Jeff,
Great posts, I am really enjoying your thread.
Still hoping to hear some good news about your dog.
Printable View
Jeff,
Great posts, I am really enjoying your thread.
Still hoping to hear some good news about your dog.
Bullet is still doing great. I'll post more pictures next week. He is at hack all day and I call him down in the evening. He is taking baggies from further distances and so far is a dream to handle and almost silent.
Tonight I learned that our dog, Aggie, was shot. We don't know if she was killed or not, but we have a confirmation that she was shot last Friday night. At this point, things don't look good. It makes no sense why someone would shoot a dog wearing a bright orange color. We had waited 2 years for her breeding and she was a dream dog. She was out of one the top GWP kennels in the nation. She was the daughter and grandaughter of multiple NAVHDA Versatile Champions and scheduled to be bred back to a Versatile Champion in March. She was the best first year hunting dog I've ever seen and she was my 3 year old daughter's best friend. It's a sad night in our house.
Jeff,
I am so sorry to hear that my friend. She looked like a great dog the little that I got to see her. frus
Jeff, sorry to hear about your dog! I can't understand how anyone can shoot a dog! They obviously have never had a best friend before!Quote:
Originally Posted by rocgwp
Jeff,
My condolences on the loss of your dog. Senseless..
Remember the good times..
Jeff:
Sorry to hear of the loss of your dog. Some thing never make sense.
Jeff sorry to hear about your dog.
That just stinks. My GSP is like family and I know my wife and kids would be crushed if that happened to him. Just terrible.
Bullet is ~34 days now and he weighed 327 grams this morning. I am doing no weight control at this point. He eats all he wants twice a day. I've been hacking him for a week now and it's fun to see the progress. I watched him chase a pair of doves around the tree today. He spends a lot of time holding on to branches and flapping. I am stretching his evening feeding further and further to get him out longer and prevent screaming/begging. So far it has worked. Our evening routine is pretty settled in now. I call him down to the lure or he freely comes to the fist and then he gets to catch a baggie. While he eats the baggie I lay down next to him and practice leashing and unleashing him. I'm curious to see the changes when I drop his weight...
I have pictures, but I can't post them from my phone. I'll post them on Monday.
Thanks for the encouragement/condolensces on our dog. We haven't found her body yet, so maybe we will be one of those stories you see on tv where someone picked her up, treated her, and later this year she gets loose and comes home. It's not likely, but I can always hope...
This is really a great thread. Thanks for keeping it updated. During the day when he's out, are you around the house to check up on him or are you gone? Great stuff.
I check on him during the day on weekends and my wife checks on him during the week. Our neighbor is an elderly lady that has enjoyed watching him progress. She watches him when she is outside in her yard.
Great thread Jeff. Sounds like the hack is working great for you and Bullet. An elderly lady watching too. I hope I'm so lucky. I hope my household helps convert the closest vegetarian neighbors we have. They like to look at the birds but hate the thought of them killing bunnies frus.
Sorry about your dog. Keep up the hopes. I would do the same myself.
You are really doing something on the edge. Not many people hacking coops and it is cool to read of someone that isn't an imprint pro trying this. It is a perspective I can appreciate even more as relative newbie at it myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by rocgwp
Bullet weighed 330 grams this morning before I fed him. His weight has slowly been creeping up a little, but I'm feeding all he wants twice a day right now. This was his 9th day at hack. I watched him fly 2 circles around the tree today and evidently he caught and ate something during the day. It took me over an hour to call him in tonight because he had a partial crop on him. When he came down he had no real interest in the baggie. I'll post the pic tomorrow, but he just flew over to it and never killed it. Tonight he displayed all the signs of a FAT bird. I've seen him fly from the ground to ~25 up in a tree. He is getting more fit everyday and still is easy to handle.
At what point do I end the hack, drop his weight, and start carhawking? I'd really love some wisdom here. I had planned on hacking him for 2 plus weeks, but I'm afraid he'll start catching on his own. He is 36 days old at this point. I'm fairly sure I could drop his weight to ~322 grams and I'd be at a responsive enough weight to start carhawking. It might take a little more drop however. What are yall's thoughts. Keep hacking or start hawking?
