Mielikki

[ikcus]

Mielikki arrived last Tuesday and I could not be happier. She is a female Finnish and a real love. Mielikki came home at 24 days. At 24 days she was exactly matched in development to my good friends 16 day old Female NA except she was a lot bigger. Her nickname right now is The Giraffe. I am glad I raised quail this year being she is putting down 2-2.5 quail a day! The food intake simply amazes me.
So far everything is going well. The only concern I have right now is her band. She currently has an RW band and I think she might have needed a bigger RX band. I am keeping a very close eye on this issue, and I do hope the RW will be big enough. Time and growth will tell.

Getting her out of the crate:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie1-24.jpg

Feet:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie2-24.jpg

Hello, my name is Mielikki:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie3-24.jpg

I figured out how to get out 29 days:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie5-29.jpg

Hi daddy:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie6-29.jpg

Mommy, can I cuddle:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie7-29.jpg

My daughter and Mielikki watching TV:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie8-29.jpg

[raptrlvr]

Congrats Joe.

[PeteJ]

The band should be okay. By this stage their tarsi are about as thick as they're going to get, and about all that happens from here on out is that their toes lengthen a bit more. Have fun, she looks like she's settled in. Keep that vacuum handy, cause they have loads of down!!!

[hcmcelroy]

Joe,

Delightful photo with your daughter! You will cherish that image as the years pass. Like Pete I see the band as a god fit.

Is she imprinted to people or what? At 24 days it would be interesting if she were not raised by people and suddenly taken from the parents???

Some of us estimate that the N. Am females imprint at 20 or so days and perhaps the males around 18 days.

Harry.

[ikcus]

Yes, Harry she is an imprint. She was in the breeders main living area before she arrived at our place. Mielikki is around myself or my family 24 hours a day. She is currently passed out in her nest box on my desk at work.

[FredFogg]

Joe, she looks great! Nice set of feet on her. What will be your main quarry for her?

[ikcus]

Fred, our main quarry will be jacks, pheasants and ducks.

[Chad L.]

Me likey the giraffe! Looks like almost to much fun to resist, Joe. Have fun with her. I can't wait to meet her at NAFA.

Keep us updated on her progress.

[ikcus]

32 days and all is well. Anklets will be going on this weekend. Mielikki ever so wants to get on the couch with me. She is still putting down 2.5 quail a day. I can not wait to weigh her and see where she is at.
Today we introduced the big red vacuum cleaner, and she was very interested but still very calm. She now is doing Tai Bo with the wife. Gotta keep her in shape.......:D
Thanks Pete for the advice on the tarsi growth. I am still keeping an eye on it, but it is good to know and has eased my mind.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie9-32.jpg

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie10-32.jpg

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie11-32.jpg

[FredFogg]

She looks pretty thick Joe, looks like she is going to be a big girl. It always amazes me how many drop cloths falconers have around in their houses. LOL Every time someone comes to my house, they ask why do you have so many sheets laying around? :eek: :D

[ikcus]

Fred, she is growing like a weed. I think she will be plenty big enough ;)
And yes, I ran out of sheets, they are in the wash. Blue tarps for now..............

[ikcus]

36 days. Mielikki is up and just beginning to run around like a chicken and flapping those wings. As I thought in the beginning, she is going to need a larger band. I am going to get the ball rolling with the feds so I can get her band removed, and get a larger band that will not cause her leg issues. Everything has been going as planned other wise. Yesterday a fellow falconer and myself, picked up some starlings from a gentleman at Bass Pro Shops parking lot. Tons of attention from people, cars, trucks, Harley's, little girls with Barbie dolls. Mielikki loved every bit of it and never showed any sign of fear. She also loves to ride in the truck.

http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie12-36.jpg

http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie13-36.jpg

[ikcus]

Busy, busy week, but still having a lot of fun with Mielikki. No complaints other than getting her band removed at the vet. She did not really like that part, but was fine a minute or so after the procedure. I made sure I was NOT in the room for that one. :eek: She is being fed 3 times a day from the lure in a different location each feeding. I am doing this to keep her less territorial and quiet. So far this has worked out well. Mielikki is really starting to branch, and when the hot days cools off and the nice delta breeze cools the evening down, we head out to the backyard, front yard, neighbors houses, park, etc. She is free to run around and explore and eventually finds her meal. Being we have almost no mosquitoes we stay out til almost dark and then hang out in the garage until she passes out.

