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wesleyc6
06-17-2013, 09:07 PM
Well I guess I will go ahead and introduce my new little charge. I met up with a group of falconers a few states north of me and joined in on a mission to pull some shins for several falconers. I believe 11 falconers in all got one. I got to climb 3 nests.......not. I watched 3 nests be climbed and was able to get one of the chicks. I am hoping mine is a musket. I got a longtime sharpie guy to guess the sex instead of me trying. I will be happy either way, but hope its a guy. I know compared to my buddy's chick, Finn's legs are much daintier and Finn is a day or two older than his by appearance. I am guessing he is 11 days old or so today, so I will post by day. I was going to just do a log at home and then post it all at once, but I will just update here separately. I am doing the whole full food association deal. It will be a whole new game for me as even though I have raised a gos and a coop, I have always hid the food and cut the weight fairly quickly and won't be doing that this time. I weighed his smaller container today and then later weighed it with him in it (I split his time with some in the little container and some in his imprint box) and he is 90g today with a little bit of food in him. He can just barely stand and then falls over on his head. He did hack up a casting today. He seems quite comfy and the family is all over him. I had a great time on the trip as I had my son along with me for our first big father/son adventure and a good friend put us up and went with us, so it was nice to spend time with him too.

JRedig
06-17-2013, 09:26 PM
I wondered if that's why you were visiting Brian, cool!

colelkhunter
06-17-2013, 09:29 PM
Hmmm. That bird looks oddly familiar.
:D

FredFogg
06-17-2013, 10:16 PM
You all suck! LOL :D

poleyc
06-17-2013, 10:52 PM
You all suck! LOL :D

I agree Fred!!! Totally jealous!!!

skooky20
06-17-2013, 11:24 PM
alright Wes, good luck and keep this thread going

Goshawk635
06-18-2013, 01:11 PM
Fantastic looking forward to all the shin threads this year as there are a couple WA folks who need to share their new charges as well.

This will be a fun summer to watch :)

jeffandheidi
06-18-2013, 01:46 PM
Hey Wes, I was there also but believe I went with the other group. Two of the nests we checked had hatched but been destroyed by a predator. Damaged nests with bits of fluff and blood in them. :(

I ended up with what I think is a male. If I can get my act together I'll start a parallel thread and we can compare the two.

Good Luck!

wesleyc6
06-18-2013, 11:57 PM
Just a few observations. He did peck one bite of food from his little dish today according to my wife. He only stands for a few seconds at the time. I do notice he has times when he doesn't especially want to be handled and other times he is fine. I don't mean like a real fear, but when chatting with another falconer the word "hesitancy" came up and seemed the best way to describe it. He is handled a lot, but not picked up unless in his nest bowl. He is a fun little guy right now and hard to stop watching when he is awake and even like to watch him sleep a little too.

thanks for the comments guys

Buckeye Falconer
06-19-2013, 09:04 AM
Congrats Wes! Sounds like you all will have quite an exciting summer.

jeffandheidi
06-19-2013, 11:38 AM
How much is he eating at each feeding?

colelkhunter
06-19-2013, 12:59 PM
Got a good shot of MeDermott explaining to Wes and the gang which end of the bird you need to feed and which end the poop shoots out of.:D

BestBeagler
06-19-2013, 01:33 PM
Got a good shot of MeDermott explaining to Wes and the gang which end of the bird you need to feed and which end the poop shoots out of.:D

Brian, yeah I was confused about that for awhile!

wesleyc6
06-19-2013, 06:10 PM
That is funny Brian. I am glad he explained it too. I forgot though for a while, but then figured it out again and wrote it down with diagrams to make things go smoother. crazyy

wesleyc6
06-19-2013, 06:11 PM
How much is he eating at each feeding?
2 lbj's. He goes through about 6-8 a day.

wesleyc6
06-19-2013, 09:50 PM
Standing more and more. He is eating calmly and starting to pick off the dish more and more. I took him to prayer meeting tonight and he got a lot of exposure........and baby talking. They are going to hinder his vocabulary development. I guess that is about all.

wesleyc6
06-20-2013, 08:12 PM
My wife said he stood up for 3-5 minutes straight today. He ate off the lure today for the first time, but has been picking off the plate some the last couple days. He has eaten today, but doesn't seem to want it as often. He ate 5 lbj's. I put him in his bigger box for a while today so I could clean the small nest bowl. Here is a pic. http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/4FA553F5-90CE-4102-AF62-46F27F44478C-2764-000002EF52DCFAE2.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/4FA553F5-90CE-4102-AF62-46F27F44478C-2764-000002EF52DCFAE2.jpg.html)

colelkhunter
06-20-2013, 08:40 PM
If you needed lure, I could have made you one while you were up here. I hate you had to cut a piece of carpet from the front porch to make a lure.toungeout

wesleyc6
06-20-2013, 09:15 PM
If you needed lure, I could have made you one while you were up here. I hate you had to cut a piece of carpet from the front porch to make a lure.toungeout
Dude I saw your lure and I am not comfortable enough in my masculinity to use one of those. Of course my curiosity got the best of me and I looked them up on ebay and apparently they don't just come in smooth finish eitherconfusedd Seriously that is about all I use for a lure on any hawk.

JRedig
06-20-2013, 09:23 PM
It's shin madness this year! Someone should write a story for the Hawk Chalk about the take day/weekend. Would be cool to keep track of each bird taken and how they are all doing through their first season for an end of year summary too.

hcmcelroy
06-21-2013, 12:14 PM
Wes,

That is one neat looking mini...I guess you could use the Holohil BD-2G on his back???

Harry.

wesleyc6
06-21-2013, 04:51 PM
Thx Harry. I am not sure yet what his permanent type mount will be. I am thinking of trying a small neck or leg mount.

I put anklets on today, but took this picture this morning before I installed them.

wesleyc6
06-21-2013, 04:51 PM
BTW do you experienced sharpshin guys agree he looks like a male?

hcmcelroy
06-21-2013, 06:34 PM
Just a guess but the shape of the head and foot look male to me???

