Harris shaking his head

[Grovsey]

hi all
I mate has just got a 4yr old male that has not been entered for at least 16 months,he is alert and slowly getting used to his new home ect,to day we notice that he is shaking his head like a nervous twitch or like a tick that a human get.Has anyone ever had this before and is it off concern.

[Kanati]

if it is a twitch and not a shake then i saw it in a second hand male I got...one day he just stopped ! Dunno what it was.

If its a shake then he might have worms? or somthing caught in his throat?

[Darren]

try & look in his throat/Pallate of the mouth & see if it has white abbrassions/ ulcers....they can get something like thrush from eating wild birds. Cant remember the name of it for the life of me. If he does have it get him to the vets for some medication ASAP

[Barbary Boy]

havent seen this for years,but in the late 70s early 80s all the imported birds seemed to do it?

[Dave G]

hi is the shaking of the head when it eats as my mates bird was doing this head shaking thing and we notised that his beak was sticking together slightly so needed coping which did the trick so check the beak shuts nice

[Barbary Boy]

try & look in his throat/Pallate of the mouth & see if it has white abbrassions/ ulcers....they can get something like thrush from eating wild birds. Cant remember the name of it for the life of me. If he does have it get him to the vets for some medication ASAP
i think the word your looking for may be frounce? b/boy

[Grovsey]

hi is the shaking of the head when it eats as my mates bird was doing this head shaking thing and we notised that his beak was sticking together slightly so needed coping which did the trick so check the beak shuts nice
no m8 as he has just been coped,he does it all the time

[BFC 007]

rhinitus can make the bird do that but sometimes they sneeze with it. Could be caused by a trauma

[Tr1gger]

Hav the bird wormed and use some johnssons anti mite on him. as mites usally cause birds to behave like that.

[Talon]

harris quite often shake there heads when feeding this is due to salervating .
allso it is noticed in youn harrises when on fist just before feeding.
its more of a little flick than a shake .
if realy concernd.as i carnt see bird.get it checked out.
wouldnt like to give wrong advice as im no vet .
but have noticed it in lots of harrises when first being trained.

[Addi]

right .. can everyone calm down, ur gunna give the guy a ****in heart attack! ....

shaking of the head is fairly common in harris hawks .. its just a sign of nervousness ... once he is manned back down and settled he will stop doing it

[HunterPaul]

addi you kill me man...and your right... lol

[IAmTheWeasel]

Thank Gawd someone finally mentioned that it is a common thing. Every Harris I have seen have done this. Including the one I have at home right now. He is new to me and therfore a tad nervous still.
As for frounce, The flicking will Occur while eating generally as they simply have trouble swallowing their food due to the plaques and tend to flick the food aside.

[FlameHairedFalconer]

I would 'third' the above, I have come across many harrises, raised and trained in a variety of different ways that do this, for no reason at all.

I have never considered it a problem, rather an endearing feature of harris hawks...but then I am a bit straaaaaaange.....;)

[HunterPaul]

I would 'third' the above, I have come across many harrises, raised and trained in a variety of different ways that do this, for no reason at all.

I have never considered it a problem, rather an endearing feature of harris hawks...but then I am a bit straaaaaaange.....;)
i hadnt noticed...lol;-)

[FlameHairedFalconer]

i hadnt noticed...lol;-)

WHAT??? I would have thought the countless pms, emails and curious postal packages smelling of ammonia might have alerted you!

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :twisted:

[HunterPaul]

you must be pming a different HP ....there must be an imposter.. Ive a cute little twitch too FHF...just how strange do you like to get.....:twisted:

[FlameHairedFalconer]

you must be pming a different HP ....there must be an imposter.. Ive a cute little twitch too FHF...just how strange do you like to get.....:twisted:

No wonder you never reply...and why that restraining order had a different name on it :twisted:

My mother warned my about mens little twitches, she said to keep a big knife handy and cut it off at the first sign of movement. Good advice which I have been able to use in falconry as well! ;) :twisted:

[HunterPaul]

good ferret food....though some are a larger meal than others.....

[FlameHairedFalconer]

One man's pick up piece.....;)

[HunterPaul]

lol.........:D

[Michael Harrison]

HARRIS SHAKING HEAD

My male harris shakes his head about once a minute while in my living room.
Kind of a "nervous" shake. MY bird's shaking is easy to stop. I just turn off the
television set, and the shaking stops....Must be an annoying noise coming from the television set.... Of course, other birds may have severe reasons for shaking and need a vet, but if turning off the TV stops the shaking and saves a trip to the vet...........Oh Well.:

Nothing more to add.

