Fit's

[Falconer]

Hi guys
I am very interested in the gos as for some reason (don't ask why) but i consider them to be the ultimate hunting bird.

Anyway i have been reading the book FALCONRY ART AND PRACTICE
by Emma ford as some of you prob know,and it says the gos is prone for throwing fit's when coming out of the moulting process and can prove fatal :shock:

Now i know there are a lot of gos owners on the forum and as far as i know non of you have lost one through fitting (i hope).

So would i be right in saying there is a way to stop the fit's,or is it down to pure luck.

Could anyone please tell me as i would eventually love to own and fly one
Thanks
Kev.

[OutFlying]

Diet sorts the fits out, yes gosses do become scatty towards the end of the moult - a small reduction in weight manages this problem.

OF.

[Falconer]

Diet sorts the fits out, yes gosses do become scatty towards the end of the moult - a small reduction in weight manages this problem.

OF.

Thanks OutFlying
But can you or anybody explain in a bit more detail how you would do this, please bare in mind the closest i have ever been to a gos is a picture :oops:
or is there a thread on here that will tell me and someone can point me in the right direction.
thanks
kev.

[Tim Laycock]

Without wishing to sound satcastic due to the impersonal nature of a forum post.
To achieve a small reduction in weight I would feed the bird less. :wink:

Either a smaller amount of quality meat or the usual amount but of a slightly less nutritious variety(Rabbit is ideal for this(I dislike the use of washed meat or infact the feeding of any beef at all. Goshawks dont catch cows!) :D

[Ben C]

Yes I concure...that would do it (in theory) :) :)

[Falconer]

Without wishing to sound satcastic due to the impersonal nature of a forum post.
To achieve a small reduction in weight I would feed the bird less. :wink:

Either a smaller amount of quality meat or the usual amount but of a slightly less nutritious variety(Rabbit is ideal for this(I dislike the use of washed meat or infact the feeding of any beef at all. Goshawks dont catch cows!) :D

I KNOW THAT (and No offence taken)

What i mean is how do you know you have taken his/her weight down enough to stop a fit happning in the first place
do you contantly weigh em throuout the moult
At the end of the day £2000 is a lot of money if you don't get it right first time especially if you have never had any experiance with goshawks before.

[Finnish]

MOVED THREAD TO CORRECT AREA.

[Tim Laycock]

If you spend £2000 on a Gos it will be finnish (Or at least it should be) and unlikley to be fit prone at any rate!

[Finnish]

If its not Finnish you have been done. :evil:

[Falconer]

If you spend £2000 on a Gos it will be finnish (Or at least it should be) and unlikley to be fit prone at any rate!

Didn't know there was difrent sorts
and thaught they all was around £2000
Told you i didn't know anything about em

[Tim Laycock]

Goshawks are like women!
A miriad of different shapes, sizes and tempraments. Everyone has a favourite :D

[Liam Hay]

Goshawks are like women!

not men then??

[Tim Laycock]

I prefer not to fasten as much affection upon men as I do my hawks Liam.
So any analogies I make up usualy reference them to women rather than men!

If you want to think about men thats fine dude :rolleyes: :finga: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Gaz]

"Chase me...touch me...see if im real..oooh" :rolleyes: :shock:

[Tim Laycock]

"Chase me...touch me...see if im real..oooh"
I think not :!: :mrgreen:

[Wightwings]

"Chase me...touch me...see if im real..oooh"
I think not :!: :mrgreen:

PMSL...............every time Gaz..........every time :prayer:

[Sprout]

Birds will fit for a number of reasons and not all "fits" are true seizures. Any bird fitting should be seen by a vet and basic tests completed. Goshawks are prone to fit during re-training etc due to hyperglycaemia (increased blood glucose). This can be treated with various drugs and if high enough needs insulin (like diabetics). It is caused by stress so reducing stressors when training and reducing diet slowly should help. Also, use imprints, less stress!!

[OutFlying]

reduce stress during manning - ie don't bore the gos to death with your company during initial manning, it may make you feel good but the gos hates it.

[Tim Laycock]

don't bore the gos to death with your company during initial manning

Unless you are going to do it properly :wink:

[Falconer]

Thanks guys

[Coedhirion]

confused... :rolleyes:
don't bore the gos to death with your company during initial manning
Unless you are going to do it properly
what is manning if it is not getting your bird used to you etc. Perhaps a longer explanation may help please.
I didn't see the Gos yawning last season :lol: and didn't have too many problems, but he arrived late in season and was only flown a few weeks before going in for moulting. If any thing, I thought more manning would have helped him. :?:

[Tim Laycock]

I believe that when you pick up a parent reared Goshawk to work with from scratch you have two options.

Either you can adopt the little and often approach as described by OutFlying.
Or you go down the Edmund Bert route (3 days of intense manning/carriage coupled with sleep deprivation).

Both methods are entirely valid but Berts methods will invariably prove to be overkill when applied to the eyass Goshawk.

[Gaz]

Can a mod move this to eyass Goss thread....this is what they want :finga:

[Coedhirion]

the little and often approach as described by OutFlying
3 days of intense manning/carriage coupled with sleep deprivation
AHH I see where you are coming from, little an often suits me and the bird, with increase in length of time comes decrease in often, until flying free and entered!!! Then it could be all day every day as far as both of us are concerned :lol: :lol:

[OutFlying]

Bingo

[Sprout]

Or imprint one and don't worry!!