40 days
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie14-40.jpg
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie15-40.jpg
41 days
On the neighbors front porch
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie17-41.jpg
Hanging out in the dirty laundry
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie18-41.jpg
42 days
Sleeping on her newly claimed bean bag
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie16-42.jpg
Someone is getting big
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie19-42.jpg

[Ross]

She looks great. Nice pics of her socializing in the home life. I hope to follow this thread for reference a I have flown 2 teircel finns and would like to try a female sometime. By the way who bred her? I think you'll have a blast with her.

[ikcus]

Thanks Ross. She came from Dan Pike's project in WA.
What part of NW Iowa are you in? I have family from Sioux City up to LeMars, and some in Kingsley. Next year my buddy from MN and myself are planning on a trip to Poccahontas for some pheasant hunting.

[Ross]

I live in Milford, but Okoboji and Spirit Lake are the towns with more name recognition in the area. About an hour from Pocohontas or Lemars. Come up and I can probably put you on some birds here if you have time on your trip. Unfortunately we are looking at the lowest pheasant numbers in over 30 years. A couple years of brutal winters and wet nesting seasons combined with loss of habitat has taken its toll.

[ikcus]

Man, Lake Okoboji brings back some good memories. Grandpa had a house on the lake and we used to catch catfish until the cows came home. Good times. I will definitely let you know if we make the trip next year.

[ikcus]

My babies after a long hot day:
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie20-42.jpg

[ikcus]

Sunning on a Sunday Morning....Before the heat inundates the day......
43 days with a full breakfast crop.
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie21-43-.jpg
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie22-43.jpg

[Lee Slikkers]

rockon lookin' good~

[ikcus]

It is late here, but I would like to share this late evening. Today was hot, 103 to be exact. Mielikki stayed very quiet all day in her nest on the bean bag. She ate a whole quail and a starling today and keep quiet during the heat. Upon arriving home late tonight she was on fire. I decided to take her out front, and she proceeded to run into the garage and play like a little kid. She is now up on a high perch footing the crap out of anything I give her. Mielikki is in rare form. I guess dad has to stay up late tonight to let her do her thing. I am not complaining....:D Has anyone else seen this behavior before? She is acting like a cooped up kid denied the candy store. Never the less, this is fun.

[goshawks00]

I've seen it many times over the years , but I think it's just pent up energy that was to be used in order to alleviate internal 'meltdown'. They do it when they are inspired to.. I've seen it happen with a blowing leaf in the middle of the day... or a simple lure toss, or any other motivator. The funniest ones for me were when we raised Ricky , a gos in 2006. He would quietly be sitting on the perch or floor, and Oreo the kitten he was being raised with would walk into the room.. One second he would be standing there, and the next second they would be on the floor wrestling WWF style no holds barred. Oreo would have him in a head locked kicking away while Ricky would have both feet footing the crap out of the kitten... along with many a bite and wing whipping. If you didn't know any better it would appear as if it was all out war , but they were just playing... After a bit of that, one or the other would either run off or collapse on the floor. The other sensing victory, would lay down as if spent and fall asleep.

BTW the picture of the kitten under the perch was at around 90 days , fully a month aftyer hard penning..... Ricky got killed by a RT on a long flight on a pheasant kill a month or so later.



http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x301/bollette/ricky37days.jpg


http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x301/bollette/RickyandOreo102days.jpg


http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x301/bollette/snuggling-1.jpg

[ikcus]

47 days old. Mielikki is progressing well. Still feeding from the lure 3 times a day. Lots of socialization, and we have more planned for this weekend. This weekend will be dirt bikes at my friends private track, horses at my bosses house, and hopefully an evening meal by the busy freeway.
Woke up this morning with Mielikki sleeping on my chest. Still have a :D on my face.