Harry.

jeffandheidi
06-21-2013, 09:02 PM
The head/cere/feet look identical to mine. My birds belly down is much darker since he decided to lie down on his freshly cut up starling this evening.

wesleyc6
06-21-2013, 10:18 PM
The head/cere/feet look identical to mine. My birds belly down is much darker since he decided to lie down on his freshly cut up starling this evening.

Have you weighed yours lately?

wesleyc6
06-21-2013, 11:30 PM
Finn spent the first hours of his life alone today. The whole family was gone at one time which hasn't happened before. He was well fed before we left and I suspect he slept most of the time. However when we got back, he stood for a solid 10 minutes. He ate a sparrow and he walked across his nest bowl and played with an old hood I put in there. Something else I noticed tonight is that I saw him looking up a lot while standing. I think in his mind he is contemplating when to start trying to get higher. Probably craziness on my part, but it sure appeared like he had a different look in his eyes to me as he looked up. Oh and I scooted him into his little bowl and he weighed 112g.

jeffandheidi
06-22-2013, 12:09 AM
Hey Wes, I haven't weighed him at all yet. I have noticed that his eating habits are erratic. The past week he has eaten right away in the morning only once, either Sunday or Monday. Since then he nibbles, a few tidbits at a time all day without ever taking a full crop. Nothing like the cooper hawks I've raised in the past. How does that compare with yours?

BestBeagler
06-22-2013, 07:18 AM
Hey Wes, I haven't weighed him at all yet. I have noticed that his eating habits are erratic. The past week he has eaten right away in the morning only once, either Sunday or Monday. Since then he nibbles, a few tidbits at a time all day without ever taking a full crop. Nothing like the cooper hawks I've raised in the past. How does that compare with yours?

Jeff, Same here. Since I am hand feeding though I can coax him to take a full crop more often than not.

wesleyc6
06-22-2013, 07:55 AM
Most of the time he eats pretty well. Yesterday he didn't act hungry in the morning, so I left food on his lure. He casted later and then ate. I am leaving food on the lure now. Two pics from this morning.

wesleyc6
06-22-2013, 02:49 PM
Neat to see how the shins all are so close in development. I saw where Brian's bird had hopped out so texted my wife from work to keep her eyes open to the possibility. DD texted me a picture a few hours ago of Finn standing on her leg after he hopped out of his nest box.

Breeze
06-22-2013, 03:16 PM
Wes, love your thread, too! Following all these shin threads. Agree with an earlier post - there is Shin madness for sure this year! Enjoying all the threads - thanks for taking time to post and share pics with all of us. Very nice bird! Will be interesting to follow your exploits. :D

wesleyc6
06-22-2013, 03:47 PM
Wes, love your thread, too! Following all these shin threads. Agree with an earlier post - there is Shin madness for sure this year! Enjoying all the threads - thanks for taking time to post and share pics with all of us. Very nice bird! Will be interesting to follow your exploits. :D

You guys are welcome. Glad you are enjoying the thread/bird.

wesleyc6
06-22-2013, 09:24 PM
Finn hopped up in my lap today.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/15EBC295-1011-4A5C-8002-C130B042768F-4713-000005043E442C43.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/15EBC295-1011-4A5C-8002-C130B042768F-4713-000005043E442C43.jpg.html)

wesleyc6
06-24-2013, 07:33 PM
Finn has learned he can run now. He can't run far by any means, but he can make 10 steps about as fast as my old eyes can keep up. Then he stops and has that silly look on his face. Reminds me of how a killdeer moves in the wild. If you sit by his tub he WILL jump out on your leg and climb up your thigh to lay in your lap. He is just too funny to take seriously at this point. It will be both a joyous and sad occasion to see the serial killer come out in him. I understand why people have always said that a sharpie may be the most fun bird of all to imprint.

BestBeagler
06-24-2013, 07:38 PM
Finn has learned he can run now. He can't run far by any means, but he can make 10 steps about as fast as my old eyes can keep up. Then he stops and has that silly look on his face. Reminds me of how a killdeer moves in the wild. If you sit by his tub he WILL jump out on your leg and climb up your thigh to lay in your lap. He is just too funny to take seriously at this point. It will be both a joyous and sad occasion to see the serial killer come out in him. I understand why people have always said that a sharpie may be the most fun bird of all to imprint.

Wes I know what you mean! My little bugger has been my favorite imprint so far. They just do new a cool things so often. I wonder how much older yours is compared to mine? Sadly I know that soon we will have to tie them up once they start getting really fun to have loose. I know I won't risk a collision indoors.

colelkhunter
06-24-2013, 07:43 PM
You will see that look in his eyes change from baby to killer in a day. One day you will get up and notice something different about your little baby bird.:D

wesleyc6
06-24-2013, 10:27 PM
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/A8A848A1-D3A4-4D2A-9A90-E3E4D2F19CE0-6682-0000074DF83AE25F.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/A8A848A1-D3A4-4D2A-9A90-E3E4D2F19CE0-6682-0000074DF83AE25F.jpg.html)


Yeah, they do grow fast guys!

wesleyc6
06-25-2013, 07:40 PM
One way to know a sharpie is crazy small is when your merlin hood braces are wider than your sharpie's jessesamennn

Finn's full days of freedom are slowly coming to a close. I don't know how much longer I will wait before tethering. Twice now he has hopped out of his nest bowl, ran over to my feet (with a throw blanket on my legs/feet) hopped up and then started climbing and flapping to get in my lap, so I slowly lift my legs up and then he hops half way down and lays down in the pocket the blanket makes between my thighs and lays down. Pretty cute, but getting harder and harder to make him stay in his bowl. I think I am going to have to start putting him in a deeper tub for a few more days and then...............tether. Sorry to bore you guys with another post, but I hope to be able to look back on these updates and see things I did right and wrong. 130g today.

