Ruger - 2013 Imprint Male Goshawk

[goshawkr]

Had a strange setback with Ruger tonight. I came home from church and he was flipped on his back in his nest bowl and completely freaked out. It was like a turtle that had been flipped over and couldn't right itself. He wasn't tangled or anything, just stuck on his back. I helped him back over and he eventually calmed down and ate fine. I am a little concerned since he isn't as mobile as I would expect at this age (ie. standing and walking). I'm hoping it was a freak thing, but I'm watching him diligently.

Anybody ever encountered this? This is a new one for me...

No, that's a new one on me too. I'd be pretty freaked out as well.

Maybe its happened to one of the goshawks I have raised while I was blissfully ignorant of it. I have never tried to put an eyass goshawk on its back, so I don't know if they normally can right themselves.

My then 2 year old daughter might have when I raised my first one, but if she did none of us noticed. She thought that goshawk was the best toy ever and was always [gently] playing with it.

[rocgwp]

Day 24

It looks like mentally Ruger is fine after the 'stuck on his back' incident yesterday. He ate great today and crawled over to sit next to me in his nestbowl. When he sees me, this is the sound he makes. I'm told that this is a sound of comfort or contentment with their parents.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN1p8ay4jOo


I'm still a little concerned that he is not standing regularly at this point, but it could be a lot of things. I'll just keep watching him and if he's not standing by the time he hard pens, I'll know something is wrong.

I walked in today and found him sleeping like this. My heart about jumped out of my chest when I saw him. I thought he was dead. I then remembered that Apache loved to sleep that same way.


Here are a couple more pics showing feather growth:

[colelkhunter]

I don't think he is behind Jeff. The turtle thing is a little weird but might not be contributory. I thought blue would never stand and then one day she did. No muss no fuss.

I used to play with her toes a little. They always felt a little rubbery and wiggly. One day I was doing this and she was able to tighten them and grip. She was standing the next day. My only question in this direction would be, is he getting plenty of sunlight?

[hcmcelroy]

Jeff,

Sounds like a matter of concern. I hope for the best.

Harry.

[rocgwp]

My only question in this direction would be, is he getting plenty of sunlight?

He is getting plenty of sunlight.

Yesterday he tried to stand several times and then ends up falling over, leaning on the side of the nest bowl, or using his wing to hold him up. The issue resides in his right leg somewhere. He stand flat footed on his left leg just fine, but he can't quite get his right foot under him and his toes flattened out. I don't know if it is a neurological/muscular/skeletal issue or if he just hasn't figured out how to control that foot yet. Time will tell...

Personality wise, I really like this bird.

[rocgwp]

27 days

Ruger is about the same. He is trying to stand some, but loses his balance on his right leg. Feather growth is looking good. I'm continuing to shape behaviors as well.

[JRedig]

Does he show any favoritism or lack of use in the wing on the same side? Foot responses equal? (ability to grab, etc)

[rocgwp]

Does he show any favoritism or lack of use in the wing on the same side? Foot responses equal? (ability to grab, etc)

He has less control of his right foot for sure. He has a hard time getting his right foot under him and his foot flat. His right wing seems to droop some, but I have assumed that it was because that is how he stabilizes himself.

When he was on his back I saw him clench both of his feet and show he can open and close them, but upright I haven't seen him foot or try to grab anything with either foot.

[rocgwp]

[rocgwp]

29 days

Ruger is standing finally. He is talking small steps, but not with any sort of control or balance. My guess is he will figure out how to cope on his own.

[hcmcelroy]

Jeff,

Perhaps Ruger will overcome. Humans have a rather encouraging record of recovery from various injuries and I hope he may too.

Harry.

[rocgwp]

31 days (706g)

Ruger is standing much better, but he is not walking much. He tries to flap some but falls over. Tonight he stepped/stumbled out of the nestbowl. I took advantage of the situation to get some pics and weigh him. I'm still rewarding calmness.

