Florida newbie

[Thylacine]

Hi, I live in Port Saint Lucie. Florida. I have made several starts at getting into falconry over the years and just never had the time. I am a public adjuster now, which gives me the ability to manage my time a little better.

I have a basenji pup who killed two squirrels (and ate one) on his six month birthday. He LIVES to hunt. When I was letting him off leash in the woods the other day he scared up some pigeons and a cooper's hawk almost got one. I believe he would have ran off to live with that hawk if asked. It seemed like a good idea to me to look into falconry again.

So I am looking to get started, probably with a Harris. My seven year old daughter is also very intrigued by the idea. Could any one give me any advice on getting started in Florida?

[FredFogg]

Hi, what ever you name is! One of the rules on NAFEX is to sign your post with your name. It keeps things friendly. You can go into User CP and create a signature with your name and it will put what you put in there at the end of every post you do.

Now, as far as information, take a look at this thread!

http://www.nafex.net/showthread.php?t=2007

Oh yeah, with the current regulations, you will have to do a 2 year apprenticeship and start out with either a red-tail or a American Kestrel.

Good luck,

[borderhawk]

Oh yeah, with the current regulations, you will have to do a 2 year apprenticeship and start out with either a red-tail or a American Kestrel.

Good luck,

I thought AK's weren't allowed for apprentices in Florida...? It was either the redtail or redshoulder...




How old is your Basenji now? I ask because gamey dogs like that may not respect a hawk within striking range if not introduced young enough... ie.. they don't see the difference between the pigeon and the hawk and want to take both. :eek: A good Redtail will teach him some manners though. ;) It might be advantageous to see if another falconer will let you train him to respect hawks while he's still young, before you get your own hawk.

and.... Welcome to the board! Read up! There's tons to learn here.

[Thylacine]

Thanks for the advice, I am in no hurry to get a bird. As to the Basenji, I grew up in eastern kentucky around every variety of hunting dogs and I have never seen an animal so focused on hunting. He nearly caught a duck yesterday.

I would be extremely eager to find someone who would give him some exposure. I had to go with a shock collar due to his strong will. It has turned him around.

What books should I dig into first? How do I go about starting my license?

Thanks in advance
Greg Stephens

[Saluqi]

Thanks for the advice, I am in no hurry to get a bird. As to the Basenji, I grew up in eastern kentucky around every variety of hunting dogs and I have never seen an animal so focused on hunting. He nearly caught a duck yesterday.

I would be extremely eager to find someone who would give him some exposure. I had to go with a shock collar due to his strong will. It has turned him around.

What books should I dig into first? How do I go about starting my license?

Thanks in advance
Greg Stephens

Hi Greg,

Welcome to NAFEX and the wonderful world of falconry. All of the information you seek is readily available on the internet, do some google searches and you'll get answers to your questions without a lot of typing by folks on here. Look up the modern apprentice website and you'll be good to go.

[Thylacine]

The introductory thread answers most of my basic questions. Kudos to the guys who put it together.

I am ordering the California manual today. Thanks for pointing me there. I think my dog is still young enough to learn to work with a hawk, and he is a very fast learner.

[Thylacine]

Pharaoh is 8 months old. He still learns very quickly.

I don't know how familiar anyone here is with the breed. They are not common dogs.

They originated in Africa with the pygmies, some say they are part Jackal. The Pharaohs of Egypt kept them. They are smallish dogs topping out at 26 pounds. They don't bark, and are extremely fastidious. They can run at 35 miles an hour, and are classified as both sight hound and scent hounds. They live too hunt. Her eats what he kills. If he came to associate a hawk with hunting there would be no problems.

As to the negatives they are extremely independent, strong willed dogs. You have to think constantly to keep ahead of them. If he takes a dislike to someone I have to keep him away from them. I tried every training technique I could find and wound up using a shock collar reluctantly. It has changed his demeanor in the field. He will now reliably work a field and come when called.

As to hunting with dogs, I grew up with fox hunters. That is basically all I have any experience with. Any information or opportunities to give Pharaoh some experience would be greatly appreciated.

[borderhawk]

There's a small handful of people here with Basenji experience.
http://www.nafex.net/search.php?searchid=331554
There's a book called Rabbit Hawkers Dogs, it does not cover the Basenji, but would be a good book overall and not too expensive.

[Thylacine]

Thanks Michelle, I will look into it. You should really see this dog light up when he sees game.

The amazing thing is he is really trying to learn how to hunt from me. I can keep him off Ibis and sand hill cranes with a firm NO.
He almost caught another duck today. I think he is a natural. I am eager to get him some exposure to a hawk. There was a red tail hanging about today after he stirred up the ducks, I love to watch them.

[paganlove22]

I thought AK's weren't allowed for apprentices in Florida...? It was either the redtail or redshoulder...



You are correct. No Aks for apprentices here.

[Thylacine]

Yeah, it was the same thing in Kentucky when I started the process back in 93. Red tail for the first two years. I just forgot. Makes perfect sense.

I have ordered the apprentice manuals. I am going to order the red tail book once I dump a bunch of DVD's on Amazon 98 bucks will make the wife howl.


I guess know I need to figure out how to acclimatize my Basenji to a hawk while he is still young.

I might be ready next year. When can we trap red tails in Florida?

[paganlove22]

Set. 15th- OCt 31st and Dec 1st thru Jan. ummmm 5th or something like that. ITs in the Fl regs. if you look under the state by state regs thread.

[everetkhorton]

(welc) Greg. Have fun on the trip to falconry. Things move a little slower than most other hunting sports manly because you just can't take a week in class and go buy a lance.

[Thylacine]

There is definitely a steep learning curve. I saw that the last time I started. I am interested because it is so involved and intellectually demanding. I am not one of those guys who wants to go buy a golden eagle next week.

I have a very stressful job and I need something that will let me "remove " myself from my work. I get a real thrill when I see a bird of prey swoop. I am sure I don't have to explain it to any one here.

There is no stopping my basenji from hunting even if I wanted to. I am not in a big hurry to get a bird, My immediate goal is to find a way to introduce him to the concept.

We have several red tails, coopers and ospreys here, now that I have trained Pharaoh to go through the wetland park off leash there is usually a raptor watching to see what gets spooked. Is that common?

I spent the weekend reading the forum and various links provided, I was impressed with the level of support available and the depth of information available.



I don't care for guns having lost many friends to firearms over the years. I don't really care for game with the exception of venison, having had to eat fried squirrel and rabbit when I was a kid.