wesleyc6
06-25-2013, 09:27 PM
Here is a pic from today too. My son knows for sure not to pick up the bird. However tonight I had to put him in a taller container because he would not stay in his nest bowl. He did not like being contained like that. So I asked Zach if he wanted to take him in his room and let him romp a bit. Zach told me he was chittering. I went back there and he wasn't chittering but cheeping softly. I couldn't figure out why, but he stopped. My son sat down on the floor by him and immediately Finn jumped in his lap and settled down for a while. A little bit later Finn jumped up on his arm and just stood a while. My son does a great job of just being still. Finn eventually hopped/climbed/flapped up on his shoulder.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/07D28322-EBD8-4618-A1E8-B87A4ACF0D59-7539-0000088AFC5D124B.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/07D28322-EBD8-4618-A1E8-B87A4ACF0D59-7539-0000088AFC5D124B.jpg.html)

jeffandheidi
06-26-2013, 01:17 PM
Our birds are mirrors if each other. Appearance and actions. Are you still going with constant food availability? I've been thinking of meal time on the lure now that he is so active and mobile, and removing the food when he stops eating and is distracted.

wesleyc6
06-26-2013, 09:10 PM
Our birds are mirrors if each other. Appearance and actions. Are you still going with constant food availability? I've been thinking of meal time on the lure now that he is so active and mobile, and removing the food when he stops eating and is distracted.

Yeah, at this point I am still leaving food out almost all the time. I am not in a hurry, but as soon as I start taking him out and see him beginning to get to the point he can almost fly, I probably will go to three a day and then two a day and then one a day. It all seems to happen so fast with these guys that it is hard for me to keep up.

wesleyc6
06-26-2013, 11:01 PM
Tethered again for about 30 mins. Again zero fuss, just laid down after a while. Still didn't pull jesses tight yet. He climbed on my wife's shoulder and laid down and preened her hair. Here are a couple of pics. Sorry, just cell phone pics and not good ones, but you can see the feather growth is just going crazy. I guess the fertilizer on the food is overkillconfusedd Just kidding of course. He is a little attention seeker at this point. As Brian and I talked about, I guess I have gotten what I want in an imprint, now the question will be can I keep what I have. Probably not, but it will be fun trying.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/4F92DCE4-D6C4-4C1D-A052-28C90355FBD1-8809-000009E4A6DD8EEF.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/4F92DCE4-D6C4-4C1D-A052-28C90355FBD1-8809-000009E4A6DD8EEF.jpg.html)
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/8B63A51C-E27C-4025-AEB0-FEC0E6D327D2-8809-000009E43807A875.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/8B63A51C-E27C-4025-AEB0-FEC0E6D327D2-8809-000009E43807A875.jpg.html)

wesleyc6
06-26-2013, 11:07 PM
Oh yeah, forgot to mention two things. One is he dips his butt like a bird taking a bath, but instead he mutes. The other is that when he decides he is going to make a big hop or climb up something he cheeps softly as he does it.

Huntndad1
06-26-2013, 11:51 PM
Man those feathers are coming in fast!

jeffandheidi
06-27-2013, 12:22 AM
I'm starting to think our birds are brothers. Mine does the same egg-laying act when he mutes. Sometimes it's at the edge of the nest box but usually it's wherever he stands when the urge hits.

rocgwp
06-27-2013, 01:18 PM
Oh yeah, forgot to mention two things. One is he dips his butt like a bird taking a bath, but instead he mutes. The other is that when he decides he is going to make a big hop or climb up something he cheeps softly as he does it.

If he gives that much notice before he mutes, put that on cue! How awesome would it be to put it on cue and teach him where to poop. I've always played around with the idea, but never fully carried it through with a hawk. I've done it with parrots and don't see why the same wouldn't work in hawk. Of course I knew how often the parrot pooped and would take him back to his cage to go potty and then would turn him loose in the house again. It kept the furniture and our shirts poop free. Could make being married to a falconer much easier on our wives.

Not to mention, It could be handy when you had somebody hawking with you that was annoying. Aim the bird, give the cue, and splat... :D

wesleyc6
06-27-2013, 04:30 PM
Yeah, my wife would appreciate that! Man this little stinker grows fast. Last night he got on the top of the couch and went to sleep.

wesleyc6
06-27-2013, 10:12 PM
It is officially "on" I guess. LOL. Finn was on the little table perch and flew about 5 and half feet to land dead center in his nest bowl on the floor. Hopped out of that and ran over to the couch and jumped straight up to the couch. He thinks he is big stuff. LOL

Breeze
06-28-2013, 06:24 AM
Go Finn! Enjoying your thread!

wesleyc6
06-28-2013, 08:46 AM
Thanks Deb! This morning.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/AA57F3B4-6AEF-483E-B9F2-85EF201236E1-10381-00000B2801DA1D43.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/AA57F3B4-6AEF-483E-B9F2-85EF201236E1-10381-00000B2801DA1D43.jpg.html)

FredFogg
06-28-2013, 09:00 AM
Wes, you better turn him around, you are asking for some keyboard trouble there! LOL Great pic! clapp

wesleyc6
06-28-2013, 09:08 AM
Wes, you better turn him around, you are asking for some keyboard trouble there! LOL Great pic! clapp

LOL, I was nervous. He left there in a 4 feet long slightly upward flight, but he didn't quite make his mark(bench)

Breeze
06-28-2013, 10:44 AM
Love the photo, Wes!

PeteJ
06-28-2013, 11:43 AM
Time to turn the ceiling fans OFF.;-)

wesleyc6
06-28-2013, 12:14 PM
Time to turn the ceiling fans OFF.;-)

I think ye speak thee truthamennn

wesleyc6
06-28-2013, 12:33 PM
You gotta work to stay in this household;)
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7084.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7084.jpg.html)

wesleyc6
06-28-2013, 02:17 PM
Going to try to post a video or two of him playing around and eating.

http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/th_MVI_0174.jpg (http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/MVI_0174.mp4)
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/th_MVI_0175.jpg (http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/MVI_0175.mp4)

wesleyc6
06-30-2013, 08:31 PM
Finn seems to be doing well. Things that I am seeing change: He doesn't eat much in the mornings and only a little at lunch, but eats more heavily in the evening. He started bathing today. He can change directions in flight now. He doesn't do the butt rubbing mutes now but slices and he doesn't care who or what he slices on. He can be carried on the glove now.

