Pain Male NA Gos

[varanus]

Thought I would post a bit on here about my project for this summer. I picked him up from Barry at 14 days old on 5/29/12. So far he has been pretty fun. He doesn't make any noise, isn't afraid of anything, and eats a ton. He is eating 5 adult mice and a whole 8 week old quail every day now. He will run about 15 or 20 feet to the lure when he is called for his meals. He goes every where with me (which drives my wife crazy) and if for some reasons I can't take him I sit him in front of the TV with the terminator on (only had to do this once while we went out to eat).

[Joby]

He's coming along great Mark! Good job! I look forward to seeing him drag down some ducks this season.

[varanus]

And now for the part you guys really care about! Pictures!!

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain15daysold2.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain16daysold.jpg

[varanus]

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain17daysold3.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/pain19daysold2.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/pain20daysold1.jpg

[varanus]

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/pain26daysold.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/pain38daysold1.jpg

Our favorite pass time laying around during the heat of the day.

[varanus]

From just a few minutes ago.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain38daysold5.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain38daysold4.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain38daysold3-1.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain38daysold2-1.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Pain38daysold1-1.jpg

[FredFogg]

Mark, I always think when we imprint our second bird, we are going to do a much better job because of what we have learned. What do you think you will do different with this bird than you did with your coops? If I remember correctly from your coops thread, it became a really bad screamer. Do you have a plan to avoid this and if so, what is it? Man, I am loving all these imprint gos threads. Goodluck with him, he looks like a beauty!

[varanus]

First thing I'm changing is I'm not going to screw with his weight until after he is done growing. Right now he gets all he will eat twice a day. Which right now is 5 mice and a whole quail (anything he doesn't eat right away I leave on his lure for him to finish later since he can get distracted by bugs and such after a few bites but shortly after he will go back to eating). And the second thing is I'm not going to screw with his weight until he is done growing. toungeout Other than that I'm just spending as much time as possible with him and making sure to expose him to every thing I can. I took him to a festival the other day and sat with him right next to some noisy rides and let the hundreds of kids and adults that came over pet him and talk. I called him to the lure maybe 20 feet from one of the rides with a big crowd of people standing around us and he ran right over and ate without giving it any thought. I've only had him on a scale once and that was a week or so ago and he was at 770g empty.

On a side note he just did what I call his first flight, he made it about 4 feet in the air and 5 or 6 feet forward to his lure. The look he had when he landed was pretty funny. I think it shocked him more than me. I'll be putting a transmitter on him starting tomorrow every time we go outside since it won"t be long before he can make it up into the trees.

[FredFogg]

Very cool Mark! Sounds like he and you are doing great. Are you going to back pack him later on?

[varanus]

Yeah I'll put a track pack on him around 60 days or so.

[hcmcelroy]

Mark,

Most interesting. It looks like you are doing well. Keep us posted on how you manage him.

Harry.

[varanus]

I put a transmitter on his leg today and left him out in a tree for about 4 hours today. He isn't do a much except to preen and move around a little on the branch he was on. The tree is only 15 or so feet tall and the closest tree to it is about 10 yards away. Most of that time I sat out on the porch and read a book but I did leave him alone for a while (I can see the tree from my living room window). I'll put him in the tree every morning after he is fed until he starts moving about in the tree. Once he moves about more in the tree and has a bit of flight ability I'll start putting him in the tree first and then calling him down to feed him and take him in. He is sitting tied to a bow perch in my living room preening away now. He still doesn't jump back onto the perch after he jumps off but I've only been putting him on it the last couple of days so he hasn't really gotten the hang of it yet. Here soon I'll start putting him in the giant hood when we ride in the car so he can get used to that (right now he rides in his nest inside of a soft sided dog kennel). So far I'm having fun with him and trying not to push him into anything too quickly.

[varanus]

And now he just figured it out and jumped back onto the bow perch on his own.

[Ally]

And now he just figured it out and jumped back onto the bow perch on his own.

Whoohoo :) Always fun to watch them learn, even something that basic. Sounds like he's doing great so far :)

[wingnut]

And now he just figured it out and jumped back onto the bow perch on his own.

I like to tether them to a small bow type perch as soon as they can walk. I don't set them on the perch but place their nest pan near it and they jump up on it on their own. By the way. I may have the brother to your Pain.

[goshawks00]

By the way. I may have the brother to your Pain.

Nope... there were none.

[wingnut]

Different pair? Didn't check my calendar but I thought the age was the same.

[Joby]

Doug, there were a couple of other males there when we got to Barry's. I don't think any of them were related to Pain.

[goshawks00]

Doug, there were a couple of other males there when we got to Barry's. I don't think any of them were related to Pain.

Ding, Ding , we have a winner!! You did good to rememberthumbsupp Have you seen Geiger's female yet?

[wingnut]

Oh ya, that's right. I got the cream of the crop. :D I like the name Pain. I haven't come up with a name yet.

[goshawks00]

Cream of the crop...probably, or maybe someones hand me down:D. Where did you get him?

[colelkhunter]

Mark what is his age now? Or did I miss it in the last previous post somewhere? Looks great! I dig your lure as well. I have been using a bunch of lures with my female and she seems to prefer a dang tennis ball that I had given her to play with:D May give that a try for a while.

[goshawks00]

Mark what is his age now? Or did I miss it in the last previous post somewhere? Looks great! I dig your lure as well. I have been using a bunch of lures with my female and she seems to prefer a dang tennis ball that I had given her to play with:D May give that a try for a while.

Actually a tennis ball makes a great lure. Cut a small "X" in it and poke a hole in it. Run a line with a big knot through the "X" and out the small hole. This is you line for swinging. Stuff your food so it's gripped by the "X" and it's loaded. Bounce it across the yard and let the little buggars have at it.thumbsupp

[colelkhunter]

Actually a tennis ball makes a great lure. Cut a small "X" in it and poke a hole in it. Run a line with a big knot through the "X" and out the small hole. This is you line for swinging. Stuff your food so it's gripped by the "X" and it's loaded. Bounce it across the yard and let the little buggars have at it.thumbsupp

That is a good idea Barry! I keep them around all the time for the dogs to play with. I take them and cut two holes in them and braid 550 cord into the two holes to make a tail/handle. Cheap and effective. I like your idea about the "X" for holding the food.:D

[Dirthawking]

What do you do when your bird sees a random tennis ball out in the field? or do you eventually move to a different lure?

[FredFogg]

Actually a tennis ball makes a great lure. Cut a small "X" in it and poke a hole in it. Run a line with a big knot through the "X" and out the small hole. This is you line for swinging. Stuff your food so it's gripped by the "X" and it's loaded. Bounce it across the yard and let the little buggars have at it.thumbsupp

Just don't take your bird hunting near any tennis courts! LOL :eek: :D

[colelkhunter]

What do you do when your bird sees a random tennis ball out in the field? or do you eventually move to a different lure?
Where are you hunting Mario? I have never ran across one out hunting, but I guess it's possible. Like Fred said, just don't take them to the tennis courts hunting and you should be fine...:D

[goshawks00]

Actually once they start finding tennis balls out in the field you switch them to ten dollar bills. Every little bit helps...........

[colelkhunter]

Actually once they start finding tennis balls out in the field you switch them to ten dollar bills. Every little bit helps...........


Bwahahahahahaaahaill

[varanus]

He is 41 days old today.

[varanus]

Here is my other project for the summer. Her name is Panic and she is a english springer. She is 8 weeks old in this photo.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Panic/Panic8weeksold1.jpg

[varanus]

He started to jump around in the tree today working his way a bit higher into the tree but still within arms reach. He is coming along pretty quick and it won't be long before he is moving from tree to tree. He doesn't want to jump down out of the tree yet but the lowest branch on the tree is about 5 feet off the ground so I don't really blame him for not wanting to jump down yet. Once he is a bit more sure of his wings i'll be able to call him down out of the tree though.

[varanus]

Well he can fly from one side of the the room to the other now, time for the fun to start.

[Joby]

Ding, Ding , we have a winner!! You did good to rememberthumbsupp Have you seen Geiger's female yet?

Not yet. I talked to him this afternoon and he said she was coming along well though. I should see her fly this fall. I got a chance to see both his NA female and the Fin and they both flew well. Looking forward to seeing this new girl fly. Doug seems well pleased with her.

[varanus]

He ate way less this morning than he normally does and that is after eating way less last night too. Last night he only ate about a mouse and a half and this morning he ate pretty much the same amount. He did eat pretty much an entire quail yesterday morning though also, so I'll see if he eats more tonight when I give him a quail. Maybe he is just not as interested in mice any more. I may just switch to feeding him just quail and see if that helps him to eat more.

[varanus]

The little goof ball got about 20ft up a tree and then couldn't figure out how to get back down again. I had to climb the stupid thing and get him toungeout. He wanted down pretty bad though to eat and was jumping branch to branch trying to work it out. I let him do that for about 10 minutes before i decided to go up and get him.

[varanus]

HE figured out how to get down on his own now so the last 2 days I've been able to call him down out of the tree. I've been putting him out at 6am and then calling him down at 10am to feed him. Depending on how hot it is I either put him back up or I bring him in and put him on the bow perch.So far he doesn't do much while he is out other than moveing around a little bit in the tree I put him in. I'm waiting for the day I'll have to pull the reciever out to track him down.