;)Quote:
Originally Posted by rocgwp
You have guts boy. ;) I am such a pansy. I don't think I could take it. lol. I wouldn't go much past the days when he starts to catch stuff. That is when falcons are taken up from what I have read.
I think it is time to start hawking! :) I guess I'd ask myself what I want the hack to achieve. If you've got a bird that has developed physically and mentally enough to catch anything in the wild, you can probably shape the rest in a more "controlled" falconry hunting environment. But I have not experience with tame hacks!
Jeff, if he is now catching, it is time to have him catching in a controlled environment. If he caught 1, what do you think his response is going to be the next evening after he has caught 2 or possibly more. You have had control of him every evening because he was hungry, he won't be from now on. Time to switch that catching ability to hunting with you! Sounds like you are on your way! I may try the tame hack with my next coops. It sounds like fun!Quote:
Originally Posted by rocgwp
One of the benifits of the imprint is they have never been kicked off some type of quarry, hence they are more likely to try anything. Passage birds have tried all the tricks and they know what is easy and what is not. I too vote for hunting, at least no more than a couple more days tame hack.
I'm with Fred and Bryant. If he's caught stuff, he's on his way to being his own hawk rather than yours. If he did it once, he can do it again and again, and disappear.
I'll take the opposite opinion from the group. You said that you were still feeding him twice a day all he wants? Just cut back on his feeding, feed him some in the morning and put him out to hack. During the day, go out with the lure and some food and call him in, and feed him a very small portion and continue to let him fly loose. The only reason, in my opinion, to end the hack is if you think he is in some danger. This bird is an imprint and is not going anywhere, the more time he has at liberty the better he will get.
Paul,Quote:
Originally Posted by Saluqi
I don't know this for a fact, seems I just remember someone telling me, but an imprint coops will revert back to the wild much easier than a gos or sharpie. Now that I think about it, a guy that has flown a bunch of coops told me if I ever wanted to turn my coops loose, it wouldn't be a problem just because of how quickly they revert. I don't know if is true, but something I was told. Maybe Barry has some insight into this!
Here are pics from the past several days...I didn't put Bullet out to hack this morning. Instead I took him with me to work. He was 334 grams and he took a baggie from out of my truck window. He was slow in leaving because he was fat, but once he left he was committed to catching the baggie. I am going to start lowering his weight a little and see if we can catch some grackles, starlings, and sparrows.
I would expect to begin hearing some noise and see some mantling once I start lowering weight.
32 days
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...wp/32days2.jpg
33 days
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...wp/34days3.jpg
34 day
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...wp/34days4.jpg
35 days
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...wp/35days5.jpg
36 dayshttp://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...wp/36days1.jpg
37 days
http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...wp/37days4.jpg
HAHAHA!! That pic of him and the duckling is priceless! clapp
Guys been away for a while and just catching up.... I'm with Paul... did he catch something or stumble onto a nest of babies and have his way...? Don't be in to big of a hurry to reel him in... it's WAY early.... Feed less... maybe even once a day...as Paul suggested ( be carefull hunger can cause possibly unwanted results ).
Make sure your trans batts. are in good shape and let him rip... let him learn his lessons and it will be less you will have to teach him... and less resentment towards you when he fails... he's learning, don't slow him down...
.02
Barry
This is a great thread, keep the opinion and comments coming folks...
I fed Bullet less last night and he weighed 328 grams this morning. He is still fat and acted like it when I called him to the lure for his morning feeding. After thinking it over, I put him back out to hack today. I'll be watching him close. One of the reason I started the hack was to avoid the normal problems associated with an imprint accipiter when they are getting ready to pen. I will control his weight a little more and see if I can walk the line between keeping him responsive and not getting too hungry. I agree with Barry. I don't know if he actually caught something or stumbled across an easy meal. So at this point, the hack continues...
