Imprinting males vs females

I've have had good luck with imprinted tiercel falcons over the years. All have had good manners and been reliable hunters as they matured. My expierience with females is limited but not as successful (hold the jokes).

The one imprint female peregrine I had was previously an unsuccessful breeder and once I cut her down a little in weight and tried "tell her what to do" she got pretty nasty and aggressive. Other imprint females I've been around require everyone to leave the field besides their falconer before they are released to avoid being attacked. My understanding is that in the raptor world the female is the boss and if an imprint considers you her equal she is going to want to be in charge.

So my questions are to those who have expierience with imprinted females:

As a rule of thumb do they get aggressive and dominant as they age?
Can you avoid it?

Is aggression generally related to birds that have been/attempted to have been bred?

Is just better to go with a chamber raised female for a falconry bird?


Thanks for the input.

Pete J, any thoughts?

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Originally Posted by Paul Strydom

Pete J, any thoughts?

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LOL Paul. Female raptors by nature are naturally more assertive and aggressive about most everything in their lives. Males tend to be assertive, but much less aggressive about things in general, it doesn't pay dividends for them to be too aggressive, particularly during reproduction times.
Many people prefer tiercels because they are a bit more amicable and (in long wings) more aerial, and also more likely to put in a lot of effort. Females tend to have more power but also tend to be practical how they use it, which with some this can be an annoying trait when they learn they can fly prey down from a standing start if they just stick with it for a mile or so.
Imprint females can get extremely aggressive in their chambers, and particularly when they are hand me downs that are imprinted on other people. As youngsters they also tend to be forceful in the play, to the extent that a tiercel might nibble and gently grasp your hand or finger, a female will grab hard and bite...still in play but they don't know their own strength.
Is there any way around it with imprinting a female? Not really. Sometimes its the luck of the draw to get one that isn't that aggressive and may stay that way. But painting with a broad brush, the female is the sex that is the most likely to be aggressive and in some cases mean.
That being said, if you are the one on the good side of that female, she may be the absolute sweetest bird you've ever had.

I've had imprint female and male falcons in the distant past. I don't recall any problems with the females being aggressive as they aged.
Now I'm working with a second year imprint goshawk, Finnish. She is as sweet natured as they come. She doesn't require any special handling in the field. She has a couple of aversions, like to cars or trucks approaching but is fine with any number of people. I think it's an individual case by case thing.

Sometimes its the luck of the draw to get one that isn't that aggressive and may stay that way. But painting with a broad brush, the female is the sex that is the most likely to be aggressive and in some cases mean.