[Joby]

Hey Mark, would you be willing to join me and Paul at the OSU fair this year with Pain? I've got two shows to do at the DNR pavillion and having a NA Gos along might be kinda neat.

[varanus]

When are they? Depending on when they are sure thing man.

[varanus]

Boy I was an hour late feeding him this morning and man was he cranked up. He didn't mantle or anything but he was talking up a storm and footing the hell out of his lure. Funny thing is though he didn't really eat all that much only about 2 mice.

[allredone]

HE figured out how to get down on his own now so the last 2 days I've been able to call him down out of the tree. I've been putting him out at 6am and then calling him down at 10am to feed him. Depending on how hot it is I either put him back up or I bring him in and put him on the bow perch.So far he doesn't do much while he is out other than moveing around a little bit in the tree I put him in. I'm waiting for the day I'll have to pull the reciever out to track him down.

Good woods or yard trees? Just curious. They are less active in the middle of the day. Early morning and late afternoon hacks with a break with the bird tethered and hanging out near you can be cool. Pictures?

[varanus]

I am in a very urban area so lots of people, cars, and stuff like that close by while he is out. There are not many trees but there is another tree pretty close (10 yards maybe).This would be a better tree for him. It is taller with more canopy cover for him to use for shade and to hide in. The tree I put him in is short and not very dense but he seems to like it. I've ordered a new scale because I think there is something wrong with the one I have so I'll get a weight on him once the new scale arrives (with as much as he eats there is no way he is as small as my scale says he is). When tied to the bow in the house he never bates except for when he sees the sun start to go down through the window, which makes him want to go to a higher perch. Once he starts that, I just pick him up and put him in the giant hood where he spends the night. So far, I'm pretty happy with the way things are going with him. Once he is a bit more comfortable with his wings, I'll start doing some other stuff like walking around and "hunting" hidden lures with him on the fist and things like that to get him to see the fist as a hunting perch.

[varanus]

On a side note, he wants nothing to do with his bath pan. I even tried putting a couple goldfish in it, thinking that they might draw his attention to it. He sat and watched the fish for a minute and then lost interest. Any secrete tips on how to get him to use it?

[goshawks00]

Instead of feeding him on the lure toss small tidbits (walnut size) for him to chase and eat. Once this is established, toss them in very shallow warm water( 1/2" -1") in a bath pan. Usually only takes a few before timesd and they start bathing, then you can increase the water a little deeper.

[varanus]

I'll give that a go thanks.

[Dirthawking]

Instead of feeding him on the lure toss small tidbits (walnut size) for him to chase and eat. Once this is established, toss them in very shallow warm water( 1/2" -1") in a bath pan. Usually only takes a few before timesd and they start bathing, then you can increase the water a little deeper.


Now that is an interesting tip! Never thought about doing that, but sounds awesome!

[wingnut]

One of the things I see missing in many of the imprint gos threads is time spent in the mews. It's all about getting them used to doing the things they will be doing later. One of the things my gos WILL be doing is spending time in the mew. He WON'T be spending much time in the house watching TV with me. I let mine free loft in the mew for a few hours each day with a bath pan and most of the time when I go out there his jesses are wet and so is his tail. I think he is about 50 days old now.

[Dirthawking]

Hey Doug, do you start out with short times here and there I assume?

[varanus]

I'll be keeping him in the house so he is getting used to how it will be. What we are doing now is pretty much how he will live for as long as I live where I do.

[varanus]

I tried what you said Barry and I got him to jump in and eat one tidbit in the bath. He stood in it for maybe 2 minutes and got a drink and then went back to his perch. I'll see what he thinks tomorrow about it.

I almost lost him today though when this freak storm blew in suddenly, man that wind was crazy. The second I went into the house it went black outside and the wind kicked up. He was hanging onto the branch he was on for dear life, and i had to grab him as the wind bent the tree so that I could reach him. Man he was pissed, it took him an hour to calm down.

[wingnut]

Hey Doug, do you start out with short times here and there I assume?

Yep, he loves his time in the mew. I've got a nice one. I also leave my JRt out there with him for a 10-15 minutes each day while I water the garden next to the mew. He's imprinted on the pup too. It's working out very well.

[wingnut]

I'll be keeping him in the house so he is getting used to how it will be. What we are doing now is pretty much how he will live for as long as I live where I do.

You are a lucky man. No way in hell would my wife allow me to keep a hawk in the house after it starts to lose down. After all these years I'm inclined to agree with her. It stinks, it's messy, and I've found it's not all that productive.

[varanus]

I just have to keep it cleaned up but i've been keeping my birds in the house for the last few years ( couple of red-tails, 2 coops, a male harris, ect.). My wife doesn't mind too much as long as the mess is kept up on. It keeps the birds tamed down and I can keep an eye on them even during the molt.

[varanus]

Well we have a couple of firsts today. I'll start with the least cool thing first, he finally left his normal tree and flew around a good bit. Now the cool part, damn if he didn't catch the first thing he ever chased. When he sits in his tree there is a robin that likes to come around and give him hell all the time. Well she came by this morning to bother him and as soon as she got close he launches off the branch and snatched her out of the air. I'm not sure who was more shocked me or the robin. So with the robin in his feet he continues to fly, and then turns thr robin loose so he can chase it around. He wasn't the least bit hungery at the time or she would have been breakfast. He had fun chasing her for a bit and then landed on the neighbors roof. After sitting there for a while he flew tree to tree untill breakfast time and I called him down (this all took place in the 4 hours he was out, 6am - 10am). He is sitting happy as can be on the bow perch now in the front room preening away.

[allredone]

Wow! That's awesome! Young birds naturally want to play. Im sure youre right that he let it go so he could chase some more. Very cool observation. If they eat every catch they wouldn't get as much practice. Sounds like things are going well!

[hcmcelroy]

Mark,
I wonder if your hawk may be one of the advanced bird hawks. He is young to catch things and as you say only to play.
Not to start a mud throwing contest but I see that you keep your hawks in the home. I always put imprints in the mew as soon as they begin to move around and show some signs of flying a few feet. With Cooper's they nornally take off one day like a shot out of a cannon. But this past year I fed my imprinted gos by hand and decided to keep him in our double room long after he began to fly. It was quite an experience and he played with the dogs, toys and us and all that but one day just after hard penning to my horror he withdrew! Suddenly he was fearful/agressive toward me, the glove, and my bare hand. In all the years (since the 60's) of raising all sorts of imprints I had never seen this type of withdrawal. My wife was afraid of him after he withdrew and refused to come in these rooms until he went to the mew. He was ill at ease in the home late afternoon so I puthim in the mew/flight pen each evening but he was not left in the mew during the day. Naturally I brought his weight down for hunting but it required some time before he settled in and would come to the lure. I was only able to call him in with the lure toward the end of the day most days. He was aggressive toward us but not the dogs, or horses. So my question is why did he withdraw when kept in our two rooms?
He did well in taking quail and is now molting tame as a pet so he did overcome the fear/aggression but it took time.

Harry.

[varanus]

He had her wraped up good with both feet and then just let go so he could chase her around. I have no doubt that if he would have been hungry she wouldn't have got away. Up till now he hasn't shown any interest in any birds, I've seen that robin land pretty close to him and he wouldn't even give her a second look. I'm just glad to see him stretching his wings and getting some exercise and practice.

[varanus]

Harry I have no clue, this is only my second imprint ever so I have limited experience. I hope though that it won't happen with him. When he is in the house though he is kept tied to his bow perch. It is pretty crazy around here with my 3 little ones and the dogs always running past and around him so for now he is pretty much bombproof. Once his dispersal hormones kick in though we'll see how much it has helped.

[dflorea]

[QUOTE=varanus;244563]First thing I'm changing is I'm not going to screw with his weight until after he is done growing. Right now he gets all he will eat twice a day. Which right now is 5 mice and a whole quail

Mark is your hawk casting yet? If so what size mice are you feeding him?

[varanus]

Full sized adult mice was what I was feeding him. Now he gets 2 full quail, one in the morning and one in the evening. Yes he casts every day in the morning before I pull him out of the giant hood.

[varanus]

These 2 are from just a moment ago.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/PainDay46.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Painday462.jpg

And this one is from the start of his hack before he could fly and move around in the tree much.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Painathack.jpg

The black thing on his leg is a temp anklet that I attach the transmitter too. I'll take that off as soon as I get the track pack put on him. I know I know why is he wearing anklets while at hack. They are very very short and stiff and have a whole just big enough to fit the clip through.

[dflorea]

Cool, Good looking hawk, Good luck with him!

[varanus]

Thanks, yeah he is a good looking boy.

[rocgwp]

Mark,
I wonder if your hawk may be one of the advanced bird hawks. He is young to catch things and as you say only to play.
Not to start a mud throwing contest but I see that you keep your hawks in the home. I always put imprints in the mew as soon as they begin to move around and show some signs of flying a few feet. With Cooper's they nornally take off one day like a shot out of a cannon. But this past year I fed my imprinted gos by hand and decided to keep him in our double room long after he began to fly. It was quite an experience and he played with the dogs, toys and us and all that but one day just after hard penning to my horror he withdrew! Suddenly he was fearful/agressive toward me, the glove, and my bare hand. In all the years (since the 60's) of raising all sorts of imprints I had never seen this type of withdrawal. My wife was afraid of him after he withdrew and refused to come in these rooms until he went to the mew. He was ill at ease in the home late afternoon so I puthim in the mew/flight pen each evening but he was not left in the mew during the day. Naturally I brought his weight down for hunting but it required some time before he settled in and would come to the lure. I was only able to call him in with the lure toward the end of the day most days. He was aggressive toward us but not the dogs, or horses. So my question is why did he withdraw when kept in our two rooms?
He did well in taking quail and is now molting tame as a pet so he did overcome the fear/aggression but it took time.

