Rolf, 2005 Male Harris Hawk

[Sean]

Hi guys this is my dairy on my first bird and if anyone has any advice as i go along i would really appreciate it if they could give it.

Sunday 18th Sept
Headed out early Sunday morning and got to the breeders place around 1 in the afternoon. had a cup of tea and he showed me his place, after about 2 or 3 hours of chatting and things he caught the bird up for me and him and my friend put the anklets on and put the bird on my fist. Immediately he bated away but regained the fist, then he had a good look about the place before me put him into the carrying box. had another cup of tea and hit the road. Got home at around 8:15 and and held him on the fist for an hour, he bated a few times and most times regained the fist. then i weight him and he was at 1lb 10 ounces, then put him on his perch and left him.


Monday 19th Sept
7:00am
Went into the aviary on all fours trying to prevent a bate but he bated ounces and stoped and stared at me so i continued to move in and i picked him up, had a chick on the fist ready in case he wanted to eat but he wasn't interested. sat with him for half an hour before putting him down on the perch and leaving him.
7:00pm weighed in at 1lb and 9.6 ounces.
Went in and , again he bated so i lifted him onto the fist and sat down, while on the fist he didn't bate once. after about 20 Min's he bent his head down and took a peck of the chick and didn't even her a bit of fluff of it. then for the next 15 Min's he kept bending his head biting at my gloved finger thinking it was food lol. thought i was really close so i set him down and decided to come back later.
9:00pm went in and he didn't bate at all on my approach and also let me lift him onto the fist. after about 15Min's he took a bite of the chick and ate in and then for the next hour or so he continued to eat it. very slowly but he still ate it :D, I let him finnish the chick and then put him down on his perch.

[Ninja-Jon]

Hi Sean, will be following your post with interest so plz keep us updated regular with whats happening and so on. As next year if i am ready will be getting a BOP find it very interesting reading different methods of manning and training and the problems folks come against whilst going through these procedures will hopefully learn me and prep me for when i am ready to take on a BOP.. Good luck Sean

[Sean]

thanks mate

[Sparrow Hawker]

Hi Sean,

Wish you all the best,

HH

[Gary.B]

Well done Sean, I'll be reading your diary with interest, my bird flew free tonight for the first time :D got any pictures of that avairy yet mate?

[Finnish]

Well done Sean. Got any pic's for us. Keep us posted.

Finnish

[Sean]

Ill try and get pics soon, lost the lead for the digi cam lol.

Tues 20th Sept
Weighted in at 1lb and 8.8 ounces at 7 pm,. i sat with him for about 30 mins and he eventually went down for a chick, it only took him about 5 mins to eat it this time, alough would have been alot faster if he didnt keep dropping the head of the chick. during this time my sister was calling out the back asking me for dinner, and kept calling, i was gettign worried. then he big head poped up at the mesh and the bird started screaming. I was wondering if maybe this is out of fear? or maybe being vocal? but he wasnt pleased with her being there and neither was I. so after he ate the chick he kept eating lil bits of the glove and if i gave him more im sure he would have takin it. I then put him on his perch and left. He is still sitting on the floor rather than the perch, except for when i went in this morning to check on him. I also couldnt find a casted pellet around his perch

[Shaun Byrne]

So you got your bird at last :D

It sounds like its going real well but here are a few things you might want to consider.

1. Start skinning your chicks so you dont have to worry about casting.
2. Feed 2 washed chicks instead of one unwashed. This will give your bird a feeling of being a bit more satisfied at each feed.
3. It sounds like you are getting into a bit of a routine i.e. Into mews, man for a few minutes and feed off fist. IMO you are possibly heading for trouble(noise). vary your routine, man for say half an hour and hide the chicks so he can eat when you have left.
4. Stop feeding in his mews, this is a sure way to start him vocalising.
5. Try and let him start seeing things from a distance, like your sister :D The things that scare him now might scare him for the rest of his life so be very careful when introducing him to dogs etc.

Not being critical mate, these are all mistakes I have made when I started so hopefully you dont have to. :D

All the best.

[Finnish]

Some good advice there Hawka, let's just hope Sean takes it on. :wink:

Belive me mate you don't want a screaming HH it is the worst thing ever.

Finnish

[Sean]

Hawka he isnt hooded so do i still need to skin them? today i think ill take him outside into the garden and see if he steps up onto the fist. and when you say hide the chicks so he can eat them when ive left. how will i get him to trust me then without food? sorry to ask so much mate.

[Shaun Byrne]

Hawka he isnt hooded so do i still need to skin them? today i think ill take him outside into the garden and see if he steps up onto the fist. and when you say hide the chicks so he can eat them when ive left. how will i get him to trust me then without food? sorry to ask so much mate.

The reason you skin the chicks is so that you can carry on training without having to wait for your bird to cast, nothing to do with hoods mate.

Slow down mate, take a deep breath :lol:

Allow your bird time to adjust to its new surroundings, take things a bit slower and more calculated.

You need to earn the trust of your bird through careful manning, not buy it through starvation. Just sit quietly with your bird allowing him to become relaxed in your company. There is no rush to get him jumping at this early stage. Man him away from his weathering and slip a couple of washed chicks by his bow so he doesn't see them until you walk away. Bring his weight down slowly and man him as much as possible. Once he is down to a decent weight you can start the jumps etc.

[Hawkmaster]

Sean don't panic mate, you will get there!

I personally would do it differently but you will still get there. :wink:

[Sean]

Wedensday 21st of september.

I lifted ro.lf today at 6pm and weighted him. he weighed 1lb and 8.7 ounces. he had also cast a pellet. i sat him on the fist for about 5 mins and then offered him a chick leg, it took him about 10 mins untill he took it. then i gave him another. I decided to try and get him to step up. so i put him on the bow and sat with my fist at his feet, he had a few pecks and put his feet on my glove, i raised it and he put both feet on. i dunno if this was a step up or if he was jump going to a higher perch. i gave him a few percks and hide the rest of the chick in my palm. put him back on the bow and brought the chick back up ontop of my glove. he reached over and had another peck, then another and i finnaly found the right distance he couldnt reach lol. i think he was very close to jumping but he didnt. so i tried for another step up(Am I going backwards?), but instead he had a few pecks and then ignored me. Overall in the session he had about a quater of a chick and the yolk. hopefully his weight will be down tomarrow and I can get a better result. Another thing that worried me is that he has been tethered since sunday but isnt siting on his perch yet(except yesterday morning, but it was cold) And i would really like to start the trainign with a step up of the perch instead up lifting him off the floor. So tomorrow morning im going to go in early and man him for about 20 mins and set him down before work. then when i get back, make him do a step up and maybe a few jumps if all goes well.

[Sean]

Hi HM what you you do differently? Im following emma fords training but am very interested in other peoples methods too.