I put him in a low tree this evening and called him to the lure outside. He did fine, but of course isn't very hungry. He is still quiet other than occasional soft cheeps.

Here he is perching on Zach.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7116.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7116.jpg.html)

Huntndad1
06-30-2013, 09:21 PM
Nice hat Zach!

jeffandheidi
06-30-2013, 11:44 PM
He looks great! Mine has a lot more down on his head. Have you had any problems with tethering?

I think I gave my male too much freedom inside the house and while he will sit on his bow, today he also spent a lot of time bating for taller furniture. Sitting on laps is no longer good enough.

wesleyc6
07-01-2013, 09:44 AM
He looks great! Mine has a lot more down on his head. Have you had any problems with tethering?

I think I gave my male too much freedom inside the house and while he will sit on his bow, today he also spent a lot of time bating for taller furniture. Sitting on laps is no longer good enough.

He does bate some. We still turn him loose though in the house some so we manage ok.

wesleyc6
07-01-2013, 08:16 PM
I took Finn outside today after work to let him play around some. It looked like this:
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7136.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7136.jpg.html)

He kept climbing until he was at the tip top of the oak tree by my house and had no interest in coming down, so I decided to go up. It looked like this:
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7138.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7138.jpg.html)

He acted like he wanted to come down, but didn't really know how. After hanging out for atleast half an hour in the tree, I decided to come down and climb to the roof of the house so it wouldn't be so "down" for him. He finally came down to me on the roof of the house and it looked like this:
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7139.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7139.jpg.html)

colelkhunter
07-02-2013, 11:08 AM
crazyy

wesleyc6
07-03-2013, 06:10 PM
I let Finn see a live bird today. It was medium sized (a bit smaller than a starling) and he was sure interested. I can tell you this, he killed it 50 or 60 times over with the "stare of death" or maybe it was the "penance stare" off Ghostrider. Whatever it was, it was one of the most fierce stares I have ever seen. I will probably not be able to sleep. LOL. He did finally fly to the ground, run over and foot it, but wasn't serious enough to kill it.

wesleyc6
07-03-2013, 08:59 PM
Here are a couple more pics. I guess I am about done showing pics as I don't think he will change much more. Hope you enjoy them.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7149.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7149.jpg.html)
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7147.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7147.jpg.html)

jeffandheidi
07-03-2013, 09:18 PM
He looks perfect! I love the personality these guys have. Too funny

passager
07-04-2013, 12:49 PM
Very good looking bird, nice job!thumbsupp

wesleyc6
07-04-2013, 04:15 PM
Thanks guys. He is a lot of fun. He is starting to make a little bit of soft noise. I have noticed in the house he isn't quite as needy toward us and tends to prefer to fly around some. No ceiling fans are allowed on now or are any window shades allowed to be open. He prefers to perch on the ceiling fans. He has gotten fairly quick inside.

wesleyc6
07-04-2013, 04:23 PM
Well I said probably no more photos as they would all look the same, but I did get this one today and it is different than the others.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7157.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7157.jpg.html)

echotadog
07-04-2013, 06:08 PM
That is fantastic!

Breeze
07-04-2013, 07:42 PM
Awesome pics of your bird, Wes! Enjoyed watching the changes - that's truly a lovely bird you have! Will be watching for hunting pics/news. Go Finn!

calebstroh
07-06-2013, 05:20 PM
Wes,

He is just gorgeous! Perhaps its the camera or the lighting, but he has some very "red" hughes in his feathers.

The excitement begins!

caleb

wesleyc6
07-07-2013, 08:47 PM
Wes,

He is just gorgeous! Perhaps its the camera or the lighting, but he has some very "red" hughes in his feathers.

The excitement begins!

caleb

Thanks Caleb. You are right, there is some red for sure in there. I think he is a pretty little bugger too.

I let him kill another baggie tonight. He chased it hard in the air in my bedroom but missed it. When he caught it on the ground, he really just plays with it and when I open it up, he really isn't very interested to be honest. He was 114 g tonight. He has got to be almost hard penned if he isn't already. I am going to begin to feed him a gram less each morning and all he wants every evening for a while until I get him down to one feeding a day and by that time, hopefully he will be more solid outside and I won't be so nervous to turn him loose. Right now there is no doubt in my mind it would be back up in a tree and I would wait a long time or maybe forever for him to come back down. He still is tight winged on the lure and kill, no mantling. I have noticed he takes food a little bit more aggressively since we don't do the mid day feeding thing. I didn't mean to go to two a day, but my wife misunderstood a few days ago and skipped it so I decided to just go with that for a while with all he wants in the morning and evening. Now like I said I am at the point where I am going to taper the morning one off. Time to start moving the little guy toward hunting.

jeffandheidi
07-08-2013, 11:17 AM
Did he take a while to go after his first baggie? I haven't caught any for a couple days, but the last several I offered he just watched and eventually turned his back and started preening. Even with dead and opened birds mine still takes his time and eats very little. I think he will be penned by the end of the week but hasn't yet.

wesleyc6
07-08-2013, 02:23 PM
Did he take a while to go after his first baggie? I haven't caught any for a couple days, but the last several I offered he just watched and eventually turned his back and started preening. Even with dead and opened birds mine still takes his time and eats very little. I think he will be penned by the end of the week but hasn't yet.

He grabbed the first one I showed him a couple of days ago, but yes it took quite a while and he wasn't serious about it at all. Yesterday he tried to fly the bird down when it crossed the room. He still didn't even eat when I opened it up. He just plucked a second and then hopped off. I brought him back in the living room and he fed off the bird on the lure. Does your bird make noise when he flies? Finn gives a soft call sometimes from the perch, but when he leaves a perch from elsewhere in the house, I know he is coming because he makes noise while flying. I checked him last night and he isn't hard penned yet either.

