Imprinted falcons

[Trigger1]

i've been reading the threads about imprinted falcons and it all seems a bit negative, i was just wondering do the problems go i.e mantelling, screaming etc go if the person who didnt imprint the bird then took the bird over as it doesnt see them as the parent or will it be the same with all humans??

has anyone had success with an imprinted bird that wasnt imprinted by you??

leigh:-P

[Jack]

Here in the US most everyone seems to prefer to imprint their falcons. If it is a hybrid it has to be imprinted by law or you have to have it surgically sterized. Imprinting is common. Screaming and mantling does not have to be a factor. In fact, most of the people I know that fly falcons imprint them and they do not seem to have to deal with this behavior. I think it is because people are now learning the proper ways to raise an imprint.
A chamber raised bird is like a passage bird in many ways, and if the weight gets up a bit they are prone to disobedience. Such as flying away. The imprint can be flown a bit higher and it does not have this rash tendency. Birds that require manning, like CB or passage birds, have to be kept at a weight to where they remain tame and responsive. The imprint does not seem to have this problem so much but like all raptors have to be at a good solid flying weight in order for it to want to kill. They will come to the lure quickly at most fats weights. This is not to say that they are bullet proof. The majority of lost birds in this country are imprints that are flown way too fat. There is a limit, and most people seem to push that limit very hard.

Jack

[Trigger1]

thanx for the reply jack.. i was just thinking do they get imprinted on one person?? say someone imprinted a bird from a baby and it then gets all the typical imprint behavior then if someone completely new took the bird would it be like a parent reared,,

i guess what im trying to say is do they imprint to a certain person or just to humans generally??

regards
leigh

[Tacatanach]

thanx for the reply jack.. i was just thinking do they get imprinted on one person?? say someone imprinted a bird from a baby and it then gets all the typical imprint behavior then if someone completely new took the bird would it be like a parent reared,,

i guess what im trying to say is do they imprint to a certain person or just to humans generally??

regards
leigh

I think it depends on the bird and how it was raised. So my first imprint was imprinted by someone other than me and was a screamer when i picked him up. After working with him pretty hard to stop the screaming I was successful. He still acted like a total imprint to me even though I wasnt the imprinter and didnt look at all like my friend who imprinted him.

My second imprint I did myself and he doesn't scream. However if hes being cared for by a buddy while I'm out of town he screams bloody murder for the first day and then hes quiet again. Hes alot more imprinted on me than anyone else. He chups at me consantly, but i've never heard him chup if theres anyone else in the room. When my friends take care of him he still acts like an imprint social wise, but not on the same level as he does with me. He is kindof split with my sister- he doesnt chup at her, but will play with her like he does me. But we do look the same and live together so I would expect he associates her with raising him too even though her role was soley as playmate and a couple evenings of falcon sitting.

Now my sponsors last imprint gos was a hardcore screamer. He sold it and the bird never made a peep for the new owner.

[Jack]

I think that hawks tend to be imprinted more to a single person rather than to people in general. Where falcons tend to imprint to people more or less. MY best hawking friend's birds know me well, but do focus their bond more to him because of familiarity, but they will fly for just about anyone. A hawk, like a goshawk, will not so readily do this. They imprint to a person, and are suspicious of most strangers. Screaming is not always about food. In most cases a screamer does it even with a full belly and crop. The screaming is due to some other reason. In most cases I think it is an anxiety they feel when their situation changes.

Jack