Imprinting Prairies

[HunterJen]

For any of those that have, what would you recommend doing and steering clear of?

What methods and techniques have you tried? What has worked and what hasn't worked so well?

ATB Jen

[HunterJen]

Anyone out there with experience of imprinting prairies?

[Tom Smith]

Anyone out there with experience of imprinting prairies?

I have imprinted one female taken as a large downy raised in the house on the kitchen table. She would climb up on my chest & kick back and watch TV with me. I let her find her own food dish I never fed her out of hand. I was hooding her all along and she was probably the most hood acclimated bird I have ever had.
She was flown the first time when she was first able to fly and offered game slips almost immediately, she took the first three partridge she ever seen in one day easily from a low pitch. She was tremendously aggressive with anything she thought could be a prey item. Rabbits, night hawks and motorcycle riders nothing surprised me. She was also tremendously aggressive territorially with any strange person or dog the entered into the proximity of our activity field. She was dangerous around children that she wasn't familiar with.
Would I raise another like her, no. But I would maybe a little differently with a mind to modify the birds behavior to a more positive outcome. She never mantled or hunger screamed and was largely silent and really had a pretty good demeanor other than her aggressive behaviors with strange dogs and people which were really frightening to me. She was a very strong flyer from the very beginning as soon as she was on wing. I seen her knock a motorcyclist off his bike with a blow to his helmet, I'm sure he never figured out how or why he was on the ground or had any idea at all what had hit him. I didn't offer an explanation.

[HunterJen]

I have imprinted one female taken as a large downy raised in the house on the kitchen table. She would climb up on my chest & kick back and watch TV with me. I let her find her own food dish I never fed her out of hand. I was hooding her all along and she was probably the most hood acclimated bird I have ever had.
She was flown the first time when she was first able to fly and offered game slips almost immediately, she took the first three partridge she ever seen in one day easily from a low pitch. She was tremendously aggressive with anything she thought could be a prey item. Rabbits, night hawks and motorcycle riders nothing surprised me. She was also tremendously aggressive territorially with any strange person or dog the entered into the proximity of our activity field. She was dangerous around children that she wasn't familiar with.
Would I raise another like her, no. But I would maybe a little differently with a mind to modify the birds behavior to a more positive outcome. She never mantled or hunger screamed and was largely silent and really had a pretty good demeanor other than her aggressive behaviors with strange dogs and people which were really frightening to me. She was a very strong flyer from the very beginning as soon as she was on wing. I seen her knock a motorcyclist off his bike with a blow to his helmet, I'm sure he never figured out how or why he was on the ground or had any idea at all what had hit him. I didn't offer an explanation.

Thanks for that Tom, so what would you do differently do you think to prevent the aggresiveness towards strangers, dogs and children? Would you encourage them seeing many during the imprinting stages?

[Tom Smith]

Thanks for that Tom, so what would you do differently do you think to prevent the aggresiveness towards strangers, dogs and children? Would you encourage them seeing many during the imprinting stages?

Perhaps I would be a little less of "the person" with my bird and let any body and every body relate to her as she grew up, like giving her rides in the vehicle where she could see out and maybe spending some time in a local park watching soccer games with people of all stage and ages. I have noticed that eyases taken from an eyrie where they can see cattle don't show any reaction to cattle later on but ones taken from eyries where there are no cattle spend some troubling moments getting used to them later. So with a pure imprint I would think that exposing them to everything that they may encounter later would be a good idea. There was a thing with my dog and this bird, she was kind of agressive with the dog she had been raised with, maybe a sibling type of realtionship and interaction. I can't be sure, I pretty much thought that given a choice there would be no reason to work with a prairie taken so young. I have worked with prairies, wild taken eyases that were taken beyond 35 days of age that offered no unusual difficulties. They would be my choice now or an older passage.
Also since this was the only prairie I have raised and trained from that young of an age It could be I wasn't really prepared to think of everything I should be doing and also maybe she wasn't typical of birds so raised, but I thought I would offer my comments anyway.