[Sean]

Thursday 22nd of September

Started of this morning with just manning him for 30 mins at 7am, he even put his leg up, which i guess is a good sign lol. Then at 7pm i took him up again, after holding him for about 10 mins I gave him a chick leg(which took another 5 mins for him to decide to take), then another leg and i put him on the perch , put out my fist and tried to get him to jump to a legless chick. he wouldnt jump, so i put my hand closer to him and made him do a step up, then set him down. now i had a half of a chick and held it out of reach to him, again he didnt move. so i added another half a chick to my glove, again he didnt move. so i moved my glove in closer to get a step up and he jumped onto the glove. the way he landed he couldnt barley get at the chick so he had a nibble and i set him down. then held the glove out again for about 2 mins untill he jumped up again. Again it was awkward the way he landed so he only got a few bites and i had to put him down. then i put my glove out again and he didnt jump :(. i think i made a BIG mistake. He weighed in at 1lb 8.1 oz,
What should i do next can somebody please give some feedback.

[Jackie]

sean rolf thats not good its spud!!!
matt says well done for being so patiant and getting your bird at last . matt says that you will do just fine if you can follow just one method at first .to reach consistant results . hawka has offerd good advise that im not going to argue with and i dont think you need to hear loads of opinons about how to train him up as this will do nothing but confuse both you and the bird.
matt also said he would like to make you a hood as a gift for having the patiance to wait as long as you did to get every thing right before getting your bird . afgani one would look smart.

[Jackie]

sean i just read you post only small steps each day only ask once and reward well . all this jumping for no real reward will do his head in .
if you ask him to rump from his bow he will think he can not reach you as he thinks he is teathered so use a post or the back of a chair.
there you go i just broke my own advise sorry.
remember only once per sesion and give him easy goal one good jump for his feed once a day is far better than 3 **** half jumps.
his mind is a blank page at this stage good food and reward will last a life time bad rewards will lead to poor recall in his career as a falconry bird par exerlance.
the bird once he catches on will amaze you how fast he learns once his weight has dropped and he trusts you.
you will have days that seem like its all gone wrong then the next day it could not be better . you wait and see he will come good as will you.
see ya and good luck.

[Moses]

i luv threads like this, nice reading sean and all the best with the training mate

your bird has it only been fed docs since its been hatched or does it eat other meat too the reason i asked was soon as u skinned it , it wouldnt nibble much, just asking for experience for myself mate

cheers

[Sean]

Hi moses the bird was raised on quail,rabbit and turkey chicks, and the odd chicken cockrel. Nice to see you matt how you been, still no msn. I might have waited a long time but it will all pay off :D

[Moses]

i luv threads like this, nice reading sean and all the best with the training mate

your bird has it only been fed docs since its been hatched or does it eat other meat too the reason i asked was soon as u skinned it , it wouldnt nibble much, just asking for experience for myself mate

cheers

thats cool mate :)

[Sean]

Friday 23rd of September.
Manned a little in the morning liek usual, then this eening i had to go to a friends mass so didnt get back till 9pm, when i went out he bated(getting sick of this now as he should be tamer. he weighed in at 1lb and 8.4 ounces. I brought him into the house for the first time and he was a ok except for when i opened a creaky door(u nenver notice it till u have a bird on ur fist :( ). then i brought him into my front room and gave him a chick head. then i set him on a chair and he jumped, shame he jumped in the wrong direction and started bating.i picked him up and brought him outside again. then i gave him the rest of the chick(no yolk) while i was walking around the half lit garden, i tied him down at 10pm and left him at it. I really am getting worried. its been 4 days since he first fed on the fist and still aint jumping confidently. i woudlnt mind it if i didnt live in a built up area and could handle the risk of a vocal bird. I would really aprreciate some help from people. thanks for all the help from everyone so far but there are alot of others reading the thread that havent gave any feedback :s.
p.s going hawking tomoz with a few friends and ill be letting them know how its going and maybe get a few tips

[AbeBoy]

Sean i thought i would put my 2 pence worth in and if i give wrong advice some people on the forum with more knowledge than me will put me right.
How many hours a day do you spend manning with the young bird ?
And the bird might be a bit overweight yet as he is only 2oz down from his full fat weight from the breeder and that is why he aint that keen to jump to the glove but it all takes time and if i am talking through a hole in my head ignore this advice

[Sighthound]

Hi Sean,

I got my first bird 3 days before you so I'm in no way an expert.
He was 1lb 9oz.
I hooded mine from day one, 24 hrs later hood off. offered food, no response so hooded again and left for another 24 hrs (weighing every day), after 3 days he started to feed on my fist, so plenty of small pieces of food trying to increase the time spent feeding on the fist. Once finished hood on and left for 24 hrs. This was repeated over a number of days. I'm now manning him in the house with the kids, dogs etc, and have started carriage by walking him outside with a tiring keeping him occupied.
If he shows any signs of stress he is hooded.
He started jumping to the fist about 4 days ago and he flew on the creance today about 10ft.
I don't think I could have progressed without the hood it enables me to prevent bating etc.
The only difference I can see to what you are doing is I've used the hood and I've dropped my birds weigh more (1lb 6 oz).
Have you considered using a hood?

All the best

[Gary.B]

Sean don't forget his weight will come down and as it does he will improve as he becomes more keen. I've just been through the same worries as you, it all it all comes good, just stick to your training method. Once the creance was off and my bird was flying free all the bating stopped and his trust in me increased. It's early days mate.

[Shaun Byrne]

Sean, not being funny mate but i was the first one to post any advice and it seems as though you have just brushed it aside?

I'll say it again, get his weight down without starving him, until you do this he will be batey and unresponsive.

[Shaun Byrne]

Oh and one other thing, hooding a bird for 24hours, IMO, is totally unecessary, dangerous for the birds eyes and bordering on abuse, so dont do it.

The hood should be used for short periods for the good of the bird, not so you dont get ****ed off with it bating.

[Adam Barrett]

i know i think that hawka has said it before but try using washed chicks it will help lower his weight whilst making him still think he has had a decent crop of food for a job well done.
I think u'll be surprised how well it works

[Sean]

Ok guys cheers, hawka i took in your advice but I had already started gettign him to eat of the fist and didnt want him to get no satisfaction from being on the fist. And yes i will be gettign a hood for the bird, but i wasnt going to try it untill he is fully tame. this morning I took him up (without food) and took him into the garden and walked around for about an hour, he didnt even bate when he seen the ferrets, right untill the very end, he was great. then he bated towards something, im not to sure what he was bating at tho. will be picking him up again for another hour this afternoon. then around 6, try to get him a few jumps. thanks guys

[Shaun Byrne]

You need to be using the hood now Sean. Late hooding can be a nightmare and set your training back.

[Sean]

To be honest hawka, im not to sure if i want to be hooding the bird, for out hunting anyway. I want him to see everything now and get use to it all.

[Sighthound]

Oh and one other thing, hooding a bird for 24hours, IMO, is totally unecessary, dangerous for the birds eyes and bordering on abuse, so dont do it.

The hood should be used for short periods for the good of the bird, not so you dont get ****ed off with it bating.

I'm sorry you feel that way Hawka.

As I said this is my first bird so I am in no way an expert.

The method I am following is from Varmints book. If I understand the method correctly the idea of the hood in the initial stage is to calm the hawk. As you mentioned earlier the hawk is not going to respond when taken fresh from the chamber at top weight. It will only bate on the bow increasing stress levels and increasing the risk of feather damge.