JeffNH
07-08-2013, 02:36 PM
Really enjoying these Sharpie threads...He looks like he is going to be a blast to fly!

jeffandheidi
07-08-2013, 03:09 PM
Yes, he peeps with his beak closed sometimes, especially when I'm picking him up. When he bates he always squeaks during the launch.

wesleyc6
07-08-2013, 04:47 PM
Neat to see them all progress about the same way. Today Finn got 5g this am and took him outside this afternoon for some lure calls and glove calls. His response is poor as would be expected at this point, but he will come to both at his own pace. He was 112g and took a 16g crop. I suspect with no lunch time meals now and the smaller morning meal the amount he eats in the afternoon will increase some. It is already amazing how much less he eats now than when he was in the rapid growth stage. He is making a little more noise, so I wouldn't be surprised if we don't at least go through a noisy stage. I hope it will be brief. It will take a few days to see if his weight inches down with him eating all he wants in the evenings still. If it doesn't, then I will start slowly cutting the evening feed.

wesleyc6
07-08-2013, 05:47 PM
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7177.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7177.jpg.html)

wesleyc6
07-12-2013, 05:41 PM
Finn is still doing well. I am dragging my feet a little with lowering weight. My little girl had tonsil surgery and then worked till late last night, so I have been erring on the side of caution with lowering his weight. I think he is penned. I can't see any blood now. He is so much fun to watch. He preens ALL the time on his little perch and he peeps quite a bit during the day. I just took him for a ride in the car on the glove and he did so good. It is amazing how calm he is with pretty much anything new you introduce. He bates very little except some late evening/night. He is also the KING of having ADD. Everything distracts the little guy. You can try to call him to the lure and he will be about to take off and then he will see an ant and he has to look at it and turn his head upside down to see how it looks that way and then back to the lure and then it is a bird and then a butterfly and ........well you get the point. In the mornings he seems hungrier now to start the day. Tonight he didn't eat as much as normal so tomorrow morning he should be more focused and I don't have to work until 9:30am so I will get to train him for his morning feed. I haven't started hooding him yet. I will be doing it with OC training and won't start for a while still. I didn't really notice anything odd with hard penning. I will have to say he is by far the most fun so far of anything I have imprinted. I am ready though to get to the serious part of any hawk........the hunting.

wesleyc6
07-12-2013, 06:28 PM
Here is my new Barbary

wesleyc6
07-12-2013, 09:41 PM
Finn playing with his paper ball. He will kill it then fly off to the kitchen and then come back in here and kill it again. Very funny
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7203-001.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7203-001.jpg.html)

steveo_uk
07-13-2013, 01:10 PM
Finn playing with his paper ball. He will kill it then fly off to the kitchen and then come back in here and kill it again. Very funny
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7203-001.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7203-001.jpg.html)

Nice Shot !

Chris L.
07-13-2013, 10:46 PM
Fantastic shot Wes!!

wesleyc6
07-14-2013, 07:51 AM
Fantastic shot Wes!!

Thanks guys! That is the old canon rebel you recommended I get years ago Chris.

Chris L.
07-14-2013, 10:25 AM
Thanks guys! That is the old canon rebel you recommended I get years ago Chris.

I'm happy I gave out some good advice, It doesn't happen often :). Keep the awesome pics coming!

wesleyc6
07-14-2013, 08:55 PM
I'm happy I gave out some good advice, It doesn't happen often :). Keep the awesome pics coming!


I try to give good advice one a year.........sometimes I have to stretch it a bit longer than a year to get it in:eek:

rocgwp
07-18-2013, 04:13 PM
How's he doing Wes? It's been several days since an update. That's about a month in sharpie time. :-)

wesleyc6
07-18-2013, 08:08 PM
Hey Jeff,
Yeah, it is all super high speed. I wish I could keep up with him. LOL. We have had a LOT of rain for last three weeks and have been working like a dog. He is coming short distances outside to the lure, but is soooo unfocused. He is making more noise in the house and can be a little hot acting first thing in the morning and in the evening when I pick him up, but then becomes a sweetie as soon as I pick him up. I think part of the problem is that we have been feeding him some on his platform and won't be doing that anymore. He cleans his lure, slowly, and then hops up to the glove. He weighs 104g now and is definitely still very high. With working such crazy hours lately I have been erring on the side of high with him on weight control. Here is a pic from today.
http://i913.photobucket.com/albums/ac340/wesleyc6/IMG_7228.jpg (http://s913.photobucket.com/user/wesleyc6/media/IMG_7228.jpg.html)

wesleyc6
07-19-2013, 10:42 PM
Had a little better response today. I got rid of the Teflon ribbon jesses tonight. What I didn't like about them was the "hole". The Teflon is hollow and even when I use a soldering iron to punch the hole it didn't always seal it correctly and so when using a costa lock it would slide inside the hollow ribbon and just got to be aggravating. They were half the weight of leather, so that was nice and they were actually easy to hold too, however I am back to good ol' leather.

wesleyc6
07-20-2013, 05:47 PM
102g today. I went outside to train on the creance again, but saw I had caught a baggie. So instead of setting it all up outside I just went into a room with no mirrors or visible windows and released the bird. Finn watched it make the first leg of the flight and then was off and caught it kind of in a corner. I lifted them both out to the open and gave Finn some time to pluck. Once he got to plucking well, I marked it and then offered the lure and he let go immediately. I was glad to see that. He is still turning his back some which I don't like, but other than that it was a good experience. The bird was about half his weight.

wesleyc6
07-21-2013, 09:26 AM
I have done jump ups with a kestrel hundreds of times but I gotta admit it is hard for your mind to register that the sharpie has left the ground before he on the glove! So fast!

