Imprinted HH's are they that bad?

[Varmint]

:arrow:

[Bod]

Adrian
Regarding the noise issue you asked at the Scottish Meet if anyone could tell the difference between your parent reared and crech reared HH flying at the weekend.
The answer was no. The crech reared didn't make a peep all weekend!

[Shaun Byrne]

To be honest I would fly either a PR or Imprint. I've seen both hunt and really couldn't say that either was better than the other. The imprints were calmer when making in but were a bit sticky footed when coming off the kill.
If any bird is imprinted properly I dont think they are any worse than PR, I think the only thing that puts people off is the potential noise issue.

[Wightwings]

agree totally with H4 i have a friend with a socially imprinted fem that is totally silent, and know at least two peeps with VERY noisy PR birds.

[Varmint]

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[Afshimo]

Hiya,

We have a food imprint harris hawk at the centre, we've got used to the racket, but everyday, scream scream scream everytime someone goes past. She fly's ok, but is possessive over the glove.

We are getting 2 male? cresh imprint harris hawks in a week or so, so i can find out for myself what they are likt to handle, fly etc. I'll only have one for a week or so, then back to the owner lol.

I stay away from imprinys cus of neighburs. They havnt complained (yet!) and I dont want to give them a reason either. If I lived in abit more rural place, then yeah, I'd like to fly one, as they do have an OK reputation around here.

1st A's varmint - I think a PR harris could be triggered to scream if she (eg) was being brought down in weight, and other birds were being fed infront of her, that would be would be enough for me to shout!
To repait the damage? hmm, 1-on-1 time I guess mite help the situ, but other than that, no idea!
The only benifit over imprints is they r easier to get used to huma things, good for displays etc?
lastly, yes, I got typeritus- cant stop typin lol - I do appologise! There must b someone who cn argue again my points lol...

[Jiff]

when i first started looking into falconry i met a man with two female harris' hawks these birds were demans in the hunt and took hares regularly as a cast however they were creche reared and were the most vocal harris' i've came accross yet,no problem to him as he lives out in the sticks,next, a mate of mine has a lovely female harris that was parent reared,it hunts real well fur and feather,it was totaly silent bar the odd call to let him know she's there ,however, the year before last he wasnt getting out as often as he would have liked and turned to fist jumps for fittness,his bird is now very vocal when anyones about,he puts it down to too much work at home at a too lower weight,i think theres more to it than that but thats the case.

[Varmint]

:arrow:

[Finnish]

I don't no about imprints but i had a first year male P/R HH last year he was top screamer he would not shutt up.

[3Kids-0Hawks]

I found a real interesting article on web by a guy called Troy Moritz about male HH which talks about getting them hunting from coming out of aviary (as 1st years)within about 10 days. He mentions that a food association can come within 3 days so avoids it by getting the bird hunting as soon as poss. I'd attach it if I wasn't so dim as it is interesting its called "the tiercel Harris" and its on www.onlinefalconry.com

[Claire]

at the centre i worked at we had an elderly (she was 19 or 20) female harris who was a social imprint.we had 3 harris's while i was there and she was the quietest (the other 2 were p/r) she was an awesome hunter (she was part of a team of 3 harris's that caught a young muntjack deer) and dhe was a dream to handle

[Shaun Byrne]

I've read that article 3K0H. I would agree, that you need to get your HH hunting asap but not before it is somewhere near fit and well manned. To hunt a young HH that is not fit will soon dishearten the bird if it keeps missing quarry, and put you back to square 1.

[ChicM]

Well, I've made a few posts already about my male PR HH and how he was silent at first then seemed to "learn" to scream. What I have noticed tho is that he calls for attention, not just for food. Today he was fat as butter but called incessantly on his bow perch until I went over and played with his feet and ruffled his feathers for a while. Then he sat good as gold and didn't make a sound for the rest of the day.

I've actually got to like the noise!

[Bod]

Bit like bagpipes then Chick :yawinkle:

[ChicM]

He won't hunt bagpipes as you know Bod - he got kicked off the last set he caught by a haggis and has never been the same since...

[Bod]

PMSL

[Bod]

pmsl

[Coedhirion]

My first year male Harris came as silent, but he had been out from his parents on a bow 24 hours a day in sight of other birds of prey, for several days before I collected him & his so called fat weight quoted to me was 1lb 10.1/2 oz. He was very 'chatty' from the start & utterd abuse at things he didn't like the look of, this slowly turned to screaming. At one stage he would scream all the time in the car & didn't stop till you cast him off the fist. He is an awesome hunter. I think the problem was caused by the breeder removing him from the parents & not feeding sufficient because his flying weght is 1lb 9.1/4 . He now only calls for about 10 minutes in the morning (less if you go in and weigh him) & 10 mins in the evening when he hears me doing the other animals (jelousy I reckon) So I hope he should be more or less silent next year. He used to mantle over food a lot too, but is an absalute gent at coming off the kill. I cover the bunny & he instantly hops on to my glove for his chick reward. He has had 2 rabbits in a day on numerous occasions.

[Varmint]

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[Varmint]

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[Bod]

Parrots like lots of stimulation thats why their owners pay a fortune for blocks, ropes and toys, so why not Harrises and other BOP.
Never thought of it before, but I did notice some toys in with one of your bald eagles, when we had a look round your place. Now makes sense.
I will rob the dog of his and give them to my Harris.