Whilst in the hood my MHH sat contented on the bow, during this time the weight was slowly decreased.

When he did start feeding on the fist and had 'accepted' I was not going to harm him he was left out of the hood for increasingly longer periods.
Infact he is now out of the hood all of the time except when he steps up for a titbit to the fist whereupon I hood him and then weigh him.
I am now in the process of 'carriage' usually as he picks away at a tiring. If for any reason I see he is about to bate or I can see a potential situation that may cause him to bate he is hooded.

All the best

ps

As well as following the book I also work at Varmints place. Not as a falconer but in another capacity. He has supervised the training of my bird from day one, infact I take him to work with me, something I could not do if he was not used to the hood. Whilst I respect that you have a far greater knowledge than me I think I will stick to Adrians advice if thats ok.

[Shaun Byrne]

I'm sorry you feel that way Hawka.

As I said this is my first bird so I am in no way an expert.

The method I am following is from Varmints book. If I understand the method correctly the idea of the hood in the initial stage is to calm the hawk. As you mentioned earlier the hawk is not going to respond when taken fresh from the chamber at top weight. It will only bate on the bow increasing stress levels and increasing the risk of feather damge.

Whilst in the hood my MHH sat contented on the bow, during this time the weight was slowly decreased.

When he did start feeding on the fist and had 'accepted' I was not going to harm him he was left out of the hood for increasingly longer periods.
Infact he is now out of the hood all of the time except when he steps up for a titbit to the fist whereupon I hood him and then weigh him.
I am now in the process of 'carriage' usually as he picks away at a tiring. If for any reason I see he is about to bate or I can see a potential situation that may cause him to bate he is hooded.

All the best

ps

As well as following the book I also work at Varmints place. Not as a falconer but in another capacity. He has supervised the training of my bird from day one, infact I take him to work with me, something I could not do if he was not used to the hood. Whilst I respect that you have a far greater knowledge than me I think I will stick to Adrians advice if thats ok.

Each to their own mate and I did say it was my opinion.

You have surprized me there, I must get Ades book out again and have a read, I must have missed the bit where he advises hooding for 24hours at a time?

[Sighthound]

Page 112. section 10.5.

[Shaun Byrne]

Page 112. section 10.5.

Cheers, just found it.

Still dont agree with it though.


Sorry to jack the thread Sean, back to you mate.

[Jackie]

sean a nice hood can be in the post asap . all you need to do is say thank you and pm me your adresss.
h@wka is talking bloody good sence and i think wile he is doing so no one will post much more advice as there is little else to say about the training of a male harris .
i also offered advice if you chose to follow it and hawkas you will not go far wrong. at this stage its still all about the weight and mental state of rolf nothing else get that sorted and it all follows from there . see ya

[Hawkmaster]

What benefit is there in hooding a HH for a period of 24 hours?

[Sean]

Saturday 24th of September
Throughout the day I constantly walked him around the garden.
Weighed in at 1lb 8 oz (perfect, 0.1 less than when he jumped on Thursday) at 5pm. Gave him a nibble at a piece of beef and then set him down on the handle of a spade (thanks for the tip Jackie/matt) and after about a minute he jumped. I was well chuffed. I put my hand in my palm to try and grab the beef, but he managed to gulp it all down in 1 lol. so the days training was over. but at least it ended in a very very good note, (for him at least lol). later on in the evening a friend from the club came round to see how I was getting on. I lifted up the bird, and for the first time he didn’t bate, he just let me pick him off the perch. the bewit holding one of his bells stretched a little so we cut it off, which Rolf didn’t care in the slightest. Im over the moon with today, especially the way I was able to pick him up without a bate and looking forward to tomorrow.

[Bash]

Each to their own mate and I did say it was my opinion.

You have surprized me there, I must get Ades book out again and have a read, I must have missed the bit where he advises hooding for 24hours at a time?

If it is in Ades book, it doesn't mean it is right. I agree with you, no bird should ever be hooded for 24 hours. A bird would find it very stressful trying to cast with a bloody hood one. If it was a tight hood then it could kill them when casting.

[Jackie]

well done sean . its all falling in to place now hes starting to work it all out now.
the weight loss will help
better he comes down slow like that as you will see masive improvments each day and learn that all important first big lesson adout weight, its affects, the level of controll it gives , an how happy and responsive he can be at differant weights.

remeber his responce weight might be higher than his true hunting weight so learn as much as you can now about his indivdual motabalisem and the afect differant food imput causes to his dayly weight . keeping a diary of weighed rations and there type can pay of big time with new birds and first birds . you think you will remembetr all this stuff but as the season goes on its funny how you will forget.
see ya . and good work

[Bubo]

Hi Sean,

I'm so glad you have finally got to the fun bit of falconry and you will go through all sorts of emotions hehe. i cant really advise you on training your hawk as i have never done it only read about it. But if you want my opinion, here it is... i would man as much as you can possibly cram in during the day. Try not to jump stages and let your bird settle before trying to do the jump ups. But here is the best piece of advise i have for you, LISTEN TO HAWKA. I am not saying other member's advice is not good, far from it, i just know from personal experience he knows what he is doing and gets results.

i'm well pleased for you Sean, you have waited so long for this.


forgot to mention i dont agree with hooding either for such long periods. A bird should not be hooded without supervision anyway so i dont know how you can leave one on and keep an eye on your bird all that time.

bubo

[Sean]

Hi guys, i took him out today for a bit of manning round the garden, and when i opened up the door to go to lift him he screamed once(like a firewrok starting to go off) but not as loud lol,when i had him lifted and walking about he was silent. im a bit worried now lol. could this be teh start of it ?

[Shaun Byrne]

Dont worry Sean it sounds like he was just giving you a verbal warning, you'll know if he starts screaming mate.

Whats he weighing now?

[Sean]

havent weighed him today, will be weighing him at 6 and then try a few flights/ Ive been building a new bow with a perch(cos creance time will be very soon lol) and he has been fine about all the hammering. I walked up to his avairy about 10 mins ago and he was whistling, then it got louder, and kept getting louder. so i walked away and he was silent.

[Moses]

Each to their own mate and I did say it was my opinion.

You have surprized me there, I must get Ades book out again and have a read, I must have missed the bit where he advises hooding for 24hours at a time?


nothing mentioned for 24hrs coz i just found my copy 2 days ago and read it again

hooding was mentioned but not for 24hrs


edited to add i will check it again once i get hame :D

[Shaun Byrne]

havent weighed him today, will be weighing him at 6 and then try a few flights/ Ive been building a new bow with a perch(cos creance time will be very soon lol) and he has been fine about all the hammering. I walked up to his avairy about 10 mins ago and he was whistling, then it got louder, and kept getting louder. so i walked away and he was silent.

That noise is more of a worry mate, I've seen it slowly develop into screaming. Is it kind of an excited whistling sound when he sees you?

You really do need to cut down the time you are feeding off the fist. While his weight is still high all the fist feeding you are doing is a waste of time and just strengthening the falconer-food link.

