Horny little Ferrugie

[areal]

I have no real reason for doing all this, but if you have a male imprint you might as well try your luck.
Last year my ferru was a bit young, I managed to get him to copulate with the backrest of my chair a few times, but it was always dry.
I did my best to copy the noises he was making during his displays and I guess we did okay.
This year I've been trying the same thing, then the other day I noticed the female red calling and his response to her was instant. Also noticed her voice/calls are much lower than his. I've been trying to copy her (I'm not very good at it and it hurts my voice when I try) for about a week now and the difference in his response is quiet dramatic. He seems to get most excited if I go in with her, get her to call at me, then I come back to the office and carry on as best I can the way she's been calling.
Yesterday we had the sun out and quite frankly Mwagi seemed to think it was "shag evan day"
I must have got jumped at least half a dozen times over the course of the day.
Then this morning, nasty overcast weather and lots of jobs to do on customer sites.
Got home around 2pm and he was calling his head off. Started imitating her and then opened the office door and he was straight on my back, then jumped to my shoulder and finally jumped to my foot.
He spent a good two minutes humping my shoe, then jumped up onto my knee and after about 10 seconds jumped back into his pen.
As I turned my chair back to my desk I noticed he'd left me a little "wet patch" on my trouser leg. (eeeugh!!!)

Not sure where we go from here, the red is parent reared and shows very little "bonding" toward me, I cant even see her laying eggs without the stimulus of a male, and Mwagi is by all accounts more of a "do it in a cup" type bloke. I'm pretty sure he'd end up as hawk food if they were in a pen together.

Its really amazing to see just how gentle he becomes with his feet when he's in this condition. When he comes toward me he almost walks on his hocks with his little feet all closed up into little balls.
He kind of hops up and then holds on with the inside of his legs while he does his thing.
Yea I know its all been done before but its my first time with a large imprint and its pretty interesting to see such gentleness with those feet when I have learned the hard way to have a lot of respect for what those feet can do.
If anyone's interested I'll play around with the IP camera and try and get some of his antics filmed.
Best make sure I dont leave the door to his pen open again in case he ransacks the place for nesting material.

PS: Anyone who comes to visit, the box of tissues on the desk are to clean up after the imprint, freaky little perv that he his!!

[tony123abc]

I bet half of the world out there just would not understand. But nice to hear he loves you.

[Tom Smith]

I bet half of the world out there just would not understand. But nice to hear he loves you.

Half??

Tom S.

[areal]

I think this is one of those cases where one could use the word Trillion and not be talking about financial losses. About one in a trillion would understand.

[Taowolf]

Nice one Evan, glad you are getting something out of him. As said previous Lily and North have been copulating so fingers crossed.

Cam.

[Zarafia]

Well Evan, I really shouldnt comment on your uh..., relationship with Mwagi. A guy I used to work for told me (after watching me massage his horse) that legally, animals cant consent. It doesnt matter if that sheep is known to be a liar.
I think its very cool that you have such a good understanding of your birds behavior. I know you guys can and do breed birds like golden eagles. I dont think there is even anyone over here breeding ferruginious hawks. In fact, I doubt there are very many people anywhere breeding them.
It seems fairly common for people to breed falcons via AI. But its pretty rare to hear accounts of the large buteos being, well, loving.
Thanks for sharing, and I wont judge LOL.

[lupine]

There once was a man from Leeds...

(Sorry, I know there's a limerick here...anybody care to finish it?)

[Zarafia]

Who tended to all his bird's needs...
Id love to finish it, but I'll suffer if I do LMAO.

[areal]

Keep taking the mick guys, so far this morning I've been presented with a skanky pigeon leg from Sunday and very nearly had half a rabbit dropped down the backrest of my office chair. Fortunately I saw what he was plotting.
I must say though, he is slightly confused. I could be wrong, but I suspect he was having his way with a rabbit carcass when I first opened the door this morning.
Been trying desperately to get him on camera but he just changes his mind as soon as he sees the phone.
We need another sunny day to get his hormones going.

Something else I've noticed, his eyes go flash blood red when he's really excited.
Oh and I've had to untangle him from a network cable that he tried to steal for his nest. I also caught him briefly trying to drag my laptop case to the pen but he decided it was too heavy and gave up. I am however fascinated as to why he thinks paper (or rather invoices and company accounts) are such good nest material.

[Tom Smith]

Keep taking the mick guys, so far this morning I've been presented with a skanky pigeon leg from Sunday and very nearly had half a rabbit dropped down the backrest of my office chair. Fortunately I saw what he was plotting.
I must say though, he is slightly confused. I could be wrong, but I suspect he was having his way with a rabbit carcass when I first opened the door this morning.
Been trying desperately to get him on camera but he just changes his mind as soon as he sees the phone.
We need another sunny day to get his hormones going.