[HunterJen]

Perhaps I would be a little less of "the person" with my bird and let any body and every body relate to her as she grew up, like giving her rides in the vehicle where she could see out and maybe spending some time in a local park watching soccer games with people of all stage and ages. I have noticed that eyases taken from an eyrie where they can see cattle don't show any reaction to cattle later on but ones taken from eyries where there are no cattle spend some troubling moments getting used to them later. So with a pure imprint I would think that exposing them to everything that they may encounter later would be a good idea. There was a thing with my dog and this bird, she was kind of agressive with the dog she had been raised with, maybe a sibling type of realtionship and interaction. I can't be sure, I pretty much thought that given a choice there would be no reason to work with a prairie taken so young. I have worked with prairies, wild taken eyases that were taken beyond 35 days of age that offered no unusual difficulties. They would be my choice now or an older passage.
Also since this was the only prairie I have raised and trained from that young of an age It could be I wasn't really prepared to think of everything I should be doing and also maybe she wasn't typical of birds so raised, but I thought I would offer my comments anyway.

Brilliant, that's very helpful information. I have imprinted Tawny Owls in the past and a Spar last year and I think from what I learnt it is just vitally important they come into contact with absolutely everything that they will see when it comes to their later life, be it dogs, kids, adults, cars, bikes, other birds, the TV, whilst ensuring that they never look to anything as a food provider which should prevent aggression with anything but quarry.

Thank you ever so much for your comments and sparing me some time, if anyone else can add to it then I would be grateful.

ATB Jen

[Black Gold]

When we were kids we would take them at 4 weeks of age. Anytime later then that is too late! The females will be laying down most of the time at this age, but by the end of the first week they will be standing most of the time. This was a great time and by the end of the first week they were stone tame. We would use the hood like we did for imprints with feeding and they all turned out to be prefect mannered birds, but as tame as imprints with none of the nonsense.

[HunterJen]

When we were kids we would take them at 4 weeks of age. Anytime later then that is too late! The females will be laying down most of the time at this age, but by the end of the first week they will be standing most of the time. This was a great time and by the end of the first week they were stone tame. We would use the hood like we did for imprints with feeding and they all turned out to be prefect mannered birds, but as tame as imprints with none of the nonsense.

Thanks Brian,

Did you experience much noise just out of interest?

ATB Jen

[Black Gold]

Thanks Brian,

Did you experience much noise just out of interest?

ATB Jen

Hi Jen,

Absolutely no screaming and or mantling as long was we used the hood before bringing meals and putting it back on after the meal. That way they never see you coming or leaving with the food plate. They know they are a bird, but are as tame as an imprint. We tried all different ages, young imprints to one's we chased down off the cliff with eyass's Prairie Falcons, but this seemed to work the best for this particular species.

They hiss for the first week, but by the second they are turning their head upside down and playing.

There are some tricks to getting them to really like Ducks in the begginning and usually will become a great Game Hawk.

[Saluqi]

Hi Jen,

Absolutely no screaming and or mantling as long was we used the hood before bringing meals and putting it back on after the meal. That way they never see you coming or leaving with the food plate. They know they are a bird, but are as tame as an imprint. We tried all different ages, young imprints to one's we chased down off the cliff with eyass's Prairie Falcons, but this seemed to work the best for this particular species.

They hiss for the first week, but by the second they are turning their head upside down and playing.

There are some tricks to getting them to really like Ducks in the begginning and usually will become a great Game Hawk.

Did you experience the birds having bad stress bars when pulling them at this older age?

[Black Gold]

Did you experience the birds having bad stress bars when pulling them at this older age?

No, as long you take them late in the afternoon and make sure they are eating by the end of the second day. This is also the time to put birds in the hack boxes, and of course keeping the stress level down with any fresh taken eyassm is a must.

[awahl]

There are some tricks to getting them to really like Ducks in the begginning and usually will become a great Game Hawk.

OK, you can't make a statement like that and leave it hanging out there...