[Shaun Byrne]

Sean, it might be a good idea to let other members know how your bird was raised. This way you might find that you get more accurate advice from others as well as myself. That way you can decide which bits you need to listen to.

HTH

[Sean]

Yes hawka he does seem excited when he sees me. but ive decided if he does this i come back 5 mins later lol. im not feeding him of the fist at all now, he has to fly to it. The bird was parent reared untill 10 weeks and then he was left in an avairy with his silblings for a futher 8 weeks. All in seclusion.


Sunday 25th of September

Manned a little today and also done alot of DIY about the garden, which rolf didnt seem to care about much. I also knocked up a little wooden T perch for training. then at 6pm I went in and weighed him, 1lb 7.6oz. took him outside into the garden and set him on hte perch. new perch?,first time asked to jump outside?will he jump? course he did, he done about 5 jumps untill i couldnt step back any futher. I think he also seen me take the food away once or twice, which im a little worried about. He was super today really responded very very very fast. i fed him a chick with most of the yolk out. so i think his weight may be down a quater of an ounce or so tomarrow.(didnt think he would be so responsive so i took the yolk out) lol i was wong.
Plans so tomarrow is to get him to fly on the creance in the garden, and see how he likes his new traveling box.If so ill take him out on tuesday for some creance work.

A question im wondering is how much should i increase the length of the creance by, each jump. As you can only get 5 or 6 jumps before his keenish goes down(from what it says in the books anyway lol)

[Shaun Byrne]

What do you mean "take the food away"?

[Sean]

when i slip the chick from the palm of my glove after hes had a few mouthfulls

[Shaun Byrne]

when i slip the chick from the palm of my glove after hes had a few mouthfulls

Dont do it mate. This is the earliest form of robbing mate.

Cut all your food into pea size tidbits for training, either that or feed a full ration for one good flight. If you keep doing it that way your bird will start to mantle on the glove and I've also seen them start snatching at the underside of the glove on approach, to try and get the chick before it disappears.

[Sean]

cheers mate, but will he relaly jumpfor a pea size peice of meat?

[Shaun Byrne]

cheers mate, but will he relaly jumpfor a pea size peice of meat?

He will if his weight is right. For the first few jumps, reward him well, full ration.

If you keep flashing a full chick every time you want him on the fist, he will expect it once he is flying free and refuse the glove for anything less. My birds return to an empty glove from any distance. This is because from day 1 the food is concealed in my palm. The bird has to land on the glove and look over to see if there is food in there, sometimes there is and sometimes not but they dont know until they come and look.

[Moses]

He will if his weight is right. For the first few jumps, reward him well, full ration.

If you keep flashing a full chick every time you want him on the fist, he will expect it once he is flying free and refuse the glove for anything less. My birds return to an empty glove from any distance. This is because from day 1 the food is concealed in my palm. The bird has to land on the glove and look over to see if there is food in there, sometimes there is and sometimes not but they dont know until they come and look.



mate thats a good form of training i like it part of concealing the food in the glove, in the early stages do u show a lil bit of meat first before u start concealing it in your palm


cheers

[Shaun Byrne]

mate thats a good form of training i like it part of concealing the food in the glove, in the early stages do u show a lil bit of meat first before u start concealing it in your palm


cheers


Yes mate but only for the first few jumps, they soon get the idea.

The correct way to hold any meat in your gloved hand is against the ball of your thumb. This keeps the birds feathers out of its food and allows the bird to pull the meat as it is held below the bird.

[Sean]

hawka can u go into a little bit more detail about this method, it sounds real good.

[Moses]

Yes mate but only for the first few jumps, they soon get the idea.

The correct way to hold any meat in your gloved hand is against the ball of your thumb. This keeps the birds feathers out of its food and allows the bird to pull the meat as it is held below the bird.


nice one mate and thanks alot, sounds awesome bud :D

[Sean]

Monday 26th September
Weighed in today at 1lb and 7.6oz (perfect)
I took on hawka's advice and choped up a chick into, 2 legs, 2 wings,head,neck, and the backside with the yolk. took him out and tied on the creance. he immidietly jumped 5ft for a chick wing, then i got to about 15ft with the other peices of the chick. to finnish it of , i tried him at 20ft with the backside and yolk(nice way to finnish of the session?). all his flights were very responsive and im absolutley over the moon. once or twice he landed on my arm ,had a peck and then walked up to the perch to have a finnish of the titbit. Will he soon catch on not to do this?Another thing he is doing is, when i set him down on his perch at the end of the night, he bates every minute or so. i think he doesnt think he is tethered. what can i do about this. thanks for all the help gues. this is where the fun part begins!

[Jackie]

well done sean your getting the responce now that youi craved so bad from the start. as you say the fun starts here .
hoods in the post first thing tomorrow.

[FlameHairedFalconer]

Sean - what do you mean by "landed on my arm...and then walked up to the perch"

He should be landing square on your fist, looking down for the tidbit. Otherwise he will get into had habits - essentially you are rewarding him for doing this, when you dont want him to.

As for the bating, what can he see from his bow? Sit on it and have a look from his point of view. It could be that he is seeing something that is either scaring him or that he wants to fly to.

Good luck

FHF

[Sean]

hi flame , he only seems to bate after a flying session. and he lands sometimes below the glove, but i was thinking there that maybe its because i have my hand to high in a V shape, ive got into the habit of keeping it high because of the manning

cheers

[FlameHairedFalconer]

Yep, seems like you have found the solution to the problem. Try holding your arm out straighter, this should direct his attention to the correct area.

FHF

[Sean]

cheers m8 :D

[Jackie]

with all this tuition you have no excuse ofr not becoming the worlds greatest harris hawker. when i started it was limited internet pages , an old book , me and the bird. i dont know if i would have been brave enough to post my exploites on the web and get all the advice you are . so well done again sean .
and keep soaking up all the advice and never stop asking questions .
right im off see ya

[Sean]

lol will do

[Sean]

Tuesday the 27th of September

Weighed in at 1lb 7.6 (3 days in a row lol :shock:)
Plan was to go to the training field and put him on the creance. so i tried putting him in his lovely brand new homemade box. he bated when i opened it. then i tried putting him in it, he bated when i got him half in and scrabbed me(not on purpose im sure). then tried putting a chick wing on the perch and backed him into it, he bated again and he hit his wings and his head in the box:roll: . then i gave him a chick head to try and keep him occupied and back him into the box, almost had him in it and he bated again. I gave up and decided to fly him in the garden. i put him down on the training perch and backed away, while unwinding the creance he jumped to my fist, had no food on it, so i put him back down. again he jumped, i put him down again and backed away, this time he got my fist after i had put down food. a few more jumps and that was it.the creance was getting a bit tangled so i decided to call it a night. im worried about him and his box, so gonna call a friend and ask him to come round tomoz

[Sean]

Another thing, he was making a few noieses while flyign him

[FlameHairedFalconer]

Sean,

Although it looks easy seeing peoples harrises jumping happily into their boxes you need to give him a reason for going in in the first place!! He wont take kindly to being backed into a dark hole, and neither would you!