Mike Harrison

[Bazzer]

Tremors or twitching is a sign of sickness or injury!
Get the bird checked out by your raptor vet and take a fresh mute sample (both colours). Do it without delay as sick hawks can go down hill awful fast.
It may not be serious, but it is not worth taking a chance, And it may save you a heap trouble and expense in the long run.
Good luck with it.
Bazzer

[Ninja-Jon]

Probably got a bit of wax in its ears pmsl, book it in with the vet get erm syringed...........


Mine keeps shaking its tail.............................

[Pink_Eagle]

when 1st had my young male, as we where out walking when on the fist he would shake his head, he still does it occoasionaly apartnly a way of re-balancing the ears. But now he just yawns at me after eating!

[CanadaManada]

Reading this thread, it occurs to me that the avian veterinary business in the UK must thrive from all the free referrals it gets from falconers.
HHs shake their heads sometimes. It doesn't mean they're dying. Mine did for a month in her 2nd year.

Justin

[Pertie]

Reading this thread, it occurs to me that the avian veterinary business in the UK must thrive from all the free referrals it gets from falconers.
HHs shake their heads sometimes. It doesn't mean they're dying. Mine did for a month in her 2nd year.

Justin

It is reassuring to find someone with common sense.

[Baywing]

I've also noticed that some do it when you speak to them in a high voice
Baywing

[Roel_Birds]

Last year I had 2 young birds I bred myself that shaked there head. I checked them for everything that could cause this: worms, mites, fronce, candida, anatomic malformations of the crop or mouth, ... It all was negative! The literature also mentioned a vitamine B deficiency caused by a number of reasons. One reason being the diet being deficient in vit B, wich I could rule out. Another reason is the bird can't absorbe enough vit B because of parasite infestation or enteritis, wich I could rule out too. Another reason mentioned is the presence of bacteria in the gutflora that produce thiaminase wich breakes down vit B so the bird can't absorb any. This was my last hope! I gave them antibiotics to kill there gutflora and gave them an injection with vit B. And, hey presto, problem solved! So I concluded that thiaminase producing bacteria were the reason for the headshaking.

[Simply Simon]

It seems to me that what people are generally trying to say is this:

Any falconer, novice or mature should know what is normal behaviour and what is out of the ordinary for their bird. It you hawk is unwell there should be a number of signs including mutes, behaviour, attitude, personality, weight and physical appearance. A novice might read more into a few of these signs than necessary and members on the IFF cannot and will not diagnose any symptoms as one problem or another. They can only lend their years of experience to the situation and help you make an informed decision. Up to you what you do with that.

As an anicdote, I can make my harris yawn by imitating an owl noise; a certain pitch will tickle his ears. You can do it with any harris, as you can make any harris rouse by tickling a certain part.

[JGH1304]

I came across this post a week ago as I was looking for information on head twitching.

My new 18-week-old Harris kept twitching her head. She doesn’t do it alone in the aviary just on my fist and its worse when were in the house with my wife Lesley. I didn’t think it was something irritating her because she wasn’t scratching her head, I though it may be a nervous twitch.

Over the week I’ve been watching her and found out it’s cause by noise. Certain noises on the TV trigger it and so does my voice. That’s why it was worse when my wife’s was about because we were talking.
It like a party trick if I ask the bird a question she always shakes her head as if she’s saying no.

I don’t know why she does it but my bird’s twitch is definitely down to noise

[Simply Simon]

It may be down to certain noises effecting their hearing. I can make any harris yawn by making an owl noise that goes straight through their ears. Also my partner, being an excitable wee lass, tends to screech (I know it sounds odd but its a childish excited thing she does, aged 24 going on 12) which also tends to effect his ears and makes him yawn.

This might be similar but I've not know a harris to twitch like that. Might be the same thing but it may also be a more extreme variation due to personality (each bird is individual in there character) or a biological problem with their ears. Don't know, I'm just guessing. A more experienced falconer would know better.

[Wolabrawonga]

mY 20 WK OLD FHH DOSE IT but only infront of the tv or if i play a g on the guitar it is def.sound relaledin her case.