Sleepy head on the couch this afternoon.
http://ikcus.com/pegs/mie23-47.jpg

[AK Rev]

Love it! Keep it up. Sounds like you are doing fantastic on the socialization.

[Chad L.]

Looking at how much she has grown and how much feather development has happened in the last 23 days is pretty incredible.

Keep at it Joe, she seems to be comming along just the way you wanted.

[ikcus]

48 days. Some good ol glove time.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie24-48.jpg

[allredone]

Very nice bird! Super nice Bozo the clown feet. Where is she from? Sorry if that has already been mentioned before. I couldn't find it.

[ikcus]

Aaron, she came from Dan Pike's project. She is currently high perched in the garage with me and a couple of friends. We had a wonderful day today. I took her for her morning feeding to one of my honey hole jack fields right near a freeway. Well, not right on the freeway but close enough for her to see big rigs and cars a plenty. I have witnessed a couple of Gos' shutdowns at this field and am trying to keep this out of our plan. She ate two starlings with no issues to her surroundings. This evening, we had dinner at a friends house on a super busy street. Two, ice cream trucks, the ghetto bird (police helo), 8 plus neighbors watching her eat, and plenty of traffic. She ended her feeding and took perch on a 4 foot tall bush and we continued the bombardment of stimuli. From now past hard pen we will continue on this path of exposure. Tomorrow, I am hoping for dirt bike exposure and some train time. I had horses lined up but that will happen next weekend. I plan to let her be a baby and then a teenager with lots of stimuli. Once I see the evil, I will start cutting her slowly. No rushing, and not a lot of bags. We will see if this works...... So far I am please, but ask me in another 3-4 weeks. crazyy

[ikcus]

Blanco Basura at 50 days hanging out in the garage once again. The word of the day for Mielikki is, Mobile.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie25-50.jpg

[allredone]

Wow. Very nice. There is a small chance I saw her hatch. Dan was nice enough to show me some of his chicks of the year several weeks ago. He's got some thunderous big ones! Good for you!

[ikcus]

Yeah, Dan is a great guy. I am very pleased with this gal. If you saw the three baby Gos' then yes one of them was my girl.

[Dirthawking]

48 days. Some good ol glove time.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie24-48.jpg


Jealous of the bird, and the beard! rockon

[ikcus]

51 days and we finally hit the scale........1176g\41.5oz. dead empty.
I am beginning to see some fire in Mielikki's eyes. My jesses are not here yet but I am currently oiling up some roo to take the place in the meantime. In a day or two she will be able to make it up into the trees or to the roof. With Barry's thread, I so want to hack this bird but my surrounding are less than acceptable. Too much ghetto, dogs, and ignorant people.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie26-51.jpg

[allredone]

Ghetto Gos! I like that.

Have you considered doing Supervised hacks at another location? An hour or few a day may be beneficial.

[ikcus]

Yes Aaron, I have definitely thought of hacking her elsewhere. I am still trying to decide where to do it.
Someone had to be tethered a couple of days ago. I tethered her before bed, and awoke to a tether tantrum which lasted for about 10 minutes. After that time she has been pretty good about being restrained. I found that she really misses sitting on the couch and cuddling with us. We have just changed the routine and my wife, daughter or myself will sit with her on the floor or out in the front yard. Giving her some cuddle time while she is tethered has re-assured her new change.
Mielikki and Wendal relaxing in the front yard.
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie27-52.jpg
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie28-52.jpg

[ikcus]

Another busy week. No major set backs since my last post. Mielikki's weight has been hovering around 1190g. Lots of socialization, and riding in the truck tethered on her bow perch. We had a nice drive to the vinyard early this morning on rough gravel roads to check and feed\water the starlings in the starling trap. She handled the rough roads well. Giant hood will be finished tonight or tomorrow, so that will be our next event on our list. 3 weeks from now we will be on our way to a 8 day camping trip. I planned this right about the time she hard pens. Hopefully we hold it together til then and most importantly after the camping trip.

