpler and really just so that the hawk could get out of the rain

[Bod]

I was wondering is it possible to use the running chain method whilst a bod is in moult as an alternative method to a chamber or moulting fixed to a bow pearch

[Shaun Byrne]

Yes Bod, as long as your set up prevents the bird crashing or clinging to anything it will be fine mate.

[Bod]

My missis aint too happy with me cutting her Acer tree down to make a decent sized chamber to moult the harris in. Reckon I could make a running chain outfit which might suit until I find a way of killing the tree. Natural causes of course.

[BrianM]

a wee copper nail will do it

[Bod]

Nice one Brian that's subtle I was thinking more along the lines of cutting the roots with a spade next time she goes out. Trouble is the fairer sex don't understand the real necessities of life.
Mind you missus thinks I've got it in for trees just cleared the whole garden of leylandii. Some of them were 30 foot tall.

[Shaun Byrne]

Tiny little hole near ground level, squirt a little diesel in and the leaves will fall off in days!!

[Spudy]

the copper nail bit works it just took a while for the tree to fade but it did look as if it had died of NATURAL CAUSES lol.

[StormRider]

Hey peeps, Im just looking at this thread out of curiosity. With regards to this setup, does the bird fly from perch to perch or does it mainly hop and walk. Is it best to run the line along the ground or a couple of inches above it?
STU

[Claire]

Hey peeps, Im just looking at this thread out of curiosity. With regards to this setup, does the bird fly from perch to perch or does it mainly hop and walk. Is it best to run the line along the ground or a couple of inches above it?
STU
I've set up a running chain for my kes and put the wire about an inch above the gravel, my set up is very light weight as it has to be for her as she's only little, it works fine she can sit out when she wants and get shelter when she needs too. the running chains for the hawks at the centre were simply a chain conecting 2 bows laying on top of the gravel (loose) the ring was on the chain and the bird tethered to that. the ones i have seen the bird simply hops from one to the other but some of the pics on here I think the bird can fly from one to the other