Something else I've noticed, his eyes go flash blood red when he's really excited.
Oh and I've had to untangle him from a network cable that he tried to steal for his nest. I also caught him briefly trying to drag my laptop case to the pen but he decided it was too heavy and gave up. I am however fascinated as to why he thinks paper (or rather invoices and company accounts) are such good nest material.

Around these parts wild ferrugs use a lot dried cow paddies for nest material perhaps you could scatter some around the office for him.

Tom Smith

[Zarafia]

What a good idea! Im sure that will go over very well.
Evan, I dont have any cows, but you just let me know if you would like to try horse manure. I have a never-ending supply of that and I would be very happy to donate as much as you like.
Just say the word, I'll get the pitchfork LMAO.

[areal]

Yea you lot joke away, right now I'd gladly have cowpad's round the office if it meant he would try and use "normal" materials for his nest.
For some reason he seems to have developed a liking for Cat5 network cable as a suitable nest material.
Before anyone says anything, ITS NOT SUITABLE and I've had to cast him twice to untangle him once he's got himself wrapped up in a cable.

There are some other updates to this adventure but I'm keeping them to myself for now. No point counting tails till they hatch

Oh I decided its safest to let him hump my foot, I've had those talons in my face before, dont need any "accidents"



PS: For anyone who thinks I leave rat tails lying on the floor, it was a gift from Mwagi. Not sure why he thinks I collect rat tails but he brings me quite a few.

[areal]

I might mention that while network cables are a common item in my office, I keep the unused ones in a cardboard box.
Mwagi has decided the box is like his private little nest supply store. On Sunday I had to retrieve 7 cables that he'd nicked from the box and dragged to his nest in the pen.
Funniest thing he's done, though I didnt get a picture of it, was trying to drag my laptop case to his pen by one of its carry straps. He couldnt even move it an inch but he spent a good 5 minutes trying.

[Karl Leadley]

If it came to it Evan I'd force AI the red for you mate.

[areal]

Hmmm funny you should say that, lets just say, the volumes are small and I could do with a better collection mat and syringe but if Cesca lays eggs without the stimulus of a male around, there's a "chance" they should be fertile.
I take it you didnt get my text last week? She's a tart only she likes it on an afternoon, Mwagi wants it on a morning!!

PMSL, to think someone suggested I got stiffed with that Redtail. Best £100 I ever spent Hahahahahaha!!

[Karl Leadley]

Nope? Too much time spent looking up arses I'm afraid.....frus

[areal]

That explains why you're offering to force AI Cesca.
Basically she's standing for insemination, screams her head off while she's doing it. I can safely enter the pen even if Mwagi has already set her off, I can touch her cloaca or stick the syringe into it but if I so much as touch her tail or worse her body I get a talon in the hand for my efforts.
Only thing is she's not showing any interest in the nest. I take sticks in arrange them on the shelf and when I come back she's ripped it all apart. Never seen her so much as standing on the shelf on her own.
She's doing more than I could possibly have hoped she might do, I dont have a male to stimulate her with so whether she lays eggs or not is up to her.

At least the incubator is free again after Mwagi knocked it off the desk and broke both my peacock/hen eggs.

Hope your imprints are doing their thing by now.

[Karl Leadley]

My mobiles not here dude if you need me its the land line. You do in a sense have a male as she can/could be stimulated by the ferruginous' calls. Dont put anything in the cloaca its a case of putting on as she pulls it in.

[areal]

Tried your landline, nice lady who answers, I just dont talk to machines.

You are right about her being stimulated by the ferru. Actually they seem to stimulate each other. The problem is Mwagi does want to do her if he sees her in the yard on the bow (long story, had to get her out to put the shelf in) He didnt like her being in the yard!!

Anyway I started out copying the calls he makes till I noticed when she calls he gets really excited so I tried copying her calls instead (its a much lower frequency sound like a grunt from deep in your throat, his is quite a high pitched sharp noise, I can copy it in my mouth if that makes any sense)
The difference was noticeable so I carried on doing it.
I found letting him near me all the time a bit counter productive as he seems to try practice humping too much (jumps on, gives his move for a few seconds and then jumps off again) If I leave him in the pen and let him in at selected times he seems to come in with a vengeance and I get droplets on the mat to collect with the syringe. Every other day seems to be about normal though that could be my collection methods that I'm not finding it all.