53days
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie29-53.jpg
56days
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie30.56.jpg

[FredFogg]

She is looking great Joe! Keep up the great work. Can't wait till you have her chasing game.

[ikcus]

To tell you the true Fred, ME TOO!

[ikcus]

Mielikki update: 61 days, 1255g this morning and she is starting to slow down on eating. One to one and a half quail a day. I did run into a territorial food issue with the family room she has been raised in. There is definitely an aggression issue with this area. I have already prepped another spare room, and the carpet remnant comes early tomorrow afternoon to cover the slippery hardwood floor. Currently she is perched on her GH in the front yard. At dusk I will bring her into the garage as usual, and keep her out here with me until bedtime. Mielikki will spend her last night in the family room tonight, and then be transferred to the front yard tomorrow at first light. Once the carpet remnant comes in, she will sleep and spend the morning to early afternoon in the new room.
The plan for the next step, is to keep her calm and my friend for the next 4-5 weeks and then slowly bring her down. I really wish this was different and I could hack her, but........I don't think my situation or my juevos could justify doing it.
Currently, we are sitting out in the front yard with the neighbors dog that got out, and watching the police helicopter hover at 300 feet above us. Also, I am enjoying an ice cold beer in the 100 degree heat. :D

61 days out in the heat.
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie31-61.jpg

[ikcus]

A good day for both of us. The new room is complete with the new carpet remnant for Mielikki, and she was as calm as a butterfly when I picked her up this morning. No aggression, no sound. Just a perfect girl. New surrounding and no old stress.
We worked on the GH for the morning and mid day small feeding with good success. The heat held off and only got up to 94 degrees today. Before our evening feeding, we walked to the park and encountered plenty of new people. Before arriving home, the neighbor was having his car towed to the shop on a flatbed. There were eight to nine little kids around, petting Mielikki, and asking questions. Mielikki could care less about all the noise and distractions. She handled it very well. We ended the session, with her eating a starling next to the busy street in the neighbor's yard, and the police helicopter over head.
I hope to continue this tread until we end our camping trip and she hard pens . Once this is completed, I will have to plan our slow weight drop, and nice walks in the fields.

[ikcus]

Things are going well. Mielikki is 68days old now. I got her weight figured out which has been helpful. 1215-1225g she is super mellow. 1230g and above she is cranky. 1200g-1210g she comes to the lure within 10 seconds. Anything under 1200g she is noisy. Feathers are still in blood, so I have just been keeping her happy, exposing her to lots of situations watching out for stress. Our evening feed consists of a 1\8 of a mile walk to then find the lure in some new location\situation. She does really good riding the fist and seems to really like the walks. Still working on the GH.

68 days old, and keeping quiet in the heat.
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie32-68.jpg

[ikcus]

Mielikki is starting to hard pen. I can see it in her eyes, feather shafts and general attitude. I plan on getting her into the field very soon. I will not be cutting weight, but want her to start chasing game and building some muscle.

71 days sunning in the front yard.
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie33-71.jpg

[ikcus]

Mielikki continues to move forward in her progress. Everything is going as planned. We did not go on our camping trip this year, and I have been in the field working with her once or twice a day for the last 10 days and spending a lot of time with her. We still have a lot of weight to melt, but that has been going down in 5-7g increments a week. She is currently at 1187g. I am hoping to get her to chase game in the next week or two, but I am not rushing anything. Like I really want to hunt in the heat!

[raptrlvr]

Looks great Joe. I agree with you about being out in the heat. I have had Zeva out 2 times already and am planning on taking her out again tomorrow in the heat. Even the rabbits don't want to come out.

