screaming harris not again

[welshhawk2005]

hello everyone,
I am new to the site and i can see simalar problem with other peoples harris hawks the screaming. i first got my male harris hawk at march this year he was a year old so i was told so i did not try to fly him i put him in a mews to moult he was in a selcuded mews and i fed him though a food chute i then took him out at the begining of august where i put him in a teathered set up and have never fed him in the mews i fed him on the weathering bow perch and i do this though a pipe that goes from the shed to the weathering so the bird is unable to see me i also feed him on a lure and on the fist but lately he has started screaming when he hears me and when he sees me he current has caught nothing but has done quite a lot of lure work with a dead rabbit i am wondering what has brought this on

[HawkMan]

Who had the bird before hand m8 ,it looks as if its a food imprint ????
Ive got a m8 who,s got a screaming harris, out in the feild its great just when its in its mew it sounds like some ones getting murdered ,lol
Hope you,ve got nice neighbours
I aint been into falconry that long so i could be talking a load of rubbish
Hope someone can help
All the best m8
Johnny

[welshhawk2005]

he ok in the mews if he cant see or hear me it when he is on the fist and the noise

[Kornie]

It sounds like hes a food imprint. Do you know anything about the history of the bird?

[welshhawk2005]

no not really i think he just told me what i wanted to hear

[Coedhirion]

It may be that the last owner parted with it because of the noise, or may be you have reduced the weight and done nothing with him. If you got the bird out from the moult August, he should be flying free, hunting and have been enterd by now. He may be just yelling to tell you he wants to be out hunting. What is his weight, now, & when he came out of moult? How often is he flown?

[FlameHairedFalconer]

hello everyone,
I am new to the site and i can see simalar problem with other peoples harris hawks the screaming. i first got my male harris hawk at march this year he was a year old so i was told so i did not try to fly him i put him in a mews to moult

I think that says it all mate - you've been had, sorry :(

[welshhawk2005]

he was 1lb 9oz when he came out he droped down to 1lb 7.5 and then i brought him back up to 1lb 8oz i have tried to bring his weight back up but he will not responed

[Coedhirion]

The weight sounds OK. A flying weight of 1lb 9oz is a fairly large male, 1lb 7oz would be 'normal' but weight can vary by a tremendous amount. If you don't get a response then you have to reduce the weight as you correctly say. Your only hope is that the bird is just bored as he is near flyng weight and not yet catching any thing. What does he do to a dragged bunny? is he hitting hard and hanging on when it is given little 'jurks'? Is he flying free? If so you have to find him quarry quick. He needs to be entered and flown every day if possible. He should get quieter then. A lot of birds are not completely quiet and Harris can be very 'chatty' If you realy can't find live quarry then find a mate with fast legs and set him off from a good distance with a dragged lure so the bird has something to realy chase!!! Make sure you tell your mate to stop when the bird hits the lure tho !!! You may have a screamer you may not...from what you say it is a long time since you got him out for him not to have been entered, they get bored real easy..a good bird isn't keen on just a short fly around a couple of times a week. So you may have a good bird that is simply not getting served quarry!!

[Coedhirion]

If you don't mind me asking, where abouts are you, some one local (tho nothing much is in Wales) may be able to give you some assistance

[welshhawk2005]

he does hit the rabbit hard and he does hang on i have tried him on live quarry but the problem is that i think he does not see them i know bop have exellent eye sight but he follow on too far behind and when i spot the rabbits they are all ready making for the bushes and i cant hold him on the fist because of the noise the fun of flying a bop you got to love it

[welshhawk2005]

i am in skewen near neath not much here but i got permission in ross and wye
they a good bit up there but have not had the chance to go up there yet with my bird hoping to go up next weekend

[MickeyDredd]

but he follow on too far behind and when i spot the rabbits they are all ready making for the bushes and i cant hold him on the fist because of the noise the fun of flying a bop you got to love it

Fly him off the fist, when killing successfully the noise may well stop.

If Pamela Anderson farted in your bed would you make her sleep in the spare room???????

[North East Harris Hawker]

i wouldnt get too upset just yet.
the bird needs flying and entering at quarry for the season. birds that are sat around (not free lofted in aviary's) can vent their frustration by screaming, its not uncommon. this does NOT always mean an imprint.
get the bird flown and catching its game, dont let him sit around getting bored, if he cannot be flown make sure there are tirings left about, ie a pheasants wing or something to keep him occupied.oh and if your not in the field stop feeding him on the glove, its direct feeding, just like mummy did!
dont give up yet

[Loopy]

Noise is for all sorts of reasons. He is NOT a food imprint, merely a noisey Hawk. Do exactly what NEEH is stating, that about sums it up.

Also if he is not following on properly then reduce his weight a little bit more even, 10 grams should do it. And I mean this seriously just don't walk as fast or as far ahead!!!! Ask yourself how they hunt in the wild, if your the Alpha Female, what should you be doing to show the youngsters a thing or two?????

But you should really be out flying your hawk everyday on good ground.

[welshhawk2005]

he is flying five days out of seven because i gave him a good feeding once a week and it take him a day to get back in weigh thank you all for your help

[North East Harris Hawker]

if you take him out every two/three days and let him think that he has caught a rabbit (by producing a dead one on string for him to catch if you are unsuccessfull) it will quieten him down. its the bored and frustrated bird that starts making a noise. like i said, even if he is not catching his own quarry, make him think that he is ;o)

[welshhawk2005]

yeah have been calling him back more with a recall lure i never realise how fast male harris can go he catch the lure sometimes before it hit the floor and been using a dead rabbit and having my mate to pull it it took him a good while for him to leave the tree do u think i should lower his weight and if so how much?

[Juzzer]

Hi all,i am a new member of the forum and this is my first posy so just want to say hi to everyone and i will carry on reading the threads. thanks

[PeelsBells]

Do you use ferrets to put quarry in front of him as this is one of the best ways to bring your bird on. Hunting with birds can take time just strick with it and everything will turn out in the end.

[Sean]

although alot of people will disagree with me here, but to wanna hunt rabbits often, you need ferrets, and soon there wont by any ferrets left till next year, so start lookign m8 lol

[Renton]

Too right, Sean! Ferrets are vital if you fly a HH or a RT. Or a damned good dog to flush those skulking bunnies. Why not use both?

[Coedhirion]

You say the bird is too far behind you. This is all part of the art and training. To produce an obedient bird. If he gets behind and there is a tree in front of you, call him up. if this dosnt work, call to the fist for nothing and cast him in to the tree. thrash the bushes and try and convince him you are looking. Also watch him, he can tell you where he thinks there is something. if he is looking intently to some cover, go an bash heck out of it !! I am sure your problem is the fact that the bird has flown for so long with no kill. He's just bored. take him to lots of new places, never fly in the same place more than once a week, quarry soon learn what that bell means
Good luck, dont give up yet just find some help with a dog and or ferrets and go catch things!!

[Renton]

With experience, the bird will learn to work in front of you. What Coedhirion says is spot on; work with your bird, not against it.

[Hawkmaster]

WELCOME there JUZZER! That is a cool name! :lol:

Paul