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LanczSpringer
19-01-2005, 11:32 PM
Hi

Just a quick questinon to all you guys/girls who know much more than I do!

I am going to be getting a Harris next year for my first bird! Cant wait!!

What sub species would you sugest? I will be looking for mainly rabbits but I might have the chance to stock a few woods and ponds up!! :P

Also what sex would you sugest?



Shaun Byrne
19-01-2005, 11:35 PM
As a well known falconer once told me "big male, small female".
Varmint
20-01-2005, 07:03 AM
"big male, small female".
:wink:
Finnish
20-01-2005, 09:51 AM
GET A MALE YOU NO IT MAKES SENCE :lol: :lol:
North East Harris Hawker
05-02-2005, 06:52 AM
go for the largest male you can get your hands on (parent reared for 16 wks min)
Shaun Byrne
05-02-2005, 07:56 AM
Or a small female about the same age! lol!
HawkNorth
05-02-2005, 09:00 PM
any good feather birds i seen were big males
Jiff
05-02-2005, 09:10 PM
i got the biggest female i could find as the end game for me is to nail a hare but to be brutaly honnest when i first whent to see the youngsters i wouldnt have been bothered what sex i got,i'm actualy now concidering a male as a second bird, i love em mate and i dont think it matters that much, male or female,having said that she is my first bird so a suppose i'm seeing things with my rose tinted glasses on. :wink:
Shaun Byrne
05-02-2005, 10:05 PM
I've always gone for big females Jiff, for the same basic reason as you Hares. Living in Lincs we have loads of them but to be honest for the few I have had over the years I've decided to downsize for speed and more exciting flights. The little FHH I bought off Varmint has really opened my eyes, she flies at 1lb 12, is as fast as a small male and last week nailed and held a doe rabbit weighing 4lb 13 after a 240yd+ flight (I paced it back) My breeding pair produce males up to 1lb 10 and i thought they were exciting but this little girl is in a class of her own. No doubt it has a lot to do with the training and experience she has but the flights I'm getting out of her I would never get out of one of my big HH.

From now on its Big Male, Small Female for me!
LanczSpringer
12-03-2005, 02:08 PM
There are quite alot of hares near me!
Would a big male manage a hare?
I an thinking of a big male as I fancy being able to take feather aswell.
I guess a big male will nail a hare but I would need to be there quickly to help it out?

Anyone got any experience of hares and MHH??
Hawkmaster
12-03-2005, 02:29 PM
They will all take fur and feather. Males of 1lbs 7oz have taken them with all the skill in the world.
HawkNorth
12-03-2005, 09:24 PM
my 1st year i built an avery for a female harris it took me that long the guy lost interest so i ended up with a male in my eyes he was a brilliant
bird liked magpies one of his flights was cutting grass for about 150 yards
my 1st magpie in the bag he took big rabbits though wasnt proper introduced some nice indirect flights from him if things where slow he would look into the distants if duck ponds where near by buster was 5 and a fourth oz
Coedhirion
13-03-2005, 10:42 PM
My first year Male Harris flew at 1lb 9.1/2 so probably a bit more next season. No hares around but stopped 4lb 7oz rabbit no trouble despite being hard slip down hill & having to stop it going over a bank. also took large cock pheasant & that fat hen. Male or female, go for best breeder with best reputation you can find that is most important. there's lots of people producing Harris now, at this rate it will be buy one get one free!!! :D trouble is they dont all know what they are doing!! Just go for the very best.
North East Harris Hawker
14-03-2005, 10:18 PM
so what are you gonna get?
LanczSpringer
16-03-2005, 07:34 AM
Umm tough one!

I think it will either be a "big male or small female" ;-)

my last exam is on the 18th may then its mews building for me!
Sean
16-03-2005, 09:07 AM
Ive told told its very very hard to enter a male on rabbits and very likely he wont kill a rabit in his first year. what do use think
OutFlying
16-03-2005, 09:18 AM
somebody is pulling your leg :lol: . You should start him off on younger rabbits and with success will move onto the larger ones as his fitness and confidence levels increase. In a hawk's first season they are usually keener to try and fly anything, no bad experiences.
Outflying.
Shaun Byrne
16-03-2005, 09:01 PM
I agree, get them on late Autumn rabbits that way they will be ready for the mid winter hard cases!
Sean
16-03-2005, 09:16 PM
thansk for teh advice guys
Gary.B
17-04-2005, 07:20 AM
So what flying weight are we calling a large male, small female? :?
Goldie
17-04-2005, 05:04 PM
So what flying weight are we calling a large male, small female? :?