[ikcus]

Not much to update. Mielikki is down in the 1150's now, and we have a ways to go. We are down to one feeding a day which has been real nice. She is only noisy on approach to her perch and even then it is very minimal. Today she was very quiet. Mielikki did un-tie herself yesterday while I was at work and was sleeping on her old nest bean bag when my daughter arrived home. She then proceeded to follow my daughter around until I got home. My daughter was on the computer doing her homework with a Goshawk standing next to the keyboard watching the screen.

[ikcus]

Mielikki and I went out on our first official hunt this evening. Needless to say I am smiling. She weighed in at 1139g before we went out. Is she a tad noisy? Yes, but nothing that is insane. She does talk, but is not a true screamer. She does like to express herself. Being the wife does not complain or the neighbors, she is just where I think she needs to be.
The first foot slip we got on a jack this evening was perfect. Mielikki grabbed fur, got bucked, and still got right back up and chased. Needless to say I was thrilled. Was she pissed after the miss? Yes. She half assed attacked my feet. I laughed and had a wonderful grin on my face.
The hunt ended with the final count of: In total, 5 chases on jacks with one grab, two chases on pheasants with a near connection and one chase on a CT.
The only bag I have given her is a quail. This was only to test the emergency recall if necessary and she smoked it.
I have to say, the best result of the day was seeing her in the house tonight after our hunt, completely quiet and begging me to turn off the lights so she could sleep. I just checked on her and she is out like a light.
The season has begun, and it felt real good. It is time for me to push her and put as much game in front of her as I can. I really hope she scores soon. She deserves it.

[Ross]

Sounds like a great first outing. She keeps doing that and it won't be long until she connects.

[jfseaman]

Goog going Joeclappclapp

[ikcus]

Nothing as of yet. We have had some good days and yes, we have had some bad. The bad being Mielikki did spend a whole night out camping by herself. I got her down at first light and I got my first sleepless Gos night. She was pouting like a pro that night from not connecting and being high in weight. We have since had some very good days with some minimal weight reduction 1120g. Mielikki is still grabbing jacks but has not been able to hold on. She is still butt grabbing. We came close on Sunday, and she has been crashing well, and her immature wing overs are looking fine as she crashes through six feet of brush. As for her vocals she is still a tad noisy, but from what I have seen, a Gos needs to work for each and everything it needs. Tire them out and they stay happy and quiet. Give them the easy route and they will exploit you in a heartbeat. No bags as of yet, and I think we have a good weight to execute a nice jack. Next week the weather will subside from the 100's and dip down to the 80's. We are close.

[ikcus]

The butt grabbin ended tonight. Mielikki got her first jack of the season!
We started flying at 1080g and she nabbed her jack tonight at 1155g. Imprints can be some work, but tonight the work paid off. I do have to thank the nice cool weather though....Thanks mamma nature.
No bags needed.
:D
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie34.jpg

[Ross]

Way to go!

[Chad L.]

BANGO! Your on your way. Awesome job Joe!

[jnelly32]

Excellent! I've been anxiously awaiting this post. Great work.

[Dirthawking]

Now if that ain't an Easter bunny picture! Way to go! clapp

[Hawkingcolorado]

NICE!!!!!!!!clapp

[ikcus]

Quick update: Sorry for the shitty cell phone pic.
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie35.jpg

I still have both of my eyes and no holes in my face. Since the hot weather has left us, Mielikki and myself have made some really good progress within the last two weeks. So far, I am pleased. 1174g

[Ross]

Good to hear Joe. I have wondered how much tougher falconry would be in areas where you don't have cold temps. I guess cooler helps enough. Do you have gamebirds or waterfowl to hawk locally? Not that jacks aren't cool enough.

[ikcus]

Yes, the cooler weather has been a real help for both of us. Ross, we do have pheasants and ducks to fly, but the jacks are most plentiful. Yesterday before she took the jack she had a nice long pheasant flight. I will be bagging her real soon on a pheasant to let her know they are worth the long flights. The ducks are coming in, but we need some more rain to make duck hawking easier and closer to home.

[FredFogg]

She is looking great Joe! Congrats! clapp clapp clapp

[tumble]

Congrats, Joe. Glad to see the weather is turning for you and your bird is doing some culling. We're back up in the 50's and 60's at the moment. Good for the heat bill, I guess.