wesleyc6
07-24-2013, 10:02 PM
Finn is getting more focused as the weight drops...........no surprise there huh. Anyway, what I see right now is that even though I weather him some outside for hours at a time when we go outside he always immediately drops his wings like he is sunning. When I put him on the creance perch, he still looks like he is sunning, but when I call him the first time, he flies to the glove like someone set his tail on fire. He mantles on the glove. I usually wait until his stands up with good manners and then mark it and tidbit. Hopefully that will eventually stick in his little head. He came to the lure today about 50ft or so. I will be done with the creance by the weekend with him and will start trying to walk him some or slip him out the window. Sometimes he makes noise, most of the time actually and other times he is quite. He mantles on the lure too, but when done, he will hop up to the glove. It is still pretty shocking to me how quickly the sharpies do everything. Whether in the air or on the ground they are just super quick. His keel is still completely round feeling. Still let him fly in the house some and he is just a hoot to watch. If I walk in the other room, he will come zipping in there and swoop by my head or land on my shoulder or at my feet or just lap around me and come back in the living room. I am not sure why, but for some reason I am more attached to this bird than I usually am. I don't usually worry about something happening to a falconry bird. I do all I can to protect them of course, but don't have "worry". For some reason with Finn, I have that. Maybe because he is so little.

jeffandheidi
07-24-2013, 11:04 PM
Hey Wes, it sounds like you're almost there! What was his weight today? How many feedings or training sessions are you doing? I've been giving Spaz about five grams in the morning, a late afternoon training sessions for about 12-15 grams and then a 10 pm topoff to make weight the following morning.

BestBeagler
07-25-2013, 08:46 AM
Wes, enjoying the updates.

wesleyc6
07-25-2013, 08:58 AM
Hey Wes, it sounds like you're almost there! What was his weight today? How many feedings or training sessions are you doing? I've been giving Spaz about five grams in the morning, a late afternoon training sessions for about 12-15 grams and then a 10 pm topoff to make weight the following morning.

I would have to look at log. I think 96 or 97. It was a one gram drop. I meant to include that after that first call or two response slows dramatically. I wish I had started dropping weight a bit earlier and more steady but my schedule has been terrible for last month so I was hesitant to try and lower weight then. Now I may be going a bit too quickly but it is time I think to get him going to avoid problems that might occur from dragging feet too long getting in the field. Once he is reliable I will slow weight loss down to half a gram a day as we find the best weight for him.

jeffandheidi
07-25-2013, 02:08 PM
Ok, thanks Wes. My birds response also slows from mediocre to nil after a couple bites. Our birds have been so similar all along, it is helpful to compare. I will plan to be at 98 grams tomorrow.

wesleyc6
07-26-2013, 08:49 PM
Ok, thanks Wes. My birds response also slows from mediocre to nil after a couple bites. Our birds have been so similar all along, it is helpful to compare. I will plan to be at 98 grams tomorrow.

I dropped Finn another gram. He did really well coming to the glove today. He comes so fast and hits it so hard the first few times that he makes the tiny little creance swivel sting when it hits my armhaill Only thing, other than mantling that he did today that wasn't so great was for some reason after several glove calls and a lure call to finish up with, he blew off the lure instead of coming back up to the glove. His first several calls are easily good enough to take off the creance, but after a few calls I wouldn't trust him too much yet. Last night I fed him late because of work issues and he flew off the refrigerator, tried to grab the tidbit as he went by, missed, banked and returned to the glove and it happened so fast my hand never moved. I am anxious to see just how fast he really is when on an open flight with more ground to cover. In the house he can do things I just find hard to believe. Finn bates at my Barbary when I come through the house with him on the glove. I think Finn wants to eat him for real. :eek:

I found out today that I am going to be starting to interpret again during the week which means I will be back to a regular schedule which will be so nice!

wesleyc6
07-28-2013, 09:04 PM
The weekend has been crazy schedule wise, so Finn has been at weight, but off schedule. I decided tonight to just go ahead and fly him free even though he was a gram heavier. It was very late, so I figured that would be on my side too. I took him out and set him on a perch and he was instant. I set him on another perch and got pretty far away and he was on the way in a flash. I took him to another perch and when I started to set him down, he took off and went up in an oak tree. I called once and he didn't come, but I called again and he came right in. So I decided to put him back on the perch I tried to set him on the first time and walked past another oak tree and turned to call him. About that time a cardinal tried to come in one last time for a feed and Finn came off that perch with bad intentions, but the cardinal made good his escape into the thick branches of the live oak. Pretty fun training session for sure. I got the mx392 out today and cut a lot of antennae off and it weighs 4g. I guess I am going to try to hang it from the neck because I don't have a micro back pack and my anklets are grommetless and that is a pain for attaching xmitters and I would just think that a bewit would be tedious on a shin. Getting so close!

jeffandheidi
07-28-2013, 10:47 PM
Hey Wes, that sounds like a great training session. He even got a chase, and he came home. Can't beat that!

Where did you guys settle in for a current weight? I'm still dealing with some serious distractions and lack of lure interest at 97g today.

wesleyc6
07-28-2013, 11:01 PM
Hey Wes, that sounds like a great training session. He even got a chase, and he came home. Can't beat that!

Where did you guys settle in for a current weight? I'm still dealing with some serious distractions and lack of lure interest at 97g today.


Yes, it was by far the best ever and it was at dusk, so I bet that helped a lot. He was 96g today, but the scale tickled 95 before settling. I ordered a new Ohaus Fri that does 0.1g's. I know with my kestrels I wanted the 1/10's but I didn't feel like it was important yet, but now I am getting to the point that it is time to start knowing to the tenth. Today is also the first time I started using truly tiny tidbits as before I have been using large tidbits and he fills up so quickly. I see no reason to not be hunting by this weekend with Finn if not sooner. I believe if I had walked a field today he would have chased.

wesleyc6
07-31-2013, 10:59 AM
Tried to carhawk Finn yesterday. I didn't ride him around a lot as a chick. It took him a bit to settle. He only bated once, but stayed "skinny". After a bit, he roused and fluffed out and eventually even sunned while on the glove. I did find a perfect slip with small birds milling around near a puddle on a field edge, and he eventually went out, but without conviction. I probably will have to bag him on one out the window. However his behavior was great as was his recall. So getting closer for sure. Bought a new scale for him and attached a Styrofoam block to it and I love it. My old scale was a 1g increment scale and this is 0.1g, so I can be more exact. I have started weathering him a LOT outside. So far his feathers are perfect using the perch Bluejack posted on here. I am very pleased with them. I am using a neck mount mx392 and it seems fine. Yesterday was the first time with it on and he ignored it for a while and then played with it a while.