[Varmint]

:arrow:

[Bod]

:lol:

[Claire]

our female harris the parent reared one used to steal the scrubbing brush while we were cleaning she would play with it for hours before she got bored with it

[3Kids-0Hawks]

I've only had p/r buzzards and redtails which didnt scream and am planning on my first Harris(male) this season. BUT am I gonna upset the neighbours if he starts screaming? Is it that bad?

[3Kids-0Hawks]

on 2nd thoughts the neighbours can lump it there poodle hasnt stopped yapping all day

[Coedhirion]

Tried toys with mine but he wasnt interested.. he fancied the dog that isn't used for finding bunny!! sadly the dog didnt take to the idea of a hawk 'rufflin her coat' The screaming can be real bad or not too bad depends on the bird. Where I live we get screaming buzzards around all day and owls all night so you kinda dont notice. In spring its the flippin ewes, lambs and cows!! AAHH the peace of the countryside.

[Coedhirion]

Hee Hee just found out I may have half a Gos to play with after tomorrow. Well.... its a whole Gos I just get to share it !!! Good job it gets dark later now, lots more hunting time.

[Ssugiya@biol1.bio.nagoya-]

Two of my friends here in Japan have male imprints which are very quiet. Both birds were intentionally not flown at all in their first year, and kept fat. Whether no training in the first year affects their hunting ability is not clear but both birds caught ducks this season and seem to be doing as well as PR birds that I know of. With only two examples, I do not know if this method of producing quiet imprints in reproducible, but am considering testing it because a another friend has some eggs in the incubator. It is a bit risky for me because my housing situation does not allow a vocal bird. Any comments on whether this way of raising quiet imprints will work or not, or additional factors to consider are appreciated. I am willing to wait an extra year to hunt if it will result in a well-behaved bird.

[BillyWilson]

talking about the noise issue in harris hawks in the past ive aquired harris,s at different ages parent reared and creche reared and they all started making noise .dont know if it.s some thing ive done .anyway ive been breeding them far six year now and let them go no younger than twenty weeks fully pr and never had one utter a word .a few of my friends have last years birds and never uttered a word...this is my view and going off my own expierience and im not challenging any one who reads this ..how long is a young harris dependant on its parents and family group ????how old or they when they start been independant ??most of the buzzard family stay aound there parents far a little while before they or independant ...my own experience has told me this .i would .nt touch any young harris or red tail until they or twenty weeks or more and 100 per cent parent reared..i have tried this and advised people in the past and never had a problem ...my moto is dont knock until you.ve tried it ,if it works why change it every one has there own way .....

[Ostringer]

imprint a harris with a big CAPITAL WHY?

[JohnO31]

hello

i have a imprinted FHH and she is a HANDFULL to say the least she is very aggressive to people and 50/50 with other bop dont get me wrong i love her to bits but the problems i have with her makes me think is it worth it in retrospect i should have put her down and got another but i cant

i can FULLY understand people on this site who say that you should go on courses BEFORE you get a bop and i take full responsibility for how she turned out due to the mistakes i made but if i was more knowledgable about these bop i woldnt be in this situation

i am not saying everybody who imprints a HH will get these responses from the bird this is just my mistakes that led to the hh being like this so all i can say is if you know what you are doing with the hh there is no need to imprint they will work just aswell in the field as a non imprint

i have to think ahead infact along way ahead about who is around what they are doing etc etc

there is no reason to imprint...ian

[JohnO31]

oh yes if she wasnt so GOOD at hunting i think i would have made the dreaded desision

and the land on where i go is owned by the best farmers in the world who hate people on there land they have also given me a open ticket on the land to do what i like either bop,bullet rifles ,shotguns etc etc

but saying this you have it playing on your mind all the time and you HAVE to be aware..ian

oh by the way she is soooooooo noisy but luckily the neighbours dont mind

[Jack]

I have only ever seen a couple of imprinted Harris hawks. Here in the states it is usually not done. We just leave them for 4 months before taking them up. I can't say that imprints would not be just as good a hunter as parent raised, but the possibilities of aggression toward people would be much greater for sure. The only 2 I have known were dangerous to other people in the field. One was put down because it attacked a young girl going down the road on a bicycle. Grabbed her square in the face. I have to ask why one would chance this when a Harris gets about as tame as you would ever want. Wild trapped Harris hawks here are about as tame as any hawk I have ever seen most times and so the benefits of imprinting sort of slide to the side.
I have seen some hard screamers too that were not imprints. Wild trapped and chamber reared. Hard screamers of the Harris family will cause brain damage in short order. I think that it might be due to always being hungry. Taking way too long to drop weight when needed, and this fed weight system that is so popular here and there. You can only feed them so much in order to hold an even keel, and they spend a great deal of time daily sitting on a perch and feeling hungry. That would certainly make me vocal. And sometimes it is not food related at all. Mine will scream or scold when he is high in weight. It is like a hoarse growl, and he will do it when he sees a strange dog or a strange person. He will do it sometimes if another hawk does it. And don't let anyone tell you that it not catching. If you have several hawks and one starts screaming, it will not be long until all of them do it.

Jack