Firstly remove the perch - you can put this back later. Then put a nice bit of food in there - like a chick head - something he has to take a few seconds to eat.

Take him up to the box - he might bate on seeing it because of his previous experiences, just let him regain the fist and settle down.

Then slowly and carefully open the door so as not to scare him, let him see the chick head (or what ever) inside. With some luck he will jump inside to get the food. Give him some time to consider it. Once he is in, shut the door and put some food on your glove. Open the door, show him the food and he should jump out for it.

Repeat this before each training session until he will jump into the box without hesitation for food. You can then put the perch back and just reward intermittently in and out of the box.

It sounds like you have got him to the right weight if he is not letting you get too far away from him. He just needs to learn to come when called. You should be flying free in no time!!

FHF

[Sean]

cheers mate really appreicate the help. tomarrow im not gonna fly him, but instead just get him use to the box. will he do damage to his feathers if there is no perch tho?

[Shaun Byrne]

cheers mate really appreicate the help. tomarrow im not gonna fly him, but instead just get him use to the box. will he do damage to his feathers if there is no perch tho?

Sean you really need to be getting him used to his box and scales every training session.

Pick him up, weigh him and put him in his box while you get your gear ready, creance etc. Bring him out of his box for a tidbit and start training. This way when you start taking him out hunting he will be well used to the routine.

Are you still feeding and training him in the garden around his mews? If so, as I said before be very careful, a little squeek can develop into a big scream.

[Sean]

hawka, last night i was gonna take him out of the garden, but he just wouldnt accept the box. so tonight im just gonna keep putting him in and out of the box and take him to the training ground tomorrow,
cheers

[FlameHairedFalconer]

Sean

There is no need to go mad with the box - one or two goes a session, followed by your usual training regime will be more than adequete.

He should get the idea very quickly that box=food=nice experience.

leaving out the perch - this is only while you are initially getting him use to jumping into the box. The perch will just complicate matters at this stage. As I said once he is used to jumping straight in, you can put the perch back. Harrises have, in general, quite robust feathers which should withstand this sort of procedure...just make sure you take care when closing the door (i. e dont slam it shut!!)

TBH my screaming harris screamed from day one, with what was intially a banshee 'I hate you' scream, and later replaced with the 'normal' harris scream. I think he was just a vocal bird. He was totally silent in the field tho (??) And it didnt matter how much manning he got at home, he would still scream, he would scream with his head under his wing. I just think he had alot to say!! I loved him to bits tho. If I could bring him back I would, in a heart beat, scream and all.

FHF

[Jackie]

that hood should be over the water by now and at your door by friday at the latest. you can see why they are a good idea now. you could hood him place him in the box and then unhood him . resolving his dis trust of it very quickly.
sean are you still gona fly him at crows and magpie as we talked about for about 12 months or since then have you found all the rabbits ect. im sure the guys from your club will share some of there land in exchange for a walk with there gos ect across your brother in laws farm.
maybe next year matt and i will come over and have a week with you and you could stay at ours for a week as matts got a lot more permision this year that is short wing /broad wing centrel.
see ya .
ps matt servived the op

[Sean]

hi jackie, ill be flying at crows rabbits pheasent ducks, anything that it can catch basicly. ive found some permission but also going around on sunday asking for more lol. at work, so dunno if the hood has arrived yet. ill let use know when it has :D. glad matt is ok and tell him i said take it easy.

[Sean]

Wedensday 28th of september,

Weidhed in at 1lb and 7.6 oz (oh my god, i know lol)
I tried him in his box and he hated it, but in a chick head and he grabed it and then ran up my arm to get out of the box, friend is coming round tomorrow to helo, i thought that this would be easy lol. so after him havong half his food for the day out of the box lol, i decided to just fly him out the back.i set him down and he flew straight to be withotu food. then set him down again and he flew but i quickly put some food on the glove. when he got on the fist all i heard was, cheap cheap cheap cheap, while he was eating. set him down again and made sure i kept my arm low so he wouldnt fly, unwinding the creance and walking a little back he flew and landed on the hood of my jacket,(i think so anyway, i couldnt see him). so i read in all these books, dont give him food to get him off. so patiantly for about 10 mins i moved my hand about my head, like an idiot untill he steps up. next time im bringing a mirror. then set him on his t perch and gave him the rest of his rations with a small jump, again he was cheaping. i cant do anything else untill i have him out in the open, but he wont get in his box :oops: off to read and box while manning him in the house lol, cyas later

[Sean]

Thursday the 29th of September,

Weighed in at 1lb and 7.5 oz

Today i just tried him with the box, a freidn from the club came down and showed me how to do it and how slowly to do it. he made it look so easy, rolf was going in and out(just on thr fist) with no problems. then he went in for food and out for food a few times, then in and i closed the door. after 5 mins or so he came out onto the fist straight away. he got all his rations out of the box today( i know i didnt fly him, but it was worth it, and its raining really heavy) so i set him on his perch and had some dinner. then i brought the box into the house and opened the door of it. then picked up rolf and sat with him on my fist for about 1 and a half hours in full view of his box, and his new flashy hood :D(cheers jackie) while reading a book. all in all, i think todays training went very well,tomorrow, its in the box and out in the field :D

[Sean]

ohh and another thing, when i went it to lift him tonight, he bated and then jumped back onto his perch and screeched very very loudly. i think this is due to the fact that he has never seen me wearing a big stupid pointy hood of a wax jacket, when i picked him up later without the hood him was silent

[Freddie1]

Hi my name is steve wise i have joined your forum as my daughter and i have been working together for the last year to put our plans of a pair of harris hawks into reality and the middle of november is the time the dream become reality we have both worked hard on all the research and have come up with the feeling that we have had so much conflicting advise that we are looking forward to learning for ourselves we have joined a local club and we have had a lot of good straight advise from them.
We are planning to hunt with our pair as we both do a lot of pest control on local golf clubs.
hello to you all
steve and netty

[Jackie]

hello , you have done the right thing it sounds by joining the club ect . but guess what you will get more conflicting info here than any where else im a frade.
me and matt felt just the same when e stared. it getts better and it becomes a life style as well as a sport.
good luck ith it all .

[Jackie]

sean get that bloody hood on i want to see it on the bird and find out if it fits. also i want everone else to see it to. lol
what did your mentor think to it?

[BFC 007]

ohh and another thing, when i went it to lift him tonight, he bated and then jumped back onto his perch and screeched very very loudly. i think this is due to the fact that he has never seen me wearing a big stupid pointy hood of a wax jacket, when i picked him up later without the hood him was silent
thats the reason mate-birds prefer it when you are bare headed lol

[Moet]

hi sean, looks like your doing very well, keep up the good work, i do have a question for you if you don't mind me asking,
QUOTE Weighed in at 1lb 7.6 (3 days in a row lol :shock
how much are you feeding him to keep him at this weight, am I correct in thinking you are feeding him 2 skinned and washed chicks? thanks in advance

[Sean]

Hi moet, ive been feeding him 1 chick with the yolk and sometimes a little bit of beef.