Breeze
08-08-2013, 07:00 PM
Still enjoying following your thread, Wes! GREAT photos, too!

wesleyc6
08-08-2013, 07:40 PM
Still enjoying following your thread, Wes! GREAT photos, too!

Thanks!

kimmerar
08-09-2013, 02:12 AM
Thanks!

Any new updates Wes?

wesleyc6
08-09-2013, 05:58 AM
Any new updates Wes?

Hey Kim. He is doing good. He broke two tail feathers on my carpet :(. His behavior went through a little undesirable spell but is good again now. Killed a sparrow yesterday out the window at Walmart. Just car hawking at this point still.

kimmerar
08-09-2013, 11:42 AM
Hey Kim. He is doing good. He broke two tail feathers on my carpet :(. His behavior went through a little undesirable spell but is good again now. Killed a sparrow yesterday out the window at Walmart. Just car hawking at this point still.

Thanks for the update. Congrats on the kill. It builds self esteem and agility. Keep up the good work.

wesleyc6
08-10-2013, 10:31 AM
Just an update from the computer where I can type a little. Finn is doing well. He does some things that are really aggravating at times, but then other times he is perfect (well not perfect, but quite pleasurable). The first thing I noticed was he got grabby on his table perch. That came from my wife feeding him on that in the mornings. Once we changed that it quickly diminished. I now show him my hands well and then pick him up and he is fine. One of the other things he does is grab meat on the lure, then just clutch it and fuzz up and food beg. He sometimes will hold it for 20 minutes. He sometimes grabs his jess and does the same thing like he has food. You can offer him food during these times if you want, but he won't take it and I figure if he did, it would be a reward for that behavior. His glove response is pretty crazy. On slips, he won't stop until the bird is dead or disappears. Two days ago I slipped him and lost him in a parking lot. After 10 minutes of looking I walked back to the truck the sparrow went under and looked and no Finn. I whistled and down he hopped from inside the truck carriage somewhere. I bet the sparrow was still in there sayin, "I am a muffler, I am a muffler". His behavior in the car is as close to perfect as you can ask for. I try not to recall to food because it makes him grippy again on the glove and takes him a bit to settle back out. Yesterday riding he gave his alarm call. I couldn't figure out why. Today he did it in the house and again I don't know why. He also did it outside weathering. I think maybe it was the dogs. So there is a more complete update on what I am seeing. No birds in the field really in GA yet and rattlesnakes are pretty nasty right now too. I hate carhawking in small towns because it is thin compared to a big city. I have carhawked a lot in my life and always found that the big city is the best for carhawking.

jeffandheidi
08-10-2013, 11:01 AM
Hey Wes, thanks for the update.

Spaz did the same thing with gripping a jess and thinking it was food. I hope it stops fr you guys soon.

Good luck with him!

wesleyc6
08-10-2013, 07:14 PM
Thanks Jeff! Today Finn caught first starling he has ever seen and I was surprised how easily he handled it.

jeffandheidi
08-11-2013, 12:55 AM
Congrats Wes! Thank you for the update picture

HGlider
08-11-2013, 03:32 AM
I felt that the sharpies, I had, probably seemed to have the highest success ration of any hawk. Just my opinion.

wesleyc6
08-11-2013, 08:44 AM
I felt that the sharpies, I had, probably seemed to have the highest success ration of any hawk. Just my opinion.

I am just starting on the hunting, but so far I would have to agree. He didn't naturally go out the window as easily as some other birds, but once he did, he makes catching birds seem pretty easy. I also don't carhawk him by "driving" by, usually I am barely moving or not moving at all, just using the car like a blind. He doesn't need a head start. LOL. Sparrows in the open, must find cover or they are overwhelmed easily. He did take a long flight on a very fast kind of bird yesterday and I got to see more of the longer top end speed and he is pretty fast. However it is the short congested slips where I see the crazy stuff they can do and how quickly they do it.

Yesterday on the starling, I was at an industrial park. I saw the starlings spilling off the power line into a freshly cut grass field. As I rolled up a quail came running out and Finn wanted it, but I was able to show him the starlings that were still in the grass and out he went, and the starling evaded him as he took his shot, he quickly (less than half a second to miss, and take off again) gathered himself and flew the airborne starling down in just a few feet. Having seen a many a starling/kestrel fight, I was really impressed with how easily the sharpie controlled the starling with those ridiculously thin toes he has.

I sure hope my season continues to be blessed with bird safety and success. If so, it will be a fun season. Won't be long till the field birds start showing up in numbers and the rattlesnakes find a hole I hope. Carhawking in small towns is really tough for finding slips.

BestBeagler
08-11-2013, 10:00 AM
I am just starting on the hunting, but so far I would have to agree. He didn't naturally go out the window as easily as some other birds, but once he did, he makes catching birds seem pretty easy. I also don't carhawk him by "driving" by, usually I am barely moving or not moving at all, just using the car like a blind. He doesn't need a head start. LOL. Sparrows in the open, must find cover or they are overwhelmed easily. He did take a long flight on a very fast kind of bird yesterday and I got to see more of the longer top end speed and he is pretty fast. However it is the short congested slips where I see the crazy stuff they can do and how quickly they do it.

Yesterday on the starling, I was at an industrial park. I saw the starlings spilling off the power line into a freshly cut grass field. As I rolled up a quail came running out and Finn wanted it, but I was able to show him the starlings that were still in the grass and out he went, and the starling evaded him as he took his shot, he quickly (less than half a second to miss, and take off again) gathered himself and flew the airborne starling down in just a few feet. Having seen a many a starling/kestrel fight, I was really impressed with how easily the sharpie controlled the starling with those ridiculously thin toes he has.