Harry.

I don't want to highjack this thread, so this might be better taken to a separate area. I'm curious if what you encountered Harry has less to do with being raised indoors as it does with the hawk seeing you as sibling competition instead of as a parent. Ally's thread on Blackjack talks about this some. In talking with Steve Layman, the important part of hand feeding is watching the hawk to maintain being seen as a parent.

[varanus]

Feel free to talk about it here I don't mind at all.

[hcmcelroy]

Jeff,
I spoke to Steve L several times because I was using his system of hand feeding and was cautious in feeding and raising him. Steve has some great observations.

Harry.

[FredFogg]

I know I know why is he wearing anklets while at hack. They are very very short and stiff and have a whole just big enough to fit the clip through.

You meant jesses, right?

I see 3 bars on his tail, how far is he from hard penning? Are you going to keep him on a bow perch on the floor once you start flying him or move him to something higher? I left my imprint coops on a bow perch on the floor and once I started dropping weight, I had a bad problem with excessive bating, so beware!

[varanus]

Damn, yeah jesses is what I mean frus). HE is 46 days old so 15 to 20 days from penning from what I've read. Yeah once he gets closer to penning I'll move him into an indoor mews that i'm working on that will put him up about four feet off the floor. My coops that I imprinted did pretty well on a bow perch on the floor the whole time I had him even after I started hunting him, but thats just one bird though noidea.

[varanus]

I've started taking him on a short walk in the morning before I put him up in the tree. Today while we were on our walk he slicked down and stood tall watching sparrows flush from the line of bushes out back, he didn't try to go for them but he was interested in them. He is way more active in the morning than in the evening when I put him out.

I took him to the fireworks display down by my grandparents place and other than wanting to get to a higer perch as the sun went down he did wonderfull. He sat with a foot tucked during the fireworks and didn't even flinch the whole time.

[varanus]

He has 5 black bands showing on his two outside tail feathers and 4 showing on the rest.

[Joby]

Sounds like he's coming along great. Won't be long before we'll be launching some coturnix for him!

[varanus]

I'm thinking around the end of this month or the start of next month before I want to do anything like baggies. I want to try and get a couple of those tiny mallard looking ducks to serve him too. Those things worked great to get Thorn turned on to ducks. They don't fly all that great but they should give him the idea that ducks are food and can be caught.

[varanus]

He flew down past the lady next door and scared the shit out of her this morning. After I talked to her for a minute, she was okay and even wanted a picture of him.



He was scared off the lure yesterday by a huge white dog that walked by. This damn dog looks like a polar bear it was crazy, I feel sorry for the thing in this heat. He took off and flew maybe 20 yards or so away to the top of a tree. I let him cool off for maybe a minute and then called him back down to the lure. He came down without any trouble and finished his meal. Since then though I've been hooking him to a leash as soon as he starts to eat on the lure. I've also been trying to get him to see the glove as a good place to be. To do this I've been picking him up and as I do that put a tidbit on his perch. Once he is on the glove I whistle and he sees the tidbit and jumps back to the perch. So far, we've only done this a few times and he hasn't figured out that jumping back to the glove after he eats the tidbit will make more tidbits come faster. I plan to drop a whole quail to jackpot him the first time he jumps to back to the glove (I just cut off the legs and the head and neck to cut into tidbits). Once he starts to get the idea I'll start hiding lures outside in different places, walk around with him, and pull lures out giving the game call. I figure by the time we get all of this sorted and I can walk around a fair bit it should be time to give him some baggies. I also plan to take him to some busy places like in front of walmart and feed him up there, maybe even bring along a chair and a perch and just sit out front for a bit so he can see the all people, cars, and stuff like that. He does pretty well around cars I've had them drive within 5 feet of him while he is on the lure eating and he doesn't even look up at them but more exposure couldn't hurt. I may even drive around with him on the glove and on the passenger seat, some also just in case. Thats my plan anyway, we'll see how it goes.

[varanus]

Well after jumping to the perch several times and then being picked up I finally called him up with a tidbit on the glove (I was hoping not to have to do that). He took a second to think about it and then jumped over and ate it. While he ate the tidbit I tossed the rest of his quail out behind him and whistled to him. He looked around saw the quail and jumped down to finish his meal. We'll see if it did any good tomorrow evening. I'm going to stop putting him out in the evening so I can use that feeding to work on other things (he never moves around any at that time anyway). I just hope I don't have to give him more than a few tidbits on the glove for him to get the picture.

[Joby]

I know what you mean Mark. Those birds can be pretty stoopid. Not like a harris'. You'd best give it to me and get yourself a good HH or RT! LOL

[varanus]

HaHa, I'll tell ya what bud if he starts grabbing my face every chance he gets I'll swap him to you for Sin :D.

[varanus]

He is very active this morning I've seen him take about 5 laps of the place already and that was just while I was out there watching him. He'll come down low zip around and then power back up to the top of a tree or building. He doesn't like all the smaller birds giving him shit though and will kak at them and chase them half assed or take off the other way. Those robins are brave, I keep telling him all he needs to do is catch one and pull its head off and the rest should leave him alone after that but typical kid he doesn't listen.



I'll tell you this though the more he moves around while out there the more nervous I get. I go out every 10 minutes or so and look for him just to make sure he is okay and hasn't wondered off too far. If I don't see him right away I break out the receiver and track him down (normally within a 100 yards or so from where he was the last time I checked on him). I'm not too sure how much longer I'll be able to stand letting him out on his own. IT is funny to see the looks on people’s faces when I tell them I just take him out in the morning, turn him loose, and then go back into the house. I was at my grandparent's place one day when it was time for his evening walkabout. I took him out and put him up in a tree and then came back in and everyone was like "Oh no did you loose the bird?" Nope I just let him out to fly around for a bit, I'll go out here in a couple of hours and call him back down. He did what he always does at that time of day and just sat in the tree. When I went back out to get him he was still on the same branch I had left him on.

[varanus]

Oh he has started to use his bath (thanks for the tip Barry). He takes a bath at least once a day now and gets a big drink while he is at it.

[varanus]

I just got back in from checking on the little shit and when he saw me he came down and landed on the ground right next to me. This is a half hour before I normally pick him up to bring him back in. I went ahead and picked him up walked back to the house and tossed out the lure for him. Even though he acted super hungery he only ate one breast off of the quail and a bite off of the other breast. He was way more interested in tossing the lure around and footing it than he was in eating. I'm going to leave his quail out for him to eat for maybe another hour or so and then he will just have to wait untill this evening to get any more. It surprised the hell out of me seeing him come down like that though.

[varanus]

I sat outside this morning and watched him for a while. He made a lot of half assed flights at the small birds flying around. Once the kids started to wake up I went inside and left him for about an hour. When I went out to check on him he came over and landed on a fence right next to me. I picked him up, walked around for a few minutes, and then let him fly off when he wanted to. He flew to the nearest tree but didn't go very high. I started walking to the front door and he flew to the tree closer to the door. I stood there a minute watching him and then opened the door. As I started to go in sure enough here he comes to the door. Now I thought for sure he was going to fly inside but I must have been in his way because he suddenly turned and landed on top of the small bush right next to the door. I offered him my gloved hand and he looked at it and thought about it for a minute but then decided to go back to the tree. I decided at this point that he must be really hungry or something so I went in and got his quail ready. I put one breast on the lure, went out, and called him down. He jumped around the lure for a minute doing his crazy dance he likes to do (he always does this, he'll jump around footing the hell out of the lure/toy tossing it around) and then he ate the breast. Now normally at this point when I go to pick him up he jumps around a bit playing keep away and I have to wait for him to jump up onto something other than the ground to pick him up. This time however he stepped right up onto the glove and I tossed the rest of his quail out for him. He played around for a minute with it and then walked off so I picked him up and the quail and brought him inside. I put him on his bow perch and dropped the quail next to the perch when he wasn't looking, for him to finish here in a bit. This evening I'm thinking I may put out his lures and walk around and pull them out for him to "hunt".

[varanus]

Well he is figuring out jumping back to the glove gets him his tidbits faster.

[varanus]

So I decided to give him a bag this evening after he was slicking down and watching all the little birds thismorning on our walk. I set up a finch from the pet store and then took him out to go find it. He watched it for a minute and then went for it. He was calm, no mantling or anything like that. I gave him a minute just to make sure and then I made in a hooked him to the leash. I waited for him to start plucking it and to eat the head off of it. Once he did that I put a whole quail out next to him and he walked off of the finch for the quail. While he picked at the quail I cut the finch up and placed on top of his quail for him to eat. I'm pretty happy with how it went and I plan to pick up some quail so I can start bagging him more. I'm pretty happy with how things are going so far with him and a huge thank you goes to Barry for breeding such a great bird.

[Venomlust]

I'm loving all your updates, Mark. Please continue!

[varanus]

Yeah I always start out keeping up but it normally fizzles out when things start to get more active.

[allredone]

There are some young kids on this forum and you're speaking to a large audience, would you please observe etiquette and keep your language clean?

Good luck with your bird.