And jackie my mentor thinks it looks well :D think everyone would agree,ill have pics for tomoz i promise lol.

Friday the 30th of September.

Weighed in at 1lb and 7.4 oz, then i put him in his box, with a little difficulty, and headed to the training ground. got him there, walked around for 15 mins or so and the decided to put him on a post. while unwinding the creance he came to the fist. so i set him down again but he was having a little difficulty balancing on it with the wind(pretty strong today) so i used his traveling box as a perch. set him down and walked away, he didnt come while i was walking, then at about 10 yards i put my fist out with food and he came like a rocket, then at 15 yards, then 20 yards, then 25. at this stage i had the backside of the chick a the yolk lift in one peice. i was going to make this the last flight. walked back to the perch(box lol) and he screamed real real loud. then bated bated bated bated, i didnt know what was going on. then i noticed 2 people out with lurchers in the feild next to us, running round a bush like lunatics, after about 5 mins he stoped bating, so i set him down and walked away. called him at 20 yards to be on the safe side, but he didnnt come, then he flew off the opposite direction of the dogs and luckily i had no slack on the creance and brought him down slowly. the doggy men left, so i set him down and walked the whole creance length, then another bloody man walking 2 lurchers came(on leads this time) he was a bit uneasy so i walked to about 10 yards and let him take the rest of the food. then i attempted to get him in his box, which took acout 20 mins, and headed home, i was pleased with tonights result, shame about the dogs tho, he was screaming like a firework:roll: . got home and manned him for an hour and put him in his box again, after i type this i will take him out and put him in teh aviary. what do you gusy think of his weight? im almost sure he would have come full creance length if it wasnt for the dogs, but hes on at 1lb 7.4,

[Shaun Byrne]

If it was me mate I would cut him to 1lb 6 3/4, try him once more on the creance then free.

Only problem with this is he needs lots more manning. I dont just mean you but Dogs, cars, cows, sheep, pigs and whatever else is in your bedroom lol!!

Sounds like he is about ready weight wise from what I have read but what would have happened today if he was free and saw the dogs?

Just one point, I would stop feeding yolks for now, it will ruin your glove and make weight control a bit slower.

[Sean]

Hi hawka, yea im need to do some seriuos manning around dogs lol. takingm him a walk on sunday along a river with plenty of cows,horses the lot lol, with plenty of dog walkers too. Im going to try him on the lure tomorrow, you think thats soudns ok? also, how much nutritional value would a deyolked chick have, eg would 1 and a half deyolked= 1 yolked, thanks for teh help m8 ;)

[Sean]

finally got the camera sorted, bit dark to take pics of the bird, but i did manage to take a pic of the avairy through the window inside lol, also took a few pics of the box, and a few pics of the hood matt and jackie made more me :D

[Sean]

finally got the camera sorted, bit dark to take pics of the bird, but i did manage to take a pic of the avairy through the window inside lol, also took a few pics of the box, and a few pics of the hood matt and jackie made more me :D

[Sean]

and one more

[Dave G]

bloody hell hope your strong that box looks like it weighs a ton , a harris hawk that is not used to dogs will always scream or show aggression, i dont own dogs and have been flying and also bumped into chaps out with terriers etc my bird just sits in the tree till they go then its as if they were never there and catches me up poof :0

[Jackie]

dont nock the box its his first. sean i like the hood mate lol wink wink.
lets see one of spud next and one with hood on to .
h@wka is proably right about the weight but i think i would nock it back just a bit more for his first flights free get him bomb proof and ravenous just to be on the safe side. its only for a few days and he will need more grub as he start to realy work his wings then when you both feel confidant and he has got a good idea whats it all about you can resume his weight back to 1.7 .
its getting close now sean . what you gona enter him on ? somthing easy to find and easy to catch is the role so what you got?

[Moet]

Just one point, I would stop feeding yolks for now, it will ruin your glove and make weight control a bit slower.

hi hawka, would 1 deyolked chick a day be enough, I am currently in the manning process of my new harris (had for 4 days now) and have been feeding him just short of 2 a day, he is unresponsive with food and takes his time to eat it, this is probably the time to cut his food down. Manning wise he is superb now and he has been around me almost all the time, i just wanted to get him settled in first and confident before getting his weight down, also he didn't eat for the first 2 days which worried me so i was happy 2 give him 2 chicks for the time being. Any advice hawka would be much appreciated thanks

[Shaun Byrne]

These are very basic questions you are asking me Moet. I cant tell you how much your bird should be eating any more than anyone else could.

Basically an overweight bird is absolutely no good for falconry, so what does this tell you?

Yolk is about 96% fat and as such will keep your birds weight high for less food. The idea is to make your bird feel as satisfied as possible with each feed and yet allow his weight to come down. If you feed yolk, you will have to reduce the quantity of food you feed, whereas, if you feed say washed chicks, you can increase the amount of food given for the same or greater weight loss.

These are the most basic of weight control techniques and anyone thinking of buying a BOP should know this and MUCH more, BEFORE they approach a breeder.

[HawkNorth]

sean some people swear by beef shin or chump steak any fatty bits removed,
myself i would always use rabbit. to start with but i guess you can get away with
chick yoked and even skinned nothing to rich to start with weigh twice a day helps
work out what he needs,each week can be checked with next, keep good records
makes it a lot easier. my birds favourite was chick so that was kept for the occasion
when things got difficult some of this you may already no

[Sean]

Hi HN, ive been feeding him shin too, he seems to love it lol, wanna vary the diet as much as possible. and jackie, ill be entering him on rababit, ill travel far if i need too lol.

Saturday 1 oct

weighed in at 1lb 7.4 oz. he was brillaint, flew straight away, and again i was flying him from a different perch. tried him with a pair on duck wings and he nailed it, straigyt on, both feet, like a brick.. hes allso strating calling a lil bit for about 30 seconds now, a few times a day, but he may be bored, still being therthered with nothing to see yet. im in a rush now so ill leave uses with a few pics of yesterday.

[BFC 007]

hi sean bird looks nice-are you going to be putting a perch in his box? maybe thats why he doesnt like going in there

[Matt]

cool hes tiny ahhhhhh.
nice feet tho . if hes gona take rabbit get him on rabbit skins with the head on . he will look and feel all over the pelt untill he finds meat on the head . this should lead to good head binding with the real thing . let him feed up on the hole head it will take ages but will soon get the idea if you just sit with him for as long as it takes and dont let him think you will take it from him. when hes finished or not eating as much get him to trancfur to the fist for the last feed up. do that 2 times then get him on the dummy bunny, 5 or 6 times at that and enter him asap but continue the dummy work . lead him to beleave hes killing every time he is slipped this will give him loads of confidance .
god im getting a bit jelouse of you with this bird it reminds me of my first few harris they can be so much funn .
all ther best matt

[Shaun Byrne]

Looking good Sean, the bird not you! lol

Just a thought, my birds will box without a problem unless the box is on the ground, then they hate it. They have a natural instinct to be as high as possible. I know its not easy in the middle of a field but is the box on the ground when you are at home?