[ikcus]

Long time no update. Mielikki and myself are still truckin along with positive results. The jack population has really taken a dive here, but we are still trying to focus on feather instead of fur to end the season. We have taken enough jacks this season and will let them try to re-populate next year but even this looks grim. I think the jack population will crash pretty hard the next couple of years. Starting on jacks has really taught me plenty with my first Gos. I really wanted to take some pheasants this year with her but we have not been successful. I think the jacks played big a part in these results. To expand let me say that Mielikki learned very quickly that jacks in my area are very easy to catch. In my area, I mean open fields with perfect straight line of sight flights that ended in success. Ducks close to home have been a challenge being we have only had 4.11in of rain this year. If I had time with work being so damn busy, maybe we would have got a few with travel, but I also feel ducks would have been like hunting jack rabbits and not got us to the point of pursuing a pheasant for a half mile to a mile. The opportunistic hunter of Mielikki needs to be addressed. If you start from the beginning of this thread I was not for the pursuit of bagged game, but I will revert and say, we need to do some if we want to have a good pheasant season next year. Live and learn, and choose wisely. We plan to end the season ambushing crows from foot being we cannot car hawk and then enter the moult with plenty of handling and fitness flights on the rope. Once pheasant seasons opens next year we will be giving the poults hell and let the jacks recover in my area. Mielikki and myself had a pretty good year. For my first imprint Finn, I give myself a C-. I did not flunk out, but I definitely have a better plan for the future. The good thing is I can't see myself without a Gos for a long time. Thanks to everyone that has helped and listened to our progress. We could not have done it without you.

[allredone]

Sounds like a great season to me. It'll be really interesting to see what she's like next year. I always feel like hawks study last years notes somehow while in the molt and come out of it better like they had been thinking about next season the whole time just like we are. I'll be anxious to see some molt pics!

Congratulations Joe.

[Ross]

Good to hear an update. Doing well on jacks even "easy" ones is still an accomplishment. I believe with a couple bags to get her going pheasants will also prove easy for her. If you can find some pheasant carcasses to feed during the molt that will help make her more interested next fall.

[Ally]

Not much to update. Mielikki is down in the 1150's now, and we have a ways to go. We are down to one feeding a day which has been real nice. She is only noisy on approach to her perch and even then it is very minimal. Today she was very quiet. Mielikki did un-tie herself yesterday while I was at work and was sleeping on her old nest bean bag when my daughter arrived home. She then proceeded to follow my daughter around until I got home. My daughter was on the computer doing her homework with a Goshawk standing next to the keyboard watching the screen.

That is awesome. :)

Just read through the thread, and congratulations :) She seems like she's wonderful.
Good luck on both your future endeavors!

[raptrlvr]

Great season Joe.

[lewsouder]

Hey Joe...planning an "End of Season" hunt here the first weekend of March. Sal, Dave H.,and Erland coming down so far. Give me a call.

[ikcus]

Mielikki made it through the moult, but her name was changed. Mamma, and the daughter have changed her name to Pippa. Pippa had a nice moult with a big scare of WN about six weeks ago. She was closing one eye for three weeks, but seems to be doing very well as I write this. Today was the first time I had handled her since I put her up. I let her grow up and mature free lofted in her condominium for the last few months, and only fed her through the food chute with a remote watering system. She acted like a b@tch the entire time through the moult (as I was outside of her chamber), but as I took her down in weight the last week, she was completely scared of me inside the chamber until tonight. She hoped to the fist tonight like a perfect lady, and has been sitting on the pole perch in the garage for the last two hours (not one bate and a foot tucked). I have waited for this day since I got her. I knew the journey would be long if I took my time with her. I never pushed her last year, and now I have a completely silent, well mannered gal, with no aggression that I know will be hell on wheels this year. I am all smiles tonight.