[varanus]

confusedd??? really? I just went back through all of my posts and I only see a couple of questionable words. I mean come on these "young" kids are on the internet, they watch TV, and they go to school where they can see and hear way worse than what I have in my posts. If a mod feels I'm being too vulgar please feel free to delete the post or the thread for that matter no questions asked. Don't read a lot of attitude in this post because that isn't my intention I'm just a bit surprised someone was offended. Come on I've heard all these words on the radio and that’s an FM station not XM. I'll try and remember to use words like fecal matter from now on since it is the exact same thing toungeout. Ahh now it's time for some coffee.

[Richard]

Now that is an interesting tip! Never thought about doing that, but sounds awesome!

Never had any trouble getting an eyass into a bath. We usually start out way before hard penned and put a sheet cake pan with about an inch of water in it on the table next to them and swish our fingers around in the water. Usually they hop right in. Some times they just stand next to it looking in and start doing the bathing motions. When they are doing that, you can just pick them up by their feet and lift them over the edge and into the water.

[Richard]

There are some young kids on this forum and you're speaking to a large audience, would you please observe etiquette and keep your language clean?Good luck with your bird.

Did you ask them what words they were objecting to? I have noticed the frequent use of the word "breast" throughout the thread... Can't think of what else they may be objecting to. Perhaps he should switch to "chest"? Perhaps they shouldn't be allowed on such a "wild" forum?

[allredone]

I just got back in from checking on the little shit...

Come on... Gotta have a better name than that? ;). You could name him Asterix? As in *@!*^~*!!! ;)

Sounds like things are going well.

[varanus]

I use the term in the niciest way. You should here some of the stuff I call my dog.

[varanus]

Oh and his name is Pain, even says so in the title of the thread. toungeout

[allredone]

Fair enough. Cool name. :)

[varanus]

Yeah I like it.

[Joby]

I use the term in the niciest way. You should here some of the stuff I call my dog.

Yeah, some of those things even make ME blush!!

[varanus]

:D HAHA! Yeah I have a pretty good vocabulary.

Well he has mastered jumping back to the glove when tidbit hunting. I don't need to call him back up to tidbits on the glove any more. I pick up 50 quail to use for baggies tomorrow afternoon so I'll start giving him those in the mornings. Once he is hard penned and able to catch the quail fully flighted I'll start trying to hawk some field birds with him making sure to carry a quail to throw for him if he doesn't catch to keep up his confidence.

[Joby]

Remember the cage will be out back at my place if you need to borrow it while I'm gone.

[varanus]

Thanks bud I'll have to wait and see how big these jumbo bob whites are and then I'll have a better idea of how much space I need to keep them. They are supposed to be good flyers and they are kept in a large flight pen.

[varanus]

Well today will be his last morning out. We start baggies tomorrow morning and a slow transition to morning only feedings. I checked his keel this morning and holy cow that is amazing. I had checked it about a week ago and you could feel his keel. It wasn't sharp by any means but it could be felt. Well now, he has built up so much muscle that he almost has cleavage. I know it isn't that he has built up more fat since he is eating pretty much the same amount now as he has been the whole time ( a bit less even). When he is out there, he is almost constantly moving either chasing the robins or being chased by them. Starting tomorrow I'll be feeding him all he will eat in the morning and then just enough in the evening to keep him quiet and calm until the following morning slowly working it so that he isn't getting anything in the evening. My goal is to keep him as quiet as possible while still being hungry enough to want the baggies in the morning. We'll see how well this plan works out. Time to start turning my sweet little bird into a stone cold killer :D.

[varanus]

I picked up my baggies today to start using. They are jumbo bob whites that were raised in a flight pen and had a dog flush them several times a day. I took one out and planted it and let my springer flush it just to see how it would fly and to see what Panic would do. Well she ran in and flushed the bird and I have to say I am impressed. That bird flew up and out clearing the tops of the tree line 50 yards away and didn't show any signs of slowing down, it flew fast and hard. They weigh about twice what the 8 week old quail I get from rodent pro, but the meat is a bit lighter in color. The people I bought them from are just getting started raising them so this year their numbers were pretty limited and I bought all of them that they had. They were useing finisher feed for them once they are put out in the flight pen and I suggested that they just stick with the higher protein starter instead (thinking this may help with the quality of the meat). Oh and the best part about them is they are only 20 minutes away.

[varanus]

Well I tried a baggie quail this morning. It started off okay with Pain looking at it and then jumping off of the glove. Well he landed next to it which of course scared the quail and caused it to flush which scared the shit out of him. He did jump at it a couple of times and foot it but he just wasn't super interested. I put the quail down and opened it up for him and he danced around it for a bit and then plucked a little and took a few bites of the breast. He didn't even eat half of one breast before he walked off and didn't want anything more to do with it. When we got hom I did put his quail back out for him and he did eat a little more about an hour later but still not much. I'm planing on giving him one of the breasts off of the quail here in a few minutes to tide him over untill morning and I'll try another one and see if he does any better.

[varanus]

Well he left the glove this morning and hit the quail pretty quick but then just stood on it for a minute and walked off. I know he is hungry so I'm thinking he just doesn't know what to do once he has the bird maybe. Oh well I'll put the quail down and let him feed on it and see if that helps any for tomorrow.

[varanus]

It seems the fourth try is the charm. He has been short feeding himself so he has dropped a bit in weight (I assume since I'm not weighing him). I put the baggie quail, then went in, and put his transmitter on. I took him out, started to walk towards the quail, and didn't make within 20 feet of it before he launched off the glove with murder in mind. He hit the quail and was a bit excited kaking a good bit. Other than that he was pretty good on the kill no mantling or anything like that. I waited for him to stop kaking and then made in on him. He let me reach in, dispatch the quail, and hook him to the leash. After that I just sat back and let him eat all he wanted. When he was done eating and walked off the kill, I picked him up and we went back into the house. I've noticed that he really loves eating the heads off of stuff. He spent 10 minutes picking at the head on this quail even after he had the breast exposed, that isn't the first time either. Overall, it was a good experience for him and me.

Right after he snatched it up.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Firstbaggiequailkill1.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Firstbaggiequailkill3.jpg

after I dispatched it
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Firstbaggiequailkill4.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm296/varanus_2008/Goshawk/Firstbaggiequailkill5.jpg

[hcmcelroy]

Mark,

Almost every last accipiter I've flown has eaten the head and neck first if I stay back and don't present a threat.

Sounds like your male is relaxed and trusting. Good show!

Harry.

[varanus]

The only thing that bothered him was a strange guy that ran past while he was eating. He kaked at him but that was it. I'm going to try another here in a little while and see what happens.

[varanus]

If everything works this smooth every time, I will be one happy guy. 30 feet and he is off the glove and on the quail in the blink of an eye. I waited for him to stop giving his war cry, and then I made in, dispatched the quail, and hooked him to the leash. After he plucked and ate for a little while, I tossed out his lure with a whole skinned quail on it. He jumped right over to the lure and kept on eating like nothing had changed while I picked up his quail. He ate a good bit off the lure and then when He started looking around like he was going to walk off I stepped him up onto the glove and we walked back to the house slick as can be.
My only problem with him is that all of a sudden he hates my springer. He will chase after her, and try to kill her. Up until the last two days he would ignore he even if she laid right under him and now frus). I hope once he is up and cranking and sees her producing game for him that he will turn around but my hopes on that aren't real high. If all of his anger stays on the dog and away from me, I'm okay with it. He has started to make a little noise but only in the morning before we go out to catch his quail and then after that he is silent. The noise he makes is pretty quiet though so I hope that once he realizes that eating is up to him catching his food and not me just giving it to him he will stop even that noise.

[varanus]

Oh I'm going to try tossing a quail with the flight feathers cut for him tomorrow to see what he thinks of a bird that can move away from him.

[Joby]

Sounds like things are going great, Mark. Can't wait to see him sometime when I get back from Virginia on Friday.

[varanus]

I'll be heading to Virginia on Monday for a couple of days with the wife and kids to visit the beach. I'll be taking the gos and my chessie (so she can swim in the bay for which her breed is named) with me when we go. I'll have to find a place near the hotel to fly him.

Yeah we'll have to get together here before too much longer so you can see how he is coming along bud.

[Joby]

Sooo....I'm leaving VA just about when you're arriving. Hmmm that's some strange sort of kismet! Hopefully, I'll be heading over to Lee Shelton's today to look at some birds.

[varanus]

Those quail can run way faster than they look. I tossed him a quail with the flight feathers all cut off and he chased it pretty well. The quail jumped at the last minute when he tried to grab it and then ran into cover. I spent several minutes trying to get the quail back out of the cover but it just wasn't coming back out. I picked up the gos and we walked back into the house so I could get another quail for him. This time I just tied the quail out so that I was sure he would catch it. To my surprise he didn't pout like my coops would after a miss and went right after the second quail even harder than he did the first one. I madwe in on him I think a little fast as he wanted to carry a little but he quickly calmed down and started to pluck. I let him pluck for a little bit and then tossed out the lure with a skinned quail on it and let him take a good crop. He trades off so easy it is crazy, he doesn't even look back towards his kill just hopes over to the lure and eats. I'm picking up some more quail tomorrow and I'm taking him with me since the people with the quail want to see what their quail are being used for :D. I already explained to them what I'm using them for and they are just interested in seeing it first hand. It should be a good lesson for him anyway since pretty much every bag I've given him it has just been me and him with maybe some cars or people going passed after he already has the bird.