[Matt]

il second that h@wka seans one funny looking fella .
h@wka tell him how to and why that hood should be on his bird lol
all the best

[Matt]

sean if my lanner can kill um so can you little spudney . harris 0 lanner 1
come on sean lets have a comp. highest score wins the others bird . what dio you think ???

[Moses]

sean if my lanner can kill um so can you little spudney . harris 0 lanner 1
come on sean lets have a comp. highest score wins the others bird . what dio you think ???


haha :D sean he has thrown down the gaunlet, now its your turn :D

[Moses]

[QUOTE=Hawka]Looking good Sean, the bird not you! lol

QUOTE]


:D seans been eating pies :D

[Sean]

hawka ive been putting him in the box when im lower than him, gettign someoe to hold the box up while i put him in. when hes a little more confident in the box, i will add a perch. and matt i tried him with the hood again, but he still bated, i think im just gonna hoodwink untill he takes it. and that pic makes him look small lol, he aint! as yes use are right the box is heavy lol, heres a few pics of me struggling

[Sean]

Sun the 02 of Oct
weighed in at 1, 7.6 oz (at 1pm)
was a bit slow flying to the fist, weight still needs to go down. i showed him a dubby bunny but he wasnt to keen to hit it, untill i took him right down ontop of it. walked him about a few fields, showed him hirses,cows,sheeps you name it. he is bating everytime he sees a car but hes getting better. went out with my mentor for a few flights with his bird and had a few good chases but no connections, rolf was a wee bit afraid around his birds but eventually settled down.

[Matt]

good lad sean that birds taking this **** abit int he ? get that weight off , get that hood on , drag that dummy and get scoring .
remeber lanner 1 harris 0 . we are playing for the birds winner takes all !!!!!

i was only joking about the size of him . its not how big mate !!!!
sean do you walk about with that box under your arm often ??
it has a touch of the village idiot about it ...

lol im only joking im pleased for you just dont fall over your boot lace carrying him . cos no amount of weight loss or manning will get him back in there if you do.
have you seen the falconers wheel barrows on ebay they might help with moving him in his box.

god im ****ing my self
all the best matt

[Sean]

lol i only take him down the lane in the box lol

[Sean]

Monday 03 of oct

Weighed in at 1lb and 6.8oz at 6pm, droped a good bit since yesterday. took him to the field and set down the box, then i put the dummy bunny down and covered it in branches. took him out and set him on a perch, he came while i was walking, put him back then walked fast and he caught up, but not untill i was at teh end of the creance, without food lol. then i set him down and walked away, with food ready, he caught me at about 20 yards. I tried to cast him to his perch, as i was intending to cast him in a tree today. everytime i casted him he turned and flew back to the fist lol.(any ideas how to get him to land on a perch). then i brought him to the bomfire, and pulled out the dummy bunny, he looked but didnt take off, he then nailed it when it was about 5 yards away., took him up and hid the bunny again(he didnt see me hide it lol). soon as i pulled it out he chased it, b ut missed it, then ran(with his legs lol) and took a little jump and nailed it. because he wouldnt cast up in a perch, i set him on a tree on a very steep bank, then walked down, so it seemed like he was high , but i could still lift him. he came instantly for a chick head. then had a few more flights and put him in the box. i gave him a chick, without yolk and some beef tonight. im hopinhm his weight will be up to 1lb 7.0 tomarrow so he aint as keen to leave the perch tomarrow lol. told my mentor about him tonight and he says all sounds good, going give him a dead rabbit towards thursday or friday and then try to entering him on saturday sund and monday, asap. hes still silent, except the odd cheap when i look in at him. hes absolutley brilliant! lol im over the moon.

[Matt]

sean is he flying free now then ??? id say he was bang on sean get him of the creance and out chasing the lure its more liky lack of understanding of the lure not a weight isue .
i would look to have him from the fist not trees you get loads more from slipping that way i think. if he is coming that well frez his weight at that and get started .
im telling you sean just drag that rabbits lure about and get him fit . are you doing jump ups with him to get him fit ?
errrhh i have loads of questions .
all the best

[Sean]

havent done any jump ups, i was thinking about caling him and then throwing the food high in the air. from what i hear, jump up[s can focus the hawk on the glove more than the field?

[Dave G]

i must disagree as most falconers do jumps as this gets the bird working harder than flying on the creance as carnt use the wind with jumps, i must say sean your bird looks a little small to weigh 1lb 7 oz and respond but then again pic can be diseeving as you might be a 6ft 9 monster :)

[Sean]

lol, well im 6.4

you geta good sizer of him from the pic with the box

[Sean]

Tues the 04 of oct
Flying well, and got the creance a little tangled so i decided enough was enough and i wa splanning to fly him free the next day.

Wed 05 Oct,
weight 1lb 6.5
Mentor came down to see him, flew straight to me at 50 metres, took of the creance. and he flew straight to me again, then ,and again and again, there was one time when the wind caught him, but he came round like a bomerang(was pretty impressive) and landed on the fist. then dogs showed up so i got his leash and things on and went home, hes in his box now(still gettign use to it) and im goign to attemp a dozen jump ups before i put him down, cyas all tomarrow. yet again im over the moon, rool on saturday!

[HawkNorth]

Sean are we talking high jumps if so i'm not sure this is a good idea in its first year

[Dave G]

looks like the both of you are having fun and the birds not scared of monsters :)big un mines not a big fan of dogs with just sit up a tree till they have gone lets out and aggressive scream thats about it doesnt attempt to fly off which is good,as the harris hawk in the wild has the dingo as its enermy must have something to do with the harris dislike of dogs

[Sean]

hi romeo, the dogs were abotu 200 yards away when i first spotted them. so i quickly got into saftey position and put on his mews jesses. he hates dogs, and screams when he sees em. HN , why would u not reocmend fist jumping? I want hime resonably fit before i try and enter him, incase he gives up due to lack of confidence. im absolutely loving all this. :D cant wait till the weekend

[HunterPaul]

I( think youll find its a coyote..dingo's are from oz, sorry to be pedantic..

[Dave G]

:) hunterpaul what was i thinking bloody dingos yep its the coyote cheers for that :0

[HawkNorth]

Harrishawks the slightest thing can set them off once they start you might then be waiting to see if he has quieted down next season. there are still plenty of young rabbits about dont have to be fit to catch them

[Sean]

ok cheers m8 :D u going to the meet in a few weeks? would be nice to put a face to the name

[HawkNorth]

something i should clear up i posted earlier on this thread
the 1st weeks i used rabbit meat for calling off and doc
for emergency till i had her flying and hunting weight sorted
variety in food was then used
i'll have look ihc, the island paul invited was very good

[Sean]

i missed it last year :x but herd loads about it lol

Friday 07 oct

weight : 1lb 6.3

Flying free about the fields, few call offs from the trees and a good long chase at the dummy, although he landed beside it and then nailed it, gave hima bout an ounce of beef, so hopefully that will keep him steady for hutnign tomarrow :D

[Matt]

good stuf sean keep it up mate its now only a matter of time before he kills.
all the best

[Sean]

Sat 08 Oct

Weight 1lb 6.1 oz(9 pm)