IMO a large male would be 1lb.10+ and a small female would be 2lb max.
As a rough guide:- Males below 1.6 are small, 1.7 - 1.9 are average.
Females 2.1 - 2.5 are average, 2.6 - 2.9 are large.

Outwith these sizes are very small and very big :lol:
Kevin Massey
17-04-2005, 06:40 PM
h4wka

my females mustard @ 1 lb 15 3/4.....she has never had any problems either from being a smaller bird taking rabbits and pheasants etc.
i personal feel its the fitness and confidence of the hawk that out weighs the size of the hawk, i think its a wast of time having a massive bird that cant keep up with the quarry....
kev
Gary.B
17-04-2005, 08:22 PM
IMO a large male would be 1lb.10+ and a small female would be 2lb max.
As a rough guide:- Males below 1.6 are small, 1.7 - 1.9 are average.
Females 2.1 - 2.5 are average, 2.6 - 2.9 are large
Thanks Goldie, thats the answer I was looking for.
Gary.
North East Harris Hawker
19-04-2005, 01:20 AM
anything over 1lb 8 and under 2lb2 usually makes for a pretty nifty bird!
that said, there are exceptions! 8)
EddieT
19-04-2005, 03:14 PM
Weight isn't the be all and end all of the matter. As someone wiser than I once said, "It's not the size of the bird in the fight, is the size of fight in the bird" (or something like that!). The personality and attitude of a bird is so very important and this is not just something bred into a bird its also the way it's trained and managed.

And then there's foot size to consider.....
Ben C
20-04-2005, 01:19 PM
Get a male harris and imp some Gos feathers in, should do ya nicely.
ColdZero
20-04-2005, 05:24 PM
Get a male harris and imp some Gos feathers in, should do ya nicely.

i don't see the logic of this at all....


The stats say that most prefer MHH. Certainly not representatie is it, females are way more expensive and sell better.
Kevin Massey
20-04-2005, 07:59 PM
cz,

the problem is you are asking a question on indeviduals prefrence !!! and the first 6 replies may not be the same as the next 6 replies..... i see these type of questions asked over and over again....not always in the same context granted, and longer standing members of this forum and other forums i will add, cant be bothered to answer .... hence you wont get a strait answer that makes sence...advice is to read !!! through the forum there you will find more answers than you think !!

kev
Tim Laycock
24-04-2005, 07:37 PM
I wouldnt recomend a Harris as a first bird because when you have manned it, trained it, entered it, flown it, moulted it and done it all over again, you may perhaps start to think about flying something a little more demanding, like a shortwing.(and you probably will! :wink:) If you adopt the same approach used for the Harris and you will come unstuck at a very early stage in the proceedings.

For a first bird I would recomend a male Redtail, many will probably disagree but in my opinion its the way to go.

I wouldnt raise an eyebrow at someone moving on from a redtail to a gos
but in the case of a Harris to a gos I would have my reservations
Kevin Massey
25-04-2005, 12:36 AM
For a first bird I would recomend a male Redtail, many will probably disagree

bb look through the other topics on this and most will agree with you there bud

kev
Tim Laycock
25-04-2005, 01:23 AM
bb look through the other topics on this and most will agree with you there bud

I see what you mean :)
Shaun Byrne
25-04-2005, 06:32 AM
cz,

the problem is you are asking a question on indeviduals prefrence !!! and the first 6 replies may not be the same as the next 6 replies..... i see these type of questions asked over and over again....not always in the same context granted, and longer standing members of this forum and other forums i will add, cant be bothered to answer .... hence you wont get a strait answer that makes sence...advice is to read !!! through the forum there you will find more answers than you think !!

kev

Exactly!! Well said mate.
RabbitHawker
25-04-2005, 07:27 AM
I would go for a good sized male, esp. if you are flying in woods or cover, as they are that bit more manourrable. Some say males will lose more rabbits, but I have not found that to be the case, and they grab some a female would'nt have anyway. Only reason to go for a female is for hares.
BlackHawke
25-04-2005, 07:49 AM
my first little male was flying 1lb 5 to 1lb 6 he'd been flying free for just under a week. put him up in a tree he flew up n immediatly flew out straight on a rabbit! proud father time!!! :D he was an awesome little bird!

i've got a female harris at the min but i think i'll be looking to get a largish male this year aswell.

jade got hare this season only 1 great flight, eventually caught it by the back leg through a bush! the bush was taking a good kicking form the hare the old heart was pumping but if that bush weren't there it wouldv'e been jade taking that kicking!!!!!