[Joby]

With the recent escapees, you're gonna have a wild covey there before too long!! lol

[FredFogg]

Those quail can run way faster than they look. I tossed him a quail with the flight feathers all cut off and he chased it pretty well. The quail jumped at the last minute when he tried to grab it and then ran into cover. I spent several minutes trying to get the quail back out of the cover but it just wasn't coming back out. I picked up the gos and we walked back into the house so I could get another quail for him. This time I just tied the quail out so that I was sure he would catch it. To my surprise he didn't pout like my coops would after a miss and went right after the second quail even harder than he did the first one. I madwe in on him I think a little fast as he wanted to carry a little but he quickly calmed down and started to pluck. I let him pluck for a little bit and then tossed out the lure with a skinned quail on it and let him take a good crop. He trades off so easy it is crazy, he doesn't even look back towards his kill just hopes over to the lure and eats. I'm picking up some more quail tomorrow and I'm taking him with me since the people with the quail want to see what their quail are being used for :D. I already explained to them what I'm using them for and they are just interested in seeing it first hand. It should be a good lesson for him anyway since pretty much every bag I've given him it has just been me and him with maybe some cars or people going passed after he already has the bird.

Mark, make sure you get him used to you coming in and helping dispatch the quail before trading him off. At the beginning of my 3rd season with my coops, her first 5 or so kills, I waited until she started plucking and then tossed the lure down and she traded off just like the year before but I forgot to dispatch the starlings and they flew off. LOL I had to keep reminding myself to make in slowly and dispatch before trading off. Duh!!!! frus)

[varanus]

Yeah I always dispatch the animal before I hook him to the leash, after that I give him a little bit of time to pluck and and enjoy the moment before I trade him off. Right now I trade him off to a whole quail but after a few more I'll start putting less and less on the lure until there is just a tidbit sometimes to get ready for going for multiples.

[allredone]

Sounds like things are rolling right along. Looking forward to more pictures.

[varanus]

Putting a quail in the launcher and going to see what he thinks of that. It will be tied to a long line on the launcher just in case he doesn't go for it.

[wingnut]

What I did a couple of weeks ago when I gave my gos his first quail that I didn't handicap was tie about 6 feet of bright colored masonry line to his leg so I could pull him out of the cover if the gos missed it.

[varanus]

He did super well on the quail today although he was a little slow going for it. I think he was a bit slow because that was the first time we have used the launcher and he just didn't know what was going on. He did go into a full mantle for the first time but it didn't last long and he didn't try to carry at all this time. I waited for him to stop mantling and to calm down a bit and then I made in on him and dispatched the quail. I let him pluck for a while and then traded him off to the lure like we have been doing since we started the baggies. Off the quail he went and right to the lure where he ate an entire quail and then stepped up onto the glove. He is 59 days old today and after he ate, he was 770g (I'd say he was 680-690g before he ate the quail). He does make a little noise in the house in the morning before he eats but after that, he is quiet and calm. I'm going to start pushing his weight up a bit and see if he will stop the noise in the morning but still stay focused on the baggies also. I may drag a dead rabbit for him tomorrow instead of giving him a quail and see how he likes them.

[varanus]

What I did a couple of weeks ago when I gave my gos his first quail that I didn't handicap was tie about 6 feet of bright colored masonry line to his leg so I could pull him out of the cover if the gos missed it.

Thats a good idea I'll have to steal it.

[varanus]

I took him out today to catch a quail out of the launcher and as we stepped out of the door he saw a dove sitting about 20 feet away. He launched off after it and gave chase for about 20 yards. Now he never came close to catching it but the dove wasn't gaining much distance on him either, I was impressed. I was sure I was going to have to get the reciever out and track him down since they had gone around a corner and out of sight. I waited a couple seconds and then here he comes back around the corner. I held up the glove but he didn't land on it, instead he landed on top of a small fence post just a few feet away and let me pick him up. After that we did his quail and all went perfect.

[hcmcelroy]

Mark,

Sounds like all is progressing nicely. Is he at the same weight as before the night out? He seems much more responsive.

Harry.

[allredone]

Wow hat does sound great!

[BestBeagler]

And that's whats nice about the hack and what I'm missing with my bird. Nice man... Barry makes nice birds.

[varanus]

I didn't weigh him yesterday morning but I suspect he was about the same weight as he was this morning. He was 686g when I checked this morning and fed up to 760g. I weighed him a little while ago and he was 710g so I gave him a bit more to bump him up a little. I have neglected driving with him sitting in the front out of the giant hood and tried that a bit ago and it didn't go so well at all. He pretty much just wanted to jump through the windows and was going to make a mess of himself so I'll be skipping that from now on and just use the GH. I'll check him again and see what he is at before I go to bed and I'll start to chart his weight loss through out the day and night for a while . Yeah Barry makes a great bird thats for sure, I'm just trying to do my best not to screw him up to bad and get him pointed in the right direction. I'm thinking I should just start taking him out to some of the places I hunted the coops and see how he does on some smaller birds.

[allredone]

I'm thinking I should just start taking him out to some of the places I hunted the coops and see how he does on some smaller birds.

Awesome dude! Love the males. thumbsupp

You might consider hunting depredating blackbirds? Some are young and still not fully flightted. They were legal in Wisconsin with land owner permission when depredating.

Not sure about Michigan but they apparently are a big problem in some areas.

Check it out:

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?t=388346

[varanus]

I've asked about them here in Ohio but I was told by the ODNR head of law enforcement that we aren't allowed to take them frus). That is pretty sad because I've jumped flocks of red wings that were most likely 1000 birds or more. I'm going to try an idea that I have for ambushing starlings and stuff that I think should work real well.

[allredone]

I've asked about them here in Ohio but I was told by the ODNR head of law enforcement that we aren't allowed to take them frus). That is pretty sad because I've jumped flocks of red wings that were most likely 1000 birds or more. I'm going to try an idea that I have for ambushing starlings and stuff that I think should work real well.

Sorry. Forgot you were in Ohio. I learn how to read next week...

[varanus]

:D:Dtoungeout

[varanus]

Well I learned 2 things today. First, is that stop signs are evil and it is my birds duty to kill every single one for the good of all goshawk kind. The second thing is that I should have taken him somewhere new every time I fed him. I took him to a field that I hunted with my coops and put out the launcher with a quail in it. Well the quail flushed and he just sat and watched it go frus). I jumped the quail a couple more times and he just didn't want anything to do with it. I finally gave up on the quail and put him on a sign post and walked 30 feet away and called him to the lure. He came right in to the lure, so at least I know he really really loves it. On the way back to the car, we passed a stop sign and he went crazy. His hackles were up, he was kaking, and he bate several times really hard at the sign. It was a good thing I already had him leashed up or he may have hurt himself on that sign. Oh well I got to learn something new and the bird is back home safe and sound so I guess I can call it a good day. He is going to have to get over not liking new places since we are leaving tonight for VA and everywhere there will be all new to him.

[hcmcelroy]

Mark,

Many of us fly the beginners in the same area every day for some time because they are more relaxed. Its rather like their nest area. The aplomado is an extreme example...when they drift out of the "home" area they will not come to the lure until they return. The place where I fly beginning hawks here is called the "practice area" and I know it well...about 12 minutes from home. Sadly enough it is a dangerous place with a share of predators.

Harry.

[varanus]

We just got back from VA where we had a good time. Pain did pretty well all things considered. He isn't real fond of his giant hood any more but I don't really blame him since he had to spend so much time in it while we were out and about doing stuff. He did get a little pissy one time and footed me but I hope a couple days back at home in our normal routine will smooth out things. On a good note, he did hit a quail at a gas station after about 5 hours in the car on the way home. He wasn't hungry but he needed to blow off some steam so he footed the hell out of it. After I dispatched it he just sat and plucked for a couple minutes and then jumped off to goof around. Once he gets settled back in I'll start trying to get after some field birds with him and see how he does with it still being so hot though it will have to be short trips out. Oh he did bend a couple of tail feathers while in the GH on the way home but they aren’t bad just a little bit curved, nothing a bit of hot water can’t sort out.

[varanus]

So I took Pain out today with a quail I had cut the flight feathers off. As we walked out the door he, spots a robin sitting maybe 15 feet away and off he shoots after it. He chased it for a ways, then gave up, and came back around to me, landing right next to me. After that I picked him up, walked over to the cover, and tossed out the quail. He had it all wrapped up in less than 5 feet. Now for the first time he tried to carry and it took a little while for him to stop. I just left him alone while I stood on the line (I tied a line about 10 feet long to the quail just in case he missed it and it made it to cover so I could recover it) and let him do his thing. After a little while, he stopped to pluck for a minute and when he did I tossed out the lure. He left his kill (he had put a talon through its head when he caught it killing it pretty much instantly) and started eating on the lure with no trouble at all. I bagged the quail and just sat next to him while he ate the skinned quail on the lure and when he was finished I picked him up and we went back to the house. We just need to sort through him trying to carry and we should be golden.

[varanus]

Well I think we have carrying taken care of now. The other day he carried a quail under a tree and then had a cat come in on him. The cat never even got close to him but it was enough to scare nthe shit out of him pretty good. Ever since then though he has wanted to stay pretty close to me when on a kill.