[rrcoati]

No, as long you take them late in the afternoon and make sure they are eating by the end of the second day. This is also the time to put birds in the hack boxes, and of course keeping the stress level down with any fresh taken eyassm is a must.

Brian

At 28 days they eat on their own after a 24 hours?

Would you start with a carcass or chopped up carcass and is there some coaxing involved?

Do you start the hood at this time?

I'm reading the hunting falcon and would like your input.

[Tom Smith]

OK, you can't make a statement like that and leave it hanging out there...

I agree, I have never had them (eyas prairies) refuse ducks in the beginning but I have had a problem with them if they should happen to get splashed with water when attacking ducks, at first, and that seems to make them reluctant to chase ducks off water but they take field ducks off dry ground with relish, still. Sometimes after a few with no water they come back to taking them off water eagerly.

[Black Gold]

OK, you can't make a statement like that and leave it hanging out there...

Stay tuned to my Gyr thread as it will havet the stuff in there.

[Black Gold]

Brian

At 28 days they eat on their own after a 24 hours?

Would you start with a carcass or chopped up carcass and is there some coaxing involved?

Do you start the hood at this time?

I'm reading the hunting falcon and would like your input.

They should eat the next day with very little coaxing (when hissing put a few tidbits in the mouth) and get them taking food as soon as possible from the plate. If taken late in the afternoon the youngest will be fed at least two times before you take her and will be fine for the night. By morning she will be hungry and should start to take a small crop right away. By the end of the first day back home she should take a decent sized crop on her own.

[Yeomanfalconer]

For any of those that have, what would you recommend doing and steering clear of?

What methods and techniques have you tried? What has worked and what hasn't worked so well?

ATB Jen

The nicest eyas prairie I have ever had was a falcon, taken from the eyrie at 10 days of age. She was food deprived(starving) at that time and I took her almost as a mission of mercy. Thought she was a tiercel then. Ate like a pathetic little pig from the moment I got her home(unlimited English Sparrows) and recovered amazingly well. She went everywhere with me while growing up, constant exposure. No food hiding, lots of hood, people and dogs. Was totally silent, ate with her wings up and tight and chased everything. I wrote about her in American Falconry a couple of years back. Lost her while doing some risky spring soaring. Turned up dead under a house, ten months later.

[HunterJen]

Thanks for everyone's comments, it's nice to hear some input from those who have dealt with Prairies. It's a bit like hitting your head against a brick wall on this side of the pond, noone wants to try them and noone really appreciates them.

I'd like you opinions really - i've got myself a male imprint booked (might be a female if not enough males) but what sort of size quarry do you think I should be aiming for?

ATB Jen

[chamokane]

Thanks for everyone's comments, it's nice to hear some input from those who have dealt with Prairies. It's a bit like hitting your head against a brick wall on this side of the pond, noone wants to try them and noone really appreciates them.

I'd like you opinions really - i've got myself a male imprint booked (might be a female if not enough males) but what sort of size quarry do you think I should be aiming for?

ATB Jen

For quarry, a female Prairie should be able to take about the same quarry as a female Peregrine. I had a female that took everything from quail to partridge to cock pheasants and Mallards.

With a male, it might depend a little more on the individual bird. Partridge would be just about right and a male can be a great partridge falcon, but I've seen a few that didn't like them very well. However, I also know of males that took pheasant and big ducks. These were all passage birds so maybe they came with baggage.

I've known of people who were used to Peregrines who had trouble with Prairies, but those who started with Prairies usually did well with either.

[sharptail]

For quarry, a female Prairie should be able to take about the same quarry as a female Peregrine. I had a female that took everything from quail to partridge to cock pheasants and Mallards.

With a male, it might depend a little more on the individual bird. Partridge would be just about right and a male can be a great partridge falcon, but I've seen a few that didn't like them very well. However, I also know of males that took pheasant and big ducks. These were all passage birds so maybe they came with baggage.

I've known of people who were used to Peregrines who had trouble with Prairies, but those who started with Prairies usually did well with either.

I am thinking Greys and/or snipe.