Here are some pics:

[rocgwp]

33 days (724g)

Good news with Ruger. His foot still has an issue, but he can walk and stand on it. He has control of his toes as well. I think he is going to be okay for hunting. I told my wife that it is rare to find a custom gos like this. Most goshawks have normal feet. To find one like Ruger that has a foot specially designed for strangling squirrels is pretty special.

Since he is now getting out of his nest bowl, I suspect he will progress rapidly next week. Instead of going straight to a hacking area, I want to observe his perching skills once he branches. I will set him up in a large flight chamber next week and then if all looks well we will transition to a tame hack.

[hcmcelroy]

Jeff,

Sounds like good news. Perhaps he will develop at a slower pace but eventually catch up.

Harry.

[FredFogg]

Jeff,

Sounds like good news. Perhaps he will develop at a slower pace but eventually catch up.

Harry.

That is what I was thinking Harry! I bet the more he uses his legs and feet and the stronger they get, they will straighten themselves out. I wonder how often this happens with wild birds and if it ensures their death or if they grow out of it?

[hcmcelroy]

Fred,

Good question. I trapped a male sharpie about 1960 with a deformed leg and he was in quite good weight.

Harry.

[rocgwp]

36 days

Ruger is making slow and steady progress. He is now flapping consistently and not falling over. He can get out of his nest bowl, but he doesn't venture far. I have noticed that his mutes are more "pressured up" now. For a while he didn't seem to be able to slice as far or with as much force as I would have expected. He's now back to launching them again. I'm ready to be past this and get to the hunting part.

[allredone]

Cute little guy!

[rocgwp]

41 days

I had one of those days where I drove almost a thousand miles yesterday. I was at the airport dropping off 2 puppies to go to their new homes and had flights 15 minutes apart. The first dog was accepted and shipped, the second dog was rejected because the temperatures were predicted to rise over the heat restriction in that 15 minute time frame. Since it wasn't going to be any cooler for a long time, I drove and met the new owner halfway. When all is said and done, this litter will be scattered amongst Texas, Pennsylvania, Washington, Nebraska, and North Carolina.

When I got back home late last night, I walked in to this sight...



Ruger is officially branching!!!!

[Breeze]

Go Ruger!

[rocgwp]

42 Days

Ruger is definitely branching now, but he is not as mobile as most branchers. He will play for a little bit and then lay down. His foot is a factor in that. He has a hard time walking on a flat surface. I have seen him use both feet to foot a ball of paper, so that is good news.

[hcmcelroy]

Good to see you have employed an assistant falconer.

Harry.

[rocgwp]

43 days

Here are some pics from this weekend...

Socializing with the new gwp puppy


Sitting on the Meng Perch...


Outside on the tire perch...

[rocgwp]

47 days

Ruger has been a totally different bird to work with than Apache. He is just as tame, but health issues have been a major problem. We have had a lot of rain recently and the temps have dropped. This past Sunday I noticed that Ruger had a slight Wheeze when he was breathing. I immediately began to suspect asper and started treatment. I am using Layman's treatment of ground up conifer needles in an enclosed hawk box. I grind up 3-4 cups of pine or juniper needles and put them in the giant hood with him. I change the needles every 1-2 hours and every 4 hours at night. After gassing him on the first day, I put him in a mew to let him air out and feed him. He still had the wheeze and he began to sneeze a lot. I left him in the mew for several hours and then took him back home to be gassed again. On the car ride home he cast. His casting was covered in a straw colored liquid/mucus. I have continued this routine for several days now and he seems to be doing fine. We are still have some sneezing, but the wheeze went from slight to worse to improving. He is eating fine and his normal fun self. Here are some pics from this morning when I put him in the mew to air out.

[rocgwp]

49 days

Ruger's weight has been hovering between 680-700g. It looks like he will be an average to smaller sized goshawk.

He health has definitely improved. As of today, he is not wheezing. Since he is used to sleeping in the giant hood, I will go ahead and keep that transition at this point. I will gas him each night as a preventative for a while to make sure it is completely cleared up.