[varanus]

Pretty cool day out today. I put out a fully flighted quail in the launcher for the first time(I had just been hand tossing them for him). I did our normal thing which is to walk around for about 10 minutes or so looking for slips and then we found the launcher. I pulled the cord and the lsuncher tossed the quail about 10 feet. He saw the quail and off he went after it but it bailed into cover on him at the last minute. Now for the cool part, normally at this point he just lands on something close by, but today when I held up the glove for him he came and landed on it. Thankfully I knew exactly where the quail was and right after he landed I was able to get the quail back out for him to catch. Everything went pretty good from there. He didn't really eat that much only about 40g or so, so I'll have to give him some more this evening to keep his weight where it is.

[varanus]

Well his track pack is mounted, it is probably the worst epoxy job I've ever done though. He stood pretty good for it for about 2 minutes and then he had enough and he got pretty pissed off for a little while. I'm going to give him something to eat here in a minute and hope that I didn't piss him off too much. We'll see tomorrow if it did any lasting damage to our relationship.

[hcmcelroy]

Mark,

I've used the backpack on all hawks for years and so far no real problems. A few throw a fit at first but it has not lasted long.

Harry.

[varanus]

Yeah he seems pretty fine with it now. We had an interesting day today, I took him out to a couple of different places to see what we could jump. The first place was a bust (which is odd since it always has at least good numbers of chipmunks even when other game is scarce) so I took him to a more urban spot to look for small birds. We walked around for a bit and didn't jump much but there are a couple of ponds so we went to go check those. The first on had 6 mallard on it swimming around (good for later once duck season opens) but we weren't after those. The ducks saw use and swam into the cattails to hide. We walked around the pond trying to jump the small birds that normally hang out around the water in the trees and tall grass but didn't jump anything other than a couple of frogs that I could hear jump into the pond. After that we walked over to the other pond to check it out. I didn't see anything on the pond but we walked around the to see if we could get some birds to flush. We didn't jump any birds but he saw a frog jump into the pond and he went in after it. He missed the from but got a nice bath and showed that he doesn't mind getting wet if he thinks he can catch something. SO after that we went back into the field to try our luck again on the way back to the car. I managed to flush some starlings and off he went after them. After a little ways he pitches up and then leaves the field, crosses the road where I lose track of him. Off to the car to get the receiver and track him down. I pick up a signal coming from the Menards a little ways away so I go to look for him. Once I get to the parking lot I get a pretty good signal so I try my luck with the lure to see if he will come down from where ever he is. After a couple seconds a woman in a van in the parking lot calls over to me and tells me that he flew into a window pretty hard and is now in the Menards flying around. At this point I'm crapping my pants thinking me could be really hurt or something so I wander into the store to look for him. Now blowing a whistle and swinging a lure in a store full of people quickly gets the attention of everyone and an employee come over to see what the hell the crazy guy is doing. I tell him I'm looking for my bird that I was told flew in. Oh you mean the falcon with the bell on :D? Yep that’s the one have you seen him? He gets on the radio and we quickly locate him and he leads the way to him. By this point Pain is really pissed off from hitting a window and now being stuck in a store full of stuff he has never seen before. It takes me about 10 minutes to get him to come down (in the middle of a big crowd of peoplefrus)). I scoop him up and thank the people who helped me and beat a quick retreat back home. I love this bird and can't wait to see what we will get into tomorrow :D. I bet the people at Menards didn't expect that they would be helping a crazy guy chase his hawk around the store, good times.

[JRedig]

Crazy birds! Keep an eye on him after the window hit Mark, problems may not appear for a day or two...btdt.

[hank]

what a story,glad it ended up alright.

[Joby]

Let's just hope that he didn't crap on anybody OR that'll be the LAST TIME that you'll be allowed to fly your hawk inside of that Menards!!!

BTW, when do you want some of those sparrows?

[varanus]

HA Yeah he is a character thats for sure. I'm keeping a close eye on him but so far he seems to be fine thankfully.

[varanus]

BTW, when do you want some of those sparrows?

After our trapping get together I'll gab a few from you that way I'm sure we have enough.

[varanus]

Tossed him a sparrow today and watched him catch and release it about 10 times before the sparrow was dead. Even after it was dead he would take it in his beak and toss it in the air so he could jump up and catch it again another 20 times or so before he finally ate it. I offered him a rabbit bag but he wasn't all that interested in it. He half heartedly went for it and when it jumped out of the way he just laned next to it and watched it. I'm thinking I need to thaw out a dead rabbit and pull it out from under a bush and let him feed up on it to give him the right idea about them. Man I can't wait for it to cool off, kill all the stupid bugs, and for season to open up so we can go get after it.

[goshawks00]

Tossed him a sparrow today and watched him catch and release it about 10 times before the sparrow was dead. Even after it was dead he would take it in his beak and toss it in the air so he could jump up and catch it again another 20 times or so before he finally ate it. I offered him a rabbit bag but he wasn't all that interested in it. He half heartedly went for it and when it jumped out of the way he just laned next to it and watched it. I'm thinking I need to thaw out a dead rabbit and pull it out from under a bush.

Hmmmm....I'm thinking you need to lower him...

[wingnut]

Hmmmm....I'm thinking you need to lower him...

Yep, he was too high before he ate the sparrow and that's why he wasn't interested in the bunny after he ate the sparrow. Don't waste your time on dragging a dead bunny around. I'm flying one of Barry's birds too and I believe he's a few days older than yours. I can release a quail or a pigeon from my remote and he's all busines. He also chases anything else we shake up within 10yds. I'm like you though, I tend keep them on the all you can eat schedule as long as I can but when it's time to start cutting their weight you gotta get on top of the program. However, at this point you have to be prepared to commit to pretty much a daily regime of providing him with challenging slips.

[varanus]

Yeah I fed him later than normal the day before so he was a bit higher today when I took him out at our normal time. I can launch quail or sparrows and he is off after them quick as can be. He did go for the rabbit but just not like he does birds and when the rabbit jumped away I think it spooked him a bit so he stopped to watch it. Right now I've been keeping him at around 680g so maybe a 10g drop will get him to hit the rabbit. I'll find out tomorrow. I'm a little worried about cutting his weight any more though since he alread starts calling now when he gets down to 680g. HE shuts up though as soon as he gets a bit of food in him but once he starts thats the only thing that gets him to stop. On the up side he will ride the glove a good long time while we walk around looking for stuff to flush all we need now is for the cover to come down a bit and these damn bugs to all die off frus).

[varanus]

It was pretty fun watching him with the sparrow though. He would sprint hard after it and snatch it out of the air land and then just let it go. After it got a little bit away from him he would dash back after itand catch it again. I've still got a month left untill our seasons open so I'm just trying to go slow and have fun with him. If car hawking was allowed I'd lean on him more and slaughter the starlings with him.

[BestBeagler]

Yep, he was too high before he ate the sparrow and that's why he wasn't interested in the bunny after he ate the sparrow. Don't waste your time on dragging a dead bunny around. I'm flying one of Barry's birds too and I believe he's a few days older than yours. I can release a quail or a pigeon from my remote and he's all busines. He also chases anything else we shake up within 10yds. I'm like you though, I tend keep them on the all you can eat schedule as long as I can but when it's time to start cutting their weight you gotta get on top of the program. However, at this point you have to be prepared to commit to pretty much a daily regime of providing him with challenging slips.

It makes me think mine must have been a butter ball. Started her out at 906gm and now she's down to 850gm. After feeding her off of two rabbit carcasses and two handicapped bunnies she still shows little interest in them or the stray birds I flush. I know she's to high. Her behaviors tell me so. I've noticed patterns, but man this is taking awhile! I'm dropping her 5gm at a time till that switch turns on.

[wingnut]

It makes me think mine must have been a butter ball. Started her out at 906gm and now she's down to 850gm. After feeding her off of two rabbit carcasses and two handicapped bunnies she still shows little interest in them or the stray birds I flush. I know she's to high. Her behaviors tell me so. I've noticed patterns, but man this is taking awhile! I'm dropping her 5gm at a time till that switch turns on.

Could just be the difference in the two birds. My gos is 84 days old. I actually just started any serious weight control here about a week ago. He had live baggies about every other day from about 35 days old. Up until a few days ago he got fed after what ever training session we did all he could eat but by that I mean all he would eat with vigor. As soon as he showed signs of not being focused on eating I would stop so he has always stayed pretty sharp. The last two evenings he has shown some hesitance at coming to the glove but no hesitance at chasing stuff. So now I will begin the serious weight control. I want instant response to the glove. They will get noisy but the cure isn't to bump their weight back up, it's get them focused on killing stuff. Then the weight could be adjusted. I'm speaking from limited experience as I've only had three other imprint goshawks but they spanned about 20 of my 30 years. The other three were somewhat noisy in the mews when they would see me in the yard but quiet when picked up and quiet in the field.

[varanus]

Yeah I've noticed that if we leave his home area he doesn't call to me and is pretty much silent. Right now he is still eating pretty much a whole quail at feeding time but that is just to maintain his weight where it is now. I just skin it and put it on the lure and when I either trade him off or want to call him down and be done for the day he gets as much of it as he wants. I'm going to try the rabbit again today and see how he does a bit lower in weight.

[Ally]

Yeah I've noticed that if we leave his home area he doesn't call to me and is pretty much silent. Right now he is still eating pretty much a whole quail at feeding time but that is just to maintain his weight where it is now. I just skin it and put it on the lure and when I either trade him off or want to call him down and be done for the day he gets as much of it as he wants. I'm going to try the rabbit again today and see how he does a bit lower in weight.