Took him out at around noon. i was almost sure he would chase and bunnies. but watch them run. ive only ever tried him on the dummy. I went with a few fellas from the club and i really good rabbit area. 100 yards from the car was a big log, mate went in and shook it, out came a rabbit and quickly onto the other side of the lane, within a second or so lol. rolf just looked at it, and i knew i was in for a terrible day lol. then we cross in a field with a very big hill and a few sets. there was a rabbit about 150 yards from us, moving along the hedge and rolf took of for it immediatley!! it went into cover and then rolf lifted his wings and went up onto a tree. called him back , and then set in a ferret into a few sets, nothign much happening, so continued to go down the hill and got to a nice set and we put down a ferret. rabbit bolted out and rolf to a good chase at it and so did my firends bird. i heard the rabbit and ran liek the wind! after a 100 yard roon, and a struggle to get through soem barb wire fencing. i seen that my bird wasnt on the kill. firend went into dispatch it, and rolf came down and hit my mates bird, but luckly didnt do much damage. so he went into the tree. then because the rabbit was just freshley killed i was planning to let him chase it on the line so he can taste teh warm meat. i ran liek the hammers with the line, but he wouldnt chase it! :o ? i was wondering if he was huffing a little because he didnt catch the rabbit but the other bird did. so we put the rabbit into the bag and liften rolf down from the tree(was a low tree lol). tried a few more sets and rolf again went straight for the rabbtis(but why didnt he go to a dead one???) but wasd unsuccesful. after a few more flights i decided to put him back in the car and another guy wanted to get out one of his birds. on the way back i needed to climb through some mud, so i set rolf on a post, he then went into a tree, and then a rabbit came out and he was on its taile, full speed. but it still got away! then i took him back to the car and he bated and got away(opps), guess where i found him, in the same bloody tree he took a chase at the rabbit from lol(which was a fair bit away). so he got plenty of excerise today and he done well for his first time away from his trainign area, and he had flown the most he ever had today, and the highest, and the furtherest lol. so i put him away and a friend got out his bird. continued the days hawking, and at the end of the day there was 3 rabbits in the bag. I was kindly given one :D which is in the fridge at the moment. if he doesnt catch by monday evening, im gonna let him have this one, and feed up on it.(if he chases a dead one that is). so all in all, today was the best days hawking ive ever had and ive just over the moon at his permance today. :D dont htink ill be hiutning him tomorrow with all these big winds the wherether forecast was talking about. but will be out hunting on monday with him, if all goes to plan. :D

[Matt]

****ing hell m8 it sound great im seeing it all in my mind eye . very good news.
he might not chase another birds kill . my old fem harris would show no intrest in any rabbits that i cought with my hands or that serfaced with ferrets atached but would go like stink on anything that bolted clean . i put this down to her having manners nothing more . almost as if she was happy to wait her turn .. i dont know if any body else ever had this happen ?

anyway well done and let the good times roll

[Sean]

:D, another thing is, that no young rabbits bolted, they all seemed fully grown

[HawkNorth]

Seen them and caught one this week size of my fist let it go again to easy for the bird
last week they were that tiny replicas of there parents and running like the clappers
any way sean looks like your doing ok having some fun

[Sean]

very windy today, so i wont be flying him

[Matt]

wimp get him out there thoughen him up

[Dave G]

sean the harris uses the wind quite well once they get the knack so dont be scared to have him out in the wind its gale force you stay at home mate :)

[Flying High]

i have read all of the advice and it sounds good but bare in mind there are lots of different ways of doing it for exsample. everytime i have traned my birds i have spent as much time as i could each day (anything from one hour to 10 hours) and for the first few days to a week i have allowed the bird to eat as much or as little as it wounldn't to. I have traind alot of birds this way and yes it might take a little longer but every but has turned out will. I well now a days to many people are dropping there birds weight to much or to fast just to get a quick reasult. But like i said there are lots of different ways of doing it.

Happy training and good luck

[Sean]

cheers for the advice :), well its very windy, widns up to 50 mph, so i aint risking it, and hes already had his feed for today lol

[Matt]

50 mph might be to much lol cant find the embarrest face smilie lol
im a bit lost by hf post tho . it seems out of context??
hears one thing to remember tho sean never feed up to early as it might be *****ing it down in the morning but nice and sunny in the after noon so its allways good to see just whats happening before you call it a day and feed up.
just a thought , it might help
all the best matt

[Sean]

cheers matt ;)

[Sean]

monday 11 oct,
flew him at brother in laws farm fro about half an hour and then ran with a dead rabbit, he just looked at it, so i had to open up the head and bring him down to it and he nailed it on the head and shoulders. how come he chases live rabbits? my lure is made of rabbit skin which is brown, but a dead rabbit was a bit wet being in the fridge for a couple of days and maybe this is why? im just nopt sure lol. his weight was 1lb 5.8 oz, after i fed him on the rabbit he weigherd 1lb 7oz , so i doubt i fed him on it well enough

[Sean]

Saturday 15 oct

Went out again with a few lads from the club, he was at 1lb 5.4 oz so i was sure he was keen. we decided to give him a few flights on his own incase he was put of by the otehr birds last week. then the first rabbit bolted, he closed in, this was it i knew he couldnt miss it, getting closer.... then he open his wings to brake... and the wind pushed him back like a skydiver and a parachute! lol then he went up to a tree and another bolted from the same set, he went for it but again the widn caught him, this time not too close. throughout the day he had about 8 flights at rabbit, so really close ones . but no kill :(. there was one flight wherre the rabbit bolted and he was about to catch it, when it jinked sidewards, so he decided to fly back to a tree. as he flew back the rabbit STOPPED and had a look aroundfor a few seconds before making it to safety lol. also had 2 young rbabits bolted, one he was very close to and it went into thrushes, an experienced hawk would have went in after it, but he backed up. tried to reflush but no success. wind was really against us today will be flying him tomorrow, so lets hope he gets one :rolleyes:

[Sean]

oh and another thing, was lettign him follow on, and a snipe came out under us, he took chase to it and played in the air, lol nowhere near the snipe, dont even know if the snipe knew their was a harris ebhind him lol

[BFC 007]

wont be long sean before he nails one :wink:

[Sean]

saturday the 23rd of oct
1lb 5.2
few flights at rbabits, also a cracker flight at a cock pheasent, he was on a fone post and the pheasent was a runner, he was about a foot away and backed away. such and easy chance but he just didnt have the balls,

sunday 24th of ocr
flying him for a bit and put out a rabbit from cover within 15 mins from taking him out, the rabbit ran and he took chase, hit it in the arse, and got kicked off, but he werent giving up, he got up and continued to chase. this time it was a headshot :D HIS FIRST RABBIT. im over the moon with him, still cant ebelive it only bad thing was, he killed so soon i couldnt make a day of it

[Saker Mad]

well done mate its been a while comming

[HawkNorth]

Forget making a day of it a good crop will pay better well done Rolf
and you to Sean

[Saker Mad]

well said hawk north

[Sean]

forgot to mention, it was a fully grown rabbit :o,

matt......harris :1 Lanner:1 :P :P :P