Ruger is also the tamest bird I've worked with to date. This morning I turned him loose in his chamber to get some exercise. He flew down to the nest bowl and patiently waited on the side while I cut up his breakfast. You could tell he was hungry, but he waited for me to hand him his meal. He rides the glove great and steps onto and off the scale without issue. I hope to build a car perch this weekend and transition him to that to and from work. I may do some car hawking with him to see how he uses his foot on game and if there is any major hindrance.

[Bryant Tarr]

Sorry if I missed it Jeff, but by "gassing" him are you saying you are nebulizing the bird, or just putting him in with the off-gassing ground up conifer materials?

Thanks for any clarification.

Enjoying the thread!

[wesleyc6]

Glad to hear he is doing better! He sounds like a real sweet bird and of course you are getting good at the whole imprinting thing obviously. Enjoying the thread!

[rocgwp]

54 days

It's been a bit since I've updated on Ruger. He continues to progress. He is spending the day in a flight chamber and evenings in the house. Tonight we worked on shaping fist drops, controlled bates, and jump ups. He gets to eat as much as he wants, he just has to work for each tidbit. When he stops working, the food stops coming.

Now that his feathers are almost grown in, I'm curious if he will have drooped alula. They never lay right. He also has a couple secondaries that seem odd. Hopefully it won't affect flight.

He has progressed enough that I am considering hacking or starting walk abouts with him this weekend. Some friends helped me install a backpack, so he is ready to go.

Here are some pics:

[falcon56]

Those alulas will not settle into place naturally, but there is a way to tie them into place that has been successful. Not sure how long to keep them tied down, 6 months maybe, but there have been many instances where the alulas stayed in a natural position after the tie is cut.

[hcmcelroy]

As Id recall some have glued the alulas in place. Not sure which adhesive...perhaps hot glue?

Harry.

[rocgwp]

56 days (710g)

Ruger is getting close to hawking. This morning I had him on the fist and gave him a baggie quail. He watched it land and then went after it. He caught it, released it, chased it down on foot, recaught it, released it and continue to play with it for a while. Once he decided to kill it, he mantled for a second. I CR'ed when he plucked and then made in with the lure. He immediately transferred to the lure and then I picked him and the lure up together and let him finish. I am planning on taking him car hawking next week if he continues to progress.

Each evening he is getting exercise/shaping sessions. We work fist drops, rp's, controlled bates, etc.

Once he hard pens next week, I'll start hooding.

[wesleyc6]

56 days (710g)

Ruger is getting close to hawking. This morning I had him on the fist and gave him a baggie quail. He watched it land and then went after it. He caught it, released it, chased it down on foot, recaught it, released it and continue to play with it for a while. Once he decided to kill it, he mantled for a second. I CR'ed when he plucked and then made in with the lure. He immediately transferred to the lure and then I picked him and the lure up together and let him finish. I am planning on taking him car hawking next week if he continues to progress.

Each evening he is getting exercise/shaping sessions. We work fist drops, rp's, controlled bates, etc.

Once he hard pens next week, I'll start hooding.

Coming along well it seems!

[rocgwp]

60 days (740g)

Ruger is getting close to being hard penned. He has caught several baggie quail and traded off well to the lure. We do a morning feeding/hunt training session and an evening exercise session in the house.

I could be wrong about this, but it looks like he has an extra dark band on his tail. He has 6 bands and I thought goshawks normally had 5. This is only my second gos, so I could be off.

Here is his tail. 6th band is at the top under the tail coverts:


Sitting on a Meng perch:


Had to throw in a pic of our gwp pup too:

[falcondoc]

There is a way to tie the alulas up and in some cases they stay up permanently. It involves tying them to the base of the 7th primary. Jeff PM me if you want info. It is pretty detailed but I am happy to discuss it with you. I used to have to tie alulas in a few dozen large falcons each breeding season. The sooner you do it the better the outcome. In my opinion gluing them never lasts long enough for it to work. Tim Sullivan DVM

[carlosR]

Beautiful pup and hawk. It's going to be a lot of fun.