Mine is exactly the same way. Will call at me when we're at home but as soon as we're anywhere else he's silent.

[varanus]

All he wanted to do today was play again so a drop in weight is a must it seems. On the bright side he did perfect at the show we did today so I'm pretty proud of that.

[varanus]

Well he had no interest in the rabbit again today. After I offered him the rabbit and he didn't go for it I just walked around with him for a little bit (I figured he would leave the glove at some point for another perch and I could call him down to the lure to eat). Well on our way back to the house we had what we'll call a LRJ flush from a small tree in front of us. He saw it and off he went after it and had it caught in about 3 feet. He continued on to the small tree that I figure the LRJ was heading for, and landed on a low branch. To keep him from takeing it anywhere else I pulled out the lure and tossed it out under him and down he came. When he hit the lure he let go of the LRJ and it tried to get away. It didn't make it more than a few feet before he was all over it again. Without stopping he flipped around and landed right back on the lure with the now dead critter. I let him start eating on the lure and then hooked him up. We just need a few hundred more and we will be off to the races :D.

[varanus]

Still working him down but he will half assed go for a bunny now but once it hops he just lands and watches it so a bit more to go. So far I've taken about 7g off of him (working him down real slow). He slicks down and flinches at every thing that moves but only takes flights at things that flush very close. We'll see how tomorrow goes though. Season is closeing in on us so I'll be able to show him more than just sparrows and things soon which will be nice.

[varanus]

I offered him a rabbit every hour today and he didn't go for it frus). He was at 666g for the last attempt so I'm looking to drop him to 650g tomorrow and see what he does.

[varanus]

Offered him the live rabbit again today and from about a foot away he did foot it. I'm pretty sure it was more of an aggression thing than he wanted to go for it since he was all hackles and just footed and turned it loose. After that he just hopped back on the glove and didn't want anything else to do with the rabbit. At this point, I'm getting pretty confusedd as to why he doesn't like the rabbit. I have let him eat off of a rabbit before so he should know they are good to eat. Well just in case he needed a refresher, I thawed out a whole cottontail from last season and hid it under a pine tree for us to find. At this point, a couple of friends of ours came over and one of them wanted to come out with me and see the bird fly. We walked around for a little bit and got a really nice flight on some sparrows that left a bush in front of us. It was a really cool flight with him and the sparrows weaving in and out of some trees and bushes and him getting real close to catching one. The birds finally dove back into the cover and he pitched up into the top of a tree. I called him down and decided it was time to go find the rabbit. We walk up to the tree and I pull the string. He watches the rabbit move for a second and then jumps on it footing, jumps off, and then jumps back on. After a minute, he settles down a bit and starts tearing into the rabbit and I made in and opened it up for him so he can get to the good stuff. Of course after a couple of minutes it has to start raining, but by now he has already eaten an entire front leg and some other bits, so I decided it is time to trade him off. After we get back to the house I cut the rabbit into meal sized bits and gave him the other front leg just so he gets the thought in his head that "wow I love those things I get stuffed when I get one"! Now I'm going to weigh him tomorrow but I expect him to be up a bit in weight so I'll probably have to give him the day off. If he is back down to around where he was, today I'll try and offer him the live rabbit again and hope that he smokes that thing as soon as he sees it. I have a couple more whole rabbits in the freezer so if we have to I can give him a couple more if he still doesn't get and needs a few more feeds off of them.

[keitht]

Many tiercels take extensive bagging and weight control manipulation before they will fly eastern cottontails well. Hopefully you'll get lucky and won't have to go through that. I've usually not been so lucky.

[varanus]

I'm hopeing it is just a matter of showing him enough rabbits and getting him to eat them. I have no doubt that he will take them I just need to find the switch and turn it on for him :D.

[PeteJ]

The tiercels can sometimes be very stubborn about not wanting rabbits. I know that my old tiercel I have, his first year I got him from someone else who had raised him so I don't know if they did much entering with him on rabbits in particular, as it was a very down rabbit year. But we had better rabbit numbers where I lived so when I acquired him in late October I began working on rabbits pretty regularly. He had NO interest in them. Quail yes, even jackrabbits a little, but bunnies nope. I did the usual, feeding him on them, dragging them from bushes in simulated hunts. He just didn't get into it. I leaned him down trying to throw his switch, but mostly I got aggression towards me or anyone else in the field. Then finally late one day, he took an amazingly long slip on something I had no idea what it was until at the end when I saw him do a wing over into low mesquite. I didn't hear anything it was so far, but by the time I got there he had his first bunny. He has never looked back since and I cannot recall him even refusing a slip on them. It took a good solid month of trying him every day on them to succeed. So stick with it, he'll do it. He may have trouble holding those bunnies up there though if they're the good sized northern cottontails. These here are pint sized in comparison...perfect for tiercel Goshawks.

[JRedig]

Mark, are you doing anything to lean him up now that he's hard penned? Cut the fat, build the muscle, exercises, washed meat etc etc?

[varanus]

I haven't given him any washed meat just quail and now rabbit. As for exercise most of the time I just take him out and let him fly. When it is raining or stuff like that I do jump ups to a tall perch in the house (about 7ft tall). I put a tidbit on the perch and when he goes up to get that one I toss another on the ground and then back and forth like that 20 or so times. It is pretty fast paced since as soon as he is done eating one tidbit he just goes to the next so he doesn't get any rest in between really. It seems to work pretty well although at some point i'll switch to just the tidbit on the ground so I can get more jumps from him for the same amount of food. Our rabbit season starts the first of next month so I still have a little while left to work with him and get him wanting the bunnies.

[varanus]

Took the gos out with Joe (joby) to a field for some training the other day. Other than it being a bit warm for my liking and the cover is way too damn high it was a decent enough day. I saw the first real interest in a rabbit when he blew off the glove and paced right behind one for 30 yards or so before pitching up into a tree, he also shot off after something else but we never saw what it was, and flinched at another rabbit that flushed. He was a bout 40g or so higher than I've been keeping him lately and was only about half interested in the birds we were flushing.

On a side note the leaves on some of the trees around here are changing and already falling so wooohooo hurry up colder weather!!

[hcmcelroy]

Mark,

Sounds like you have him all ready with a few days to train and condition. Nice job!

Harry.

[varanus]

Now if only the cover will come down before the start of the season frus) (doubtful).

[wingnut]

Took the gos out with Joe (joby) to a field for some training the other day. Other than it being a bit warm for my liking and the cover is way too damn high it was a decent enough day. I saw the first real interest in a rabbit when he blew off the glove and paced right behind one for 30 yards or so before pitching up into a tree, he also shot off after something else but we never saw what it was, and flinched at another rabbit that flushed. He was a bout 40g or so higher than I've been keeping him lately and was only about half interested in the birds we were flushing.

On a side note the leaves on some of the trees around here are changing and already falling so wooohooo hurry up colder weather!!

Sounds like you got him on track, nice work. Our cover around here is down already but not because of Fall weather but from severe drought. And the bunnies have all but disappeared. I mean I don't even see them in town anymore. I'm a little concerned.

[varanus]

Ahh man that sucks. Yeah the cover is so high here you can't even really see the rabbit you just see the ripple through the weeds as the rabbit runs.

[varanus]

Haven't posted in a while so time for an update. We ran into a little trouble with aggression for about two weeks. I took some advice and let him get as fat as he would get and just left him sit for a little while. After that we worked back down slow back to the point where he would a bit of response to the lure and would chase. Since then he has been getting at least on sparrow [sometimes 2 or 3 if i had a lot of them] or quail tossed either by hand or out of a hidden bird launcher every day. I've also offerd him several rabbits [even tried some 6 week old babies hardly as big as some of the quail i've given him] but he still has no interest in them. I've been thinking I might try tieing on a pair of quail wings to a rabbits back and see if that helps. I have run into a problem I can't seem to fix though and maybe someone on here can help me with. When he catches something if it is on the ground every thing is great but if he catches while it is in the air he doesn't even slow down he just keeps going with it. today he carried a quail that weighed at least 300g over 50 yards before it struggled an managed to kick loose. Once he lost it he swung back around and landed next to me. I picked him up and we went to go find the quial. when we found it, it was holding tight and panting heavy. i picked it up and tossed it for him and it didn't make it 10 feet bwfore it dumped back into cover where he smashed it into the ground and started to feed. With small birds being the only thing really huntable for probably another month [unless temps fall real fast and we start getting some good frost sooner] so I need to try and nip this in the butt before I either loose him or he gets himself into trouble. Now he does carry whatever it is back down to the lure once he lands in a tree or on a building but if he were to carry something bigger than a sparrow and eat a good bit before I find him well I'm sure you all know how that goes.

Oh ans sorry for any weird typos and such I typed this on our Wii with a Wii remote since my wifes working on a paper for school.

[wingnut]

This can be a very frustrating time for young goshawks. They are wired to kill stuff but it can be difficult to offer them opportunities and that frustration manifests itself in aggression. I'm dealing with some aggression issues also. Not the face jumping, footy kind of aggression just aggressive behavior on a kill, the lure, and the glove. Part of it is that I got his weight down to about 730g. At this weight he is instant to the glove and chases hard the few bunnies I've managed to flush. I've probably been actively hunting woodlots now for over a month and just this week have managed to flush some rabbits for him. Last night he put a CT into a hollow log and I was able to stick my arm in there and get ahold of his hind legs while the rest of his body came out the other side. The gos was on it instantly so I let it go and when he had it by the head I moved in and dispatched. This really pissed him off which suprised me because he was never like that on the baggie quail. It was quite a site and it weren't pretty but we got our first bunny. I plan to lay off for a few days and take him up in weight like you said. I'm hoping he will do what he's supposed to do but without the nonsense. Don't know what to say about Pain not being interested in rabbits. Maybe when he sees the real deal something will click. Hang in there. Imprint goshawks are not for the faint of heart. LOL.

