Anyone freeloft their Gos year round?

[CoyoteOutlaw]

Was wondering if anyone freelofted their Gos year round, pros/cons etc? Thanks!

[SBFalconry]

Was wondering if anyone freelofted their Gos year round, pros/cons etc? Thanks!

while flying it or moulting it ?

[Lee Brindley]

Was wondering if anyone freelofted their Gos year round, pros/cons etc? Thanks!

while flying it or moulting it ?

I doubt anybody would be flying or moulting a gos all year round.

[SBFalconry]

I doubt anybody would be flying or moulting a gos all year round.

cleaver sod i missed that :rolleyes:

[Jack]

Success or failure at this free lofting depends strongly upon your mews design. I free loft everything. I free lofted my male goshawk and he did extremely well.
I had spent about 30 odd years trying to loft passage accipiters that are known for their difficulty in this area. For that reason I came up with a design that actually works quite well with any raptor. The trick is to regulate the amount of outside visibility the hawk has from most locations within the mews. I use transparent fiberglass panels on my roof so that lots of natural light can enter the mews, but the windows are cut down to only about 8 inches tall and only about a couple of feet wide. The window is not a glowing attraction like that of the cave like mews. It is more of a habitat than a cave. Lots of light for the hawks. And if you stagger the roof panels you can have shade, sun, shade, sun, and so forth. This gives the hawk the option of taking the sun or sitting in the shade. I also try to keep it as dry inside as I possibly can in an attempt to prevent any form of mold growing inside. I never seem to have problems with aggression either with this sort of setup. I might just have been lucky on that part.

Jack

[Redeye]

No,
Freeloft for the moult,
Enclosed tethered weathering at night, high ring perch when not flown during the day unless the weather is going to be horrendous.

[CoyoteOutlaw]

Thanks for the replies, the reason I ask is because she is a demo bird at a wildlife center that I trained, she was originally a falconry bird but injured her wing and so has limited flight, she has done amazing but unfortunatly I can't be with her all day and in a place run by volunteers people are not always observant of the small things that they do that scare her, in one day someone scared her, she baited and she got some ropeburn on her tail. Needless to say I was extremely angry since prior she was in perfect feather condition, but alas one event has tattered her tail. In trying to avoid this in the future I put her back in the mews freelofted in a line of mews that only senior staff are allowed to work in and around so that this doesn't happen again. I was sick when I came in that night and saw what she had done to her tail, it is not terrible but it is enough that I don't want to risk it happening again and having her completly destroy her tail. So far so good, she hasn't been showing any aggression in the mews and she seems content is not doing anymore damage to her feathers.
Oh the trials and tribulations of working in a volunteer organization where you aren't supposed to kick people for being stupid and unobservant! ::sigh:: anything else people can think of that I should look out for while she is free lofted would be great! Thanks!

[Brady]

Are you mad lol

[RyanP]

I ve read that accipters become quite wild if you freeloft them

[GregMik]

Thanks for the replies, the reason I ask is because she is a demo bird at a wildlife center that I trained, she was originally a falconry bird but injured her wing and so has limited flight, she has done amazing but unfortunatly I can't be with her all day and in a place run by volunteers people are not always observant of the small things that they do that scare her, in one day someone scared her, she baited and she got some ropeburn on her tail. Needless to say I was extremely angry since prior she was in perfect feather condition, but alas one event has tattered her tail. In trying to avoid this in the future I put her back in the mews freelofted in a line of mews that only senior staff are allowed to work in and around so that this doesn't happen again. I was sick when I came in that night and saw what she had done to her tail, it is not terrible but it is enough that I don't want to risk it happening again and having her completly destroy her tail. So far so good, she hasn't been showing any aggression in the mews and she seems content is not doing anymore damage to her feathers.
Oh the trials and tribulations of working in a volunteer organization where you aren't supposed to kick people for being stupid and unobservant! ::sigh:: anything else people can think of that I should look out for while she is free lofted would be great! Thanks!

If this bird is a NA gos, good luck. A Finnish bird might....and I use might very liberaly here, be able to be used as an ED bird.

I do understand the why, but I do not agree with it. The bird should be in a breeding project or if in an ed situation used just by one person as a static, distant display(if a calm euro bird). If you cannot be there everytime everyday...This will continue to happen. If she does not catch asper due to stress.

Goshawks do not make good ed birds unless they are very special.

Greg

[HorseBox]

all ways free lofted mine all year round never had a problem

[CarlosR]

I never thought about using a gos as an education bird to be handled by many people. I think you are asking for trouble there. The problem will be from the person least able to handle a gos when they get "gos." Much better if one handler and used for education times when that handler can do the show. My Finn gos does quite well in little shows for the kiddies, even lets them hold him on a glove. But when he's had enough, it's enough. Good luck with this

[CoyoteOutlaw]

Just to clear things up - She has been used for flying demos already and has done exceptionally well, she is a very special bird indeed. I handle her everyday ( but not all day) and do her training, 1 other person handles her to fly with me, to tether her out, and incase for somereason I can't make it in then she can at least be weighed and manned. As far as doing the small ed programs she has not had any problems nor is she a stress case like so many Goshawks seem to be nearly all the time.
This was an isolated incident, I am mearly trying to prevent it from happening again, and would rather have her freelofted if possible anyway :)
So far her transition to being freelofted and still flying has gone well, no aggression and seems content.
Thank you for the thoughts, I do appreciate being able to come here and bounce ideas around with others! :) I persoanlly wouldn't have picked a gos as an ed bird, I wouldn't pick any accipiter as an ed bird, but we were asked to give it a go with this one and she has done well, she is an amazing little bird!
Thanks again!