I sure hope my season continues to be blessed with bird safety and success. If so, it will be a fun season. Won't be long till the field birds start showing up in numbers and the rattlesnakes find a hole I hope. Carhawking in small towns is really tough for finding slips.

Wes, what's he flying at now?

wesleyc6
08-11-2013, 10:39 AM
Wes, what's he flying at now?

90 g yesterday.

mainefalconer
08-11-2013, 06:35 PM
90 g yesterday.

It's amazing to hear what weights you guys are flying these little males at. There's quite a difference between the sexes. I'm flying my female daily at weights between 175 and 180 right now.

wesleyc6
08-11-2013, 09:05 PM
It's amazing to hear what weights you guys are flying these little males at. There's quite a difference between the sexes. I'm flying my female daily at weights between 175 and 180 right now.

They almost don't even look like the same species do they. Someone posted a good pic of a female recently and the legs are ENORMOUS compared to Finn's. I asked on another thread if anyone remembered reading in the Imprint Accipiter that McD stated all the successful muskets he had seen were around 84g. I don't have a copy of the book, but read it many years ago and that is what I remember, but I could be wrong. I would be deeply indebted if anyone would confirm or refute that number for me.


Took Finn out this evening after church. He didn't fly the first two slips hard at all. Not really sure why at all. The next slip however he flew super hard and even though the bird was already on the wing, Finn flew him down easily, and the bird flew through an old utility type trailer and Finn was on him, but it went around an arm on the trailer and then shot up in a super thick tree and Finn went in the tree behind it and then the screaming started. I parked the car and walked over to the tree and just as I got under them, the bird tore loose. I let Finn extricate himself while I walked to the car and then called him back to the car. We went around the building again and there were sparrows outside and Finn left the window from 40-50 yds and they evaded him at the last second by flying under a shed apparently. Darkness got us at that point. So even though he caught one and had it for 30 seconds or more we went home empty handed. I did a little OC game with him and he is on his perch with a big ol' crop looking a little sleepy already:D

wesleyc6
08-11-2013, 10:08 PM
Mc D states most start at 90 but soon find themselves at 87g. He tones on to say there is apparently very little variation of size in the males.

FredFogg
08-12-2013, 09:02 AM
Mc D states most start at 90 but soon find themselves at 87g. He tones on to say there is apparently very little variation of size in the males.

I flew a rehab male and his weight was best at 89g.

mainefalconer
08-12-2013, 09:19 AM
I just think the difference in size is amazing. Mine killed again this morning at 178, and it's just hard to imagine a little musket at HALF that weight. As I said to Kim earlier today, just imagine how big a female goshawk would be if she was TWICE the size of a typical male!! :eek:

skooky20
08-12-2013, 10:04 AM
As I said to Kim earlier today, just imagine how big a female goshawk would be if she was TWICE the size of a typical male!! :eek:

that would be awesome to see lol

FredFogg
08-12-2013, 10:30 AM
just imagine how big a female goshawk would be if she was TWICE the size of a typical male!! :eek:

I have seen that in a few falconer pairs! :eek: :D

wesleyc6
08-12-2013, 11:14 AM
I just think the difference in size is amazing. Mine killed again this morning at 178, and it's just hard to imagine a little musket at HALF that weight. As I said to Kim earlier today, just imagine how big a female goshawk would be if she was TWICE the size of a typical male!! :eek:

What is crazy is that you have a sub 200 g falconry bird and it is still a giant lol

Bryant Tarr
08-12-2013, 12:45 PM
What is crazy is that you have a sub 200 g falconry bird and it is still a giant lol clappfirsts

wesleyc6
08-18-2013, 09:46 PM
A recent pic

wesleyc6
08-24-2013, 02:02 PM
Finn is probably done for the season. I parked in the back of a parking lot and slipped him on some sparrows. The pursuit was fast, furious and long and just as Finn turned for the bind and car backed out and ran over him. I thought he was dead, but I picked him up and laid him in his hawk box. A few minutes later he was standing and now he is on his perch, but I am pretty sure he is now blind on one side and I think probably some more neuro damage. I think his head was just under the edge of the tire and it squirted it out basically instead of just killing him. I will let you know if there is any change. Sad day around the house and my son could hardly talk yesterday.

Breeze
08-24-2013, 02:16 PM
Oh Wes! I'm SO SORRY to hear this! My heart goes out to you and your son. Here's hoping Finn pulls through and gets better. Just too sad. Our birds are all so fierce and yet so fragile.

PeteJ
08-24-2013, 02:38 PM
Sorry to hear Wes.

Robert Carter
08-24-2013, 06:28 PM
sorry buddy
Robert Carter

rocgwp
08-24-2013, 07:40 PM
That stinks! Sorry man...

skooky20
08-24-2013, 08:28 PM
wow that sucks

Red-tail
08-24-2013, 08:59 PM
Aww so sorry

wesleyc6
08-24-2013, 09:10 PM
Thank you all very much!

hcmcelroy
08-25-2013, 10:37 AM
Wes,

Sad to hear. These hawks are prone to all sorts of maladies.

Harry.

jeffandheidi
08-25-2013, 04:57 PM
Wes, I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. There isn't anything anyone can say to ease your pain, but please know you aren't alone in this.

tfalconer
08-25-2013, 05:10 PM
Sorry to hear that Wes.

Takasho
08-25-2013, 05:15 PM
Well damn. Don't know what else to say. :(

JeffNH
08-26-2013, 09:08 AM
Sorry to hear Wes.

wesleyc6
08-27-2013, 10:00 PM
Thanks everyone so much. He has improved some. I still don't think he will make it back to a falconry bird, but I do think he will make it. Hard to see the little guy not just full of fire and fury.

Breeze
08-28-2013, 10:07 AM
Hey Wes. Saw a new post from you and hesitated on reading it. So glad to hear the news is good! Thanks for sharing an update on Finn with us.