[varanus]

Yeah we have gotten past the aggression except for a little mantling when on a kill (only mantles for maybe a minute and then slicks down unless other people are around and then he stays pretty defensive). I've been makeing sure to provide him with something to chase and kill every day even though there isn't much that is huntable right now. He will chase squirrles but I'm trying my best to keep him away from those. Our biggest thing right now is him carrying when he catches in the air frus).

[FredFogg]

He will chase squirrles but I'm trying my best to keep him away from those. Our biggest thing right now is him carrying when he catches in the air frus).

Mark, when you say he is carrying when he catches in the air, is he catching and then pretty much gliding to the nearest cover or is he flying over houses and really far off with the kill? If he is just gliding or even flying to the nearest cover, I wouldn't worry too much about that as long as you have telemetry on him. That is pretty much instinct to get to cover to pluck and eat and not be out in the open. Now if he is flying over the hill and as far away as he can get from you, then yeah, it is time to work on giving him baggies on a string that will pull him down and then you letting him calm down before even approaching or better yet, giving him a big ole cock pheasant and him appreciating you getting in there to help dispatch it. LOL

[BestBeagler]

A female pheasant will be more than enough to keep him grounded. A beating is not what he needs. A chucker might do it as well. My male goshawk carried everything small to. I was adviced to fly him on larger things crow, baggie pheasants what have you.

[varanus]

He takes them to a tree to eat but sometimes it isn't the closest tree. I have an RT+ on him so I'm not super worried but like I said if he takes anything larger than a sparrow up a tree and it takes me any time to find him it might be a problem. I've been thinking of getting a couple hen pheasant and seeing what he thinks of those. I've been taking him to a place where there is a mowed field with just a couple of small patches of cover (maybe 10X10 at the biggest) and trees that are a couple hundred yards away. I figured if he is going to carry he might as well get some exercise doing it (plus i was hoping he can't carry that far and will get tired and land). It also keeps the baggies in the air and not bailing out into the nearest cover which is nice and makes the baggies a little more challenging.

[tumble]

The other thing, Mark, is that when things start to cool off he should start getting more focused on eating and shouldn't waste a lot of time getting to it. I agree that catching something just slightly too big to carry far but not big enough to damage confidence could be helpful. Chukars could be good here as well as the hen pheasants.

[FredFogg]

A female pheasant will be more than enough to keep him grounded. A beating is not what he needs. A chucker might do it as well. My male goshawk carried everything small to. I was adviced to fly him on larger things crow, baggie pheasants what have you.

I agree, I shouldn't have said cock pheasant, he needs something he can't carry but not something that will turn him off from large game. My bad! frus)

[varanus]

Yeah i've been kicking around getting some pheasant but at $10 each as compared to $2 for the quail it makes it a little harder to convince the wife that he needs them. I'll probably grab a couple any way and see what he thinks of them though.he still needs to come down a bit more in weight also which may help some (he is still a little slow on response to me but will chase pretty hard so I haven't been pushing him) with him carrying them also. I hold little hope though that he will stop carrying the small stuff like sparrows and I'm okay with that as long as I can find him before he eats too much of it. I've also been thinking of putting my heavy leash on the quail attatched to 50' or so of line that way the quail has plenty of length to fly strong but it will be much harder for him to carry them for very far (the hand tossed birds don't make it more than 20' most of the time and the launched ones about 30-40' so 50' of line should be plenty I think). I might be good exercise for him too :D haveing to drag that heavy line and carry the quail. Fresh caught sparrows hardly make it 10' before he is all over them just for a comparison. I'll just keep at it and see what happens I'm still not in a super big rush, the cover is still up so we have time to build his confidence and try and smooth things all out.

[BestBeagler]

I wish I could find pheasants for $10 and quail for $2.

[varanus]

The quail I got were the same as the feeder quail we get frozen and they are pretty cheap. That said I've gone through 50 or so bob whites at $5 each during the first part of his training. I know the people I buy the pheasant and the bob whites from so they give me a pretty good deal on them.

[varanus]

Well I guess I can't get any pheasant untill the end of november frus). Oh well I'll try the quail with a long line tied to the launcher leash and see how that goes.

[tumble]

Can you not get chukars there, Mark? They're usually cheaper than pheasant around here and probably just the thing for your gos.

[varanus]

I asked and they don't have any but I'll have to look around and see what I can come up with else where.

[carlosR]

Some male goshawks are just wired to carry. I've had them that no matter short of catching something bigger than they are, they will carry or drag. Have you tried letting him fly a little before or during the hunt to get rid of excess energy. I did that for awhile with my last imprint. I'd just let him go rather than bate. He was pretty reliable on the recall but I can't say it worked wonders. I was thinking he had nervous energy and I'd let him take stand and keep hunting with the dog.

[varanus]

I don't hold his jesses so he is free to go any time he wants to go. He rides the glove really well and only leaves the glove after quarry or very rarely another perch (no idea what makes him think the perch is so great you never can tell). I'll just deal with him carrying and not worry too much about it. I hope to get him on some ducks and he shouldn't be able to carry those.

[JRedig]

Can you get mallard call ducks for baggies? CHeck craigslist...

[varanus]

I wish I've been looking for call ducks since I picked them up and I can't seem to find any. I used 2 of them when I had my male Harris and after that he chased every single duck he saw even if they were already flying and way way out away from us.

[varanus]

:D:D:D:D:D

I can't be more happy right now after probably 30 tries he finally hit and killed a rabbit. It wasn't a wild slip or even a fair thing but it is way way better than him just watching or posturing at a rabbit. I took a bit of advice from someone and I just put a small San Juan in his mews with him and left him alone. He postured and yelled at it for a couple of minutes and then he finally slammed into it and held on (I've had him foot rabbits before but that was more of an aggression thing than anything). I didn't bother him and just let him be a goshawk and do his thing. I'm going to just let him eat all he wants from it and hope it sticks with him and he just slams the next one he sees. I'll have too try and get a few more of these small rabbits since that was my only one but he'll be too fat for at least a day or 2 to do anything with anyway.

[RLD]

Great job Mark. Glad he finally got his first rabbit. Hope he continues to do good for you. He is a beautiful bird...

[varanus]

Thanks for the suggestion Ryan. I just hope he remembers how good it tasted next time he sees one I'll just have to wait and see.

[BestBeagler]

Hows the gos doing any updates?

[varanus]

He's not doing too bad i haven't had near enough time to fly him since i started EMT training but other than that he is great.

[varanus]

I had pain out a couple days ago and he chased and caught a rabbit i flushed for him, unfortunately it kicked loose before i got to him. I picked him back up and as soon as he was on the glove he bolted again and went up to the top of a tree. He sat there for half a second and then comes screaming down out of the tree and hits a big boxer right in the face frus). I had a hell of a time getting him off the dog without getting myself killed in the process but finally manged it. Thankfully he wasn't hurt even after rolling a couple times on the ground (thank the falconry gods he grabbed the face and not the other end or this story would likely have a different ending). His tail is trashed, a couple of his flight feathers are tipped, and the dog's owner hates me but I got him home in one piece and thats what matters.

[wingnut]

Holy crap!! A boxer?? Sounds like he's definitely in the attack mode now. Glad neither dog nor bird was seriously hurt. We've managed to put a few bunnies in the bag and they have kicked him around quite a bit and his tail is pretty much trashed too. Next year I'll be using a tail saver.

[jeffreyj]

Doug

One of the things that can help save a gos tail is flagger tape/ribbon. I keep a roll in my vest and any time one of my birds is on a kill I just take a piece and tie the tail together. That way the tail is all together and acts like a 3rd leg when the bird is plucking or defurring a rabbit.

Jeff

[varanus]

He was pissed after loosing that rabbit and that dog just happened to be unlucky enough to be in the field. Missing or loosing quarry is something he doesn't handle very well. I keep trying to explain good sportsmanship to him but he doesn't listen . I swear if there were tiny chairs near by he would start throwing them around while he is cursing. I'm just glad he hit a dog and not me it probably would have knocked me out he really put the screws to that poor dog.

[wingnut]

Doug

One of the things that can help save a gos tail is flagger tape/ribbon. I keep a roll in my vest and any time one of my birds is on a kill I just take a piece and tie the tail together. That way the tail is all together and acts like a 3rd leg when the bird is plucking or defurring a rabbit.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, good suggestion. It's too late this season but when he's in his adult plumage I'll want to keep him in near perfect feather condition. I've never had a bird that was quite the tail jammer that this one is. I think I read in another thread awhile back that tail jamming is the result of something the the falconer has done so I guess I only have myself to blame.

[cvarcher]

Just curious.

[varanus]

Right now he is around 670g but i keep him indoors where the temp is always the same. I've been thinking about putting him outside at night and seeing what he does with that but so far i just haven't needed to. He finally decided rabbits aren't so bad now so thats a good thing. I've had some changes to my schedule so he hasn't gotten near the flying time that he should be getting but hopefully before the end of the season things will slow down a bit and I'll have more time to fly him.