First shot after being put on the pole perch just five minutes from picking her up
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie-s2-001.jpg

After a couple of hours taking in the scenery
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie-s2-002.jpg

[FredFogg]

Joe, she is beautiful! But man, cope that beak, she looks like a parrot! LOL :D

[ikcus]

Today was the first time I had handled her since I put her up.

She should look like a snail eater. I have not touched her in months.
;)

[allredone]

Cool Thanks for posting. i've been curious how she looks now since we talked a couple weeks back. She does kinda look like a snail kite. :)

What is the daisy chain thing on the perch?

[Chad L.]

Pippa? There's no pictures from behind but I assume she has a super sexy butt?

She looks great Joe, good luck on the season.

[ikcus]

This year has been very different from the last. Head count has been minimal, but attitude and demeanour from Mielikki has been much of an improvement from last year. I made many mistakes with this gal my first season\my first Gos, and cutting her weight to get her to take jacks last year played a big role in our relationship issues we had. The first kill last year was the most important thing I had on my mind and I did not take a look at the subtle clues she showed me on those early hunts. Looking back I remember some wonderful pheasant flights on some of the first hunts I ever took her on. I did not look at these wonderful traits she possessed and continued to cut her to get that ‘first kill’ on a jack instead of leveraging her natural pursue of game. If I would have recognized and capitalized on these wonderful traits last year I would be way ahead of where I am this year. I was a jack hunter prior to taking this gal on and my hawks and I have taken many jacks, but pushing her on jacks her first year was a mistake due to the cut I had to make with her in weight. Mielikki took some of the best flights on pheasants her first year, and I did nothing to make it happen for her, nor did I reward her for her pursuit. I was too concerned with taking that ‘first head’, and jacks were the most abundant prey we pursued so we pushed on jacks. I finally understand that if I was to assist her last year in taking a pheasant at a nice upper end weight, that jacks would have come eventually without the great weight cut that happened and hindered our relationship.
This year I toke the hinesight from last year and flew her at her upper end weight on pheasants. We have only been flying for four plus weeks, and her pheasant flights, have been improving with each and every outing. I still pushed her hard and only took single flush flights in the beginning, but after four weeks, I took a re-flush tonight and she connected. After tranfering her off the pheasant to the lure, I let her eat and gorge on a pheasant leg. I put a very nice, well mannered Gos back in the truck and we headed home. She was my friend tonight, and we will be out in a day or two to make it all happen again. We just got seven inches of rain, so the ducks should also be coming in. Then crow seasons begins. If she wants to tackle jacks this year she will do it on her on accord, and at the weight she chooses. I would much rather see her chase a piece of game down at a comfortable weight and find her a half a mile from where we started and see me as a friend when I approach the scene of the crime.
It is nice to have a friend this year.



http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie36.jpg


And Dinner


http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie37.jpg

[Ally]

Joe,
Sounds like you're doing it the way everyone wants to :) Have a great hunting partner and enjoy every outing. Love it.

[lewsouder]

Alright Joe! Good to hear things are turning out well for you. That pheasant sure looks good on the grill. Nothing more satisfying than sustaining oneself with game taken with your hawk. Good stuff.

Lew

[Chad L.]

This year I toke the hinesight from last year

You can toke hinesight? Hmmmm, who knew.confusedd

In all seriousness looks like you 've found her sweet spot. Give me a shout tonight if you have time, we have some catchin up to do.

[ikcus]

Mielikki and myself are doing great. We had a wonderful pheasant season and now we are enjoying one's company.
http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie-40.jpg

[FredFogg]

She looks fantastic Joe! Are you going to try and AI her? If so, save an egg for me! LOL :D

[ikcus]

I am definitely going to try! The two males are in nest building mode and and flaring. She has been twitterpated for about a month, and I just hope the males donate in time. If not we have another female who comes in a little later. Hopefully this will be the year. 'fingers crossed'

[FredFogg]

I am definitely going to try! The two males are in nest building mode and and flaring. She has been twitterpated for about a month, and I just hope the males donate in time. If not we have another female who comes in a little later. Hopefully this will be the year. 'fingers crossed'

Good luck! I am courting my male now, had one of my females display a little bit for me yesterday, so if I can get him to give, I might be in luck. I am not counting on it though, this being my first year trying. We will see! All I want is to make just one, for ME! LOL

[ikcus]

Here are the first two, and egg number three arrived yesterday. Still a long way to go.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie41.jpg

[Chad L.]