Barry,
What type of possibly unwanted results would hunger during the hack cause if he is still being fed by the falconer during the day? (not disagreeing, just curious:D)
Dave how's about just for :D, you tell me what YOU think "could" happen to a hawk that doesn't know how to hunt, depends and looks forward to the only thing it knows as a food source to show up, but it doesn't. Take a stab at it and let's see what you think.confusedd
Barry
Well, obviously if the assured food source doesn't show up, the bird can get too low in condition. But I thought maybe you were cautioning about hunger in that it might make the bird decide to wander off because the small meals during the day by the falconer were not enough or maybe make it TOO self-sufficient if it was indeed actually killing something (as some suggested earlier before it was pointed out that it might have just been some easy meal he stumbled across)? I am just guessing here as I obviously have no experience with imprints, but I am watching all these threads carefully trying to learn as much as possible! I appreciate all of you who take the time to do it and those that comment on it so that those of us without experience may learn with and from you! haill
Dave you are correct in your thoughts ... of a more precarious concern is a hungry hawk will, even though it may have never been exposed to that issue before, become very possessive , mantle, scream, drag food away, and show all sorts of aggressive posturing, even toward the handler.
Hunger is what drives our hawks...make no doubt about it... and at a tender eyas age something you want to avoid , as much as you can... It takes the slightest amount of reduction to cause the eyas to focus on becoming a predator ... and to rapid a decent will drive them to act out of self preservation... the falconer ... always loses ground when that happens.
BTW hunger will sometimes cause them to make mistakes that could be deadly... Things like taking chances with things that can kill them out right ......predators... humans... automobiles... reflections in windows...getting lost.. poisonous stuff.
.02
Barry
Not much has chabged with Bullet so far. He is at hack daily atleast through the weekend. I consulted a very wise source and decide to hack him as long as I could. He thought Bullet was pretty young to be catching game on his own. Bullet is getting stronger each day and flies better daily. I will upload pics tomorrow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rocgwp
Hey Jeff,
I have to tell you that this is one of my favorite threads ever on NAFEX. If you would, please start the posts off with what DAY it is in his life. I think it helps us all see where he is at as compared to all the other imprints on here. Any more news on the Aggie?
BTW any of you reading this may not know Jeff, but in the falconry community, he is probably one of the top dog guys around and is a great source of info and is a fairly nice fella to boot;)
Sorry Wes...The last report was for days ~37-39...Bullet will be 40 days old today. Thanks for the kind words Wes. I don't think I would ever classify myself as one of the "top dog guys". I just enjoy bird dogs and training.
I'm typing this at an hour when I should be asleep because supposedely a family has seen Aggie. According to them, they only see her early in the morning or late at night and she is real skiddish. Some of their neighbors have confirmed the siting as well and the fact that she bolts when people show up also. Which would make sense if she was shot, picked up, had her collar removed,broke free, and now running loose in a bad neighborhood. Either my wife or I have been her all night waiting to see this dog trying to determine if it's her or not. Animal control loaned us a trap, but after catching ~10 feral cats in the first couple hours we decided that wouldn't work. So now there is nothing to do but wait...
Well Jeff that's good to hear about Aggie. I hope it works out for you. Sounds like she might be a different dog when you first get her back. But - that can be worked on.
All the best
After hours of waiting, the dog turned out not to be Aggie. Back to square one...
Ah, that stinks. So is that the only likely report of her?
Day 41 with Bullet...
Last night my wife and I went to Dallas, so a falconer friend called Bullet in from hack and put him this morning. I have decided to end his hack after today. Bullet is flying great and my buddy said he was really reluctant to come in last night and had a partial crop. Tonight it took him 20 minutes before he decided he wanted to kill the duck, and then he wasn't really interested in eating. He should pen sometime this week. I plan on dropping his weight slowly until I get the lure response I need, then I'll start carhawking. I've really enjoyed imprinting him to this point. He is tamer than the harris I flew last year so far. We'll see how his behaviour changes when I drop his weight. I hope to have him catching within a week and then going strong quickly. I have several dogs I'm training coming mid July. My plan was to have Bullet up and going before I start my early morning dog training routine again. Nothing like dog training at 5am, car hawking by 8am, and then at work by 10am...
Day 43...318 grams
Today I took Bullet car hawking...His hack is over and he is hog fat...Instead of slowly lowering a couple grams until I get the weight response needed I am taking a little different approach. I weighed him yesterday morning (338 grams) and fed him all he wanted to eat as normal. I then tied him to a perch and weathered him all day. Last night we skipped his evening feeding and this morning I took him car hawking. He is still fat at 318 grams, but he tried HARD to catch today...It was an incredible flight over 50 yards long...the bird pitched