With the red she stands on her swing perch calling with her tail up in the air and her vent feathers splayed out wide.
She seems to push her cloaca outward and it kind of pulses toward the interior.
I cant pretend it doesnt scare me going near her when she does that, she seems to switch from shag mode to kill mode in an instant, I'd have got done in the hand or face at least a couple times if I hadnt learned how to bat Mwagi away with my upper arm when he comes at me.
So far she only got me in the right hand and I dont feel much pain there anyway.

[threetoe]

That bird is one handsome fellow

[areal]

That bird is one handsome fellow

That's very kind of you, however I dont think you would say that if you'd seen what he got up to this afternoon.
I was working on some code and he was scanning around the office for things to drag off to his nest. (exactly what he planned to do with an electric razor in his nest I do not know but he's tried to steal one this week!!)
Anyway he came across a newspaper folded in half on top of the freezer and promptly dragged it down to the floor.
He proceeded, as normal to try and rip the paper into pieces he can easily carry to the nest but managed to pull out a whole sheet of paper.
I looked over at him just as he grabbed one corner of the page in his beak and took flight.
Somehow the downdraft from his wings seemed to flip the loose end of the paper up and over the top of his head, producing what I guess amounts to a blackout mask.
I got a smack on the top of the head by his left wing as he went past on his way to the pen. He then kind of crash landed against the top step, shot back up into the air and tried flying in a tight circle, all the while keeping this newspaper held tight in his beak so that it covers his whole head..
I laughed so much my ribs were hurting.
The worst bit was having to go and take the paper away from him after all that entertainment because I've decided the paper just soaks up moisture from the air and makes his nest nasty.
Wires if they are not important and he's not going to get himself tangled in them, he can keep, but paper doesnt go on the nest anymore.
Doesnt stop him trying to steal bits of paper if he gets a chance.
Idiot imprint.

[Zarafia]

Imprints arent the only idiot animals out there Evan.
Your story reminds me of something my arab mare did as a three year old filly. My business partner was giving riding lessons in the pasture that my filly was living in at the time and she was as tame as a puppy, constantly trying to get peoples attention. She was being ignored by everyone one day so she grabbed one of the towels laying around. She held it in her teeth and once she saw she was being watched again she started flipping it around and around, spooking herself with it till it settled over her whole head. Then she thought it had attacked her and she took off at a canter trying to escape it. But my brilliant filly never let go of the towel frus. It finally came off her face and she stood there, nearly crosseyed, snorting and blowing at the towel she still held.
While all the rest of us recovered from our fits of laughter she tossed the towel up and pranced away, her tail straight up in the air trotting nearly level as if to say, "You know I did all of that for your benefit people! Enjoy!"
Stupid filly.

[areal]

Yea but what amazes me is the sheer range of things he's tried to steal for nest material.
The list of things I have removed from his nest includes, an electric razor, a USB memory stick, one half of my Cat5 cable tester, a Cadbury's Creme Egg box, lots of bills and invoices a roll of sellotape and two rolls of PVC insulation tape, my dog whistle, a paint roller, numerous network and computer power cables, several brass eyelets (not even sure how he gets them cause they are kept in a draw!!) a paintbrush (new, didnt even know I had one like that!!) two RTL8139c network cards, at least four Intel CPU boxes, a big piece of leather (for making anklets and equipment) an almost empty bag of ferret nuggets, two fleece jumpers and a T-Shirt, more floppy drive cables than you can shake a stick at (there's a box of them under a desk in the office which he raids regularly). He's even nicked my wallet and carried it to his nest!!

Twice he has pulled the power socket for a small Linux server out of the wall, I've had to cast him to remove at least 3 network cables that he's got himself tangled up in and the funniest was a dog harness for the car that he got wrapped around his body yet still wanted to take it to the nest after I'd released him from its evil clutches.
I've been very nearly hit in the head by an adjustable C clamp that he tried to carry to the nest but dropped in flight (I assume it was too heavy but he could also have been aiming for me)
He has expended an incredible amount of energy trying to drag my lamping torch to the pen (I must get that one on film, its a proper "You've been framed" experience) though I think the best he's managed was to pull it half an inch if he's lucky, he does try hard though!!

Then the all time funny one was when my daughter opened the door to his pen and he jumped down the stairs pretty much straight onto her feet and started humping her, all the while Orin is saying "No Bye bye!! and trying to get away while the bird has her by the leg. (for anyone who thinks that was an irresponsible thing to do, yea it was, but he came hobbling over to her with his feet balled up, attack was the last thing on his mind!!)

[tony123abc]

Love the thread. Fun stuff. Messy shoes, but fun stuff.

[Taowolf]

Has anything came of the big fellas antics mate, did you insemanate the red.

North and Lily have 4 eggs and sitting well should hatch 19/5/09 fingers crossed

Cam.