Sweet Joe!

[hcmcelroy]

Looking good! Those eggs are beautiful!

Harry.

[carlosR]

Wow, that's great. Good luck.

[ikcus]

Mielikki is being a wonderful Mamma. One could not ask for any better.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie42.jpg

[ikcus]

Two days out of her condo and doing well. She has about an ounce to drop, and then back in the field. I thought about leaving her up this year being she did a great job of laying and sitting, but we have to chase some more pheasants and some jacks. Three more week until a nice jack hawkin weekend with friends. I think we will have some great fun. I have truly enjoyed every experience I have had with this Gos. The good and the bad.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/mie43.jpg

[ikcus]

The breeding project was not successful last year but this year was different. Mielikki has produced her first and has come full circle. DNA results should be in tomorrow. I am hoping for a female needless to say, but I am overwhelmed that we have succeeded in the second year.

Thanks everyone for your advice and help. You know who you are.

http://www.ikcus.com/pegs/piper003.jpg

[JRedig]

Congrat's joe, that's awesome!

[FredFogg]

Way to go Joe!!!!

[Saluqi]

Congratulations! Quite an accomplishment! Did she incubate the egg(s)?

[ikcus]

She incubated the three eggs for 30 days before I pulled them.

[goshawkr]

She incubated the three eggs for 30 days before I pulled them.

Hey Joe,

Congratulations on the success!

After many years of not trying hard enough to make a success out of breeding goshawks, I have a female incubating what may be a fertile egg. I candled it at week 2, and it was entirely dark. Very drastically different from the known infertile goshawk eggs that I kept on hand as a control.

I have never really had to work through how to handle the hatching process before, so now I am really curious how you handled that and why.

I don't have an incubator other than mom, so artificial incubation is just not an option for me. This is just as well, because the mother is very calm, and has lived here with me since she was ~15 days old. I guess my current plan is to let her go through the entire process of hatching and raising until I decide to pull it, but I may rethink part of that.

[ikcus]

The reasoning behind my decision to pull at 30 days was the following:
My Gos was very good last year incubating, but I pulled at 21 days and had no results. If you do not have an Egg Buddy to detect fertility, candling is almost useless on Gos eggs. I had two dark ones last year and two dark ones this year.
I think natural incubation is best. Mom knows better than me.
I did not know how my Gos would treat a chick, so I played it safe by pulling.
I have incubated quite a few things and wanted to give it a try in the last stages with a Gos egg.
My Wife wanted to see the hatch and she puts up with all of my birds and is one great assistant.

If you do not have an incubator, then I would suggest getting three of them if you want to attempt the process. One for the last days of incubation with low humidity, one for hatch at high humidity, and one to dry the chick off. Then you need to worry about an open air broader to get them regulating there temperature.

[ikcus]

DNA results are in. The Gos is a female. My wish has come true. An imprint Gyr was so much fun last year, but another imprint female Gos is what I have been looking for. I have some work cut out that I am definitely looking forward to. If I lived some where cooler in climate the Gyr would have stole my soul. I am looking forward to working with a Gos again, but I definitely need to move to a colder climate so I can fly both for the rest of my life. Some day it will happen.

[Rmoglich]

DNA results are in. The Gos is a female. My wish has come true. An imprint Gyr was so much fun last year, but another imprint female Gos is what I have been looking for. I have some work cut out that I am definitely looking forward to. If I lived some where cooler in climate the Gyr would have stole my soul. I am looking forward to working with a Gos again, but I definitely need to move to a colder climate so I can fly both for the rest of my life. Some day it will happen.

Congrats, Joe. Nothing beats goshawks and gyrfalcons ;-) I look forward to seeing your new gos fly this year.