how do u know when ur bird is ready for rabbit

[HarrisHawk.1.]

when i take m/harris out on the dummy bunny at first he is not interested untill the second time round but then he wont let go , how do i know when he is ready for the real thing,. ???

[DeathFromAbove]

hiya buddy. it's natural for hwks to get a bit 'footy' with their 'kill' mate, you'll notice a change in how keen he is when you find his 'true hunting weight' what a hawk will fly at and what they'll hunt propperly at are usually two different weights. when he does go for the bunny make the chase a bit harder for him and some unexpected ones too out of a bush, try walking where ur going and planting it somewhere to run out with when he least expects it, round a peg in the ground and off into woods, make him work for it. has he seen a bolted bunny to chase yet? it helps to get him as fit as poss too, i use dog lead training and my FHH took another bunny today with ease. also try feeding him up on the dummy bunny of a few evenings, let him associate it more strongly with food.

hope this helps mate. let me know how you get on.

[HawkMan]

When his weights right and bunnies come a jumpin m8 ,get your Hh entered m8 ,whats it like following on and is it coming to the fist on the whistle ,First time ,Let him free and reap the rewards .
Jb

[Bones]

tell him johnny tell him pmsl
PAUL

[Coedhirion]

When he's ready to fly free get him the real thing asap. The pick up off a lure is important. The correct pick up off a kill is vital !!!!! You musnt rob the bird.

[Hosehead]

Had a problem with my bird the first few hunts with her going after mice in woodpiles. I trapped her early in the season and where I caught her there just wasn't any rabbits. My solution was to have my son drag a rabbit lure on a long line through a field once she was up in the trees. She caught on after about three times and turned into an excellent rabbit hawk.Kurt

[Mr_Colin]

Buy a rabbit carcus and attach it to your lure line instead of the dummy bunny. When he catches it let him feed up. This will give him the real taste and the occiation of the rabbit fur and food will teach the bird what to really look for.

[HunterPaul]

I agree with mr colin...you cant beat the real thing ...the bird will know the difference between a dummy and the real thing too... It knows the difference between a rabbit and a ferret..
do what mr colin says and it should solve the problem....

[MickeyDredd]

how do u know when ur bird is ready for rabbit ?

He's flying free!!

[Mr_Colin]

how do u know when ur bird is ready for rabbit ?

He's flying free!!

So very true Mickey

[DeathFromAbove]

aye, i agree with mr colin too - nothin like a bunny carcass to get em 'in the spirit' of the hunt. Just remember the pick up, 'fair trade is no robbery'.

[IAmTheWeasel]

when i take m/harris out on the dummy bunny at first he is not interested untill the second time round but then he wont let go , how do i know when he is ready for the real thing,. ???
There are three basic reasons why a mHH will not chase a rabbit....One:...He's fat as a pig, Two: he's blind, Three: He's dead.....I am gathering that the bird is neither blind or dead and the fact that he will not chase the rabbit lure means little as their visual accuity is so great that they are not fooled. The fact that he won't let go could mean several things. One: he has become sticky footed due to, for lack of a better word,"over trained". or two, the fact that you are using a fake bunny(which I will never understand) has resulted in some sort of stimulus reaction from the bird to hold on.....Assuming you do not try to rob the bird, try a simple transfer to a tid bit placed just out of his reach while you hold onto the lure.
It sounds like he is plain old over weight to me. If he was hungry, he would go after the lure with gusto knowing that food is there and he would transfer off the lure just as quickly knowing he was leaving it for more food. The fact that he won't leave the lure to transfer tells me his hunger drive is not quite high enough. Now I have said some of these things without knowing the bird itself and the bird could just as easily be too low as well as too high so have someone feel the keel to get a better determination of it's condition.

[Croft]

hello mate
get your self out with some ferrets let your bird watch some bolt and see if he bates for them if he does net one kill it then let him have some blood from the fresh bunnie and a bit to eat about third of a crop then take him out next day and let him chase the bolted rabbits. at this time of year there still will b three quarter grown rabbits about .your bird needs to c them bolting and it will get him going all the best paul

[HarrisHawk.1.]

well thanxs very much
i had a dummy bunny but my dog was teething at the time and he ripped it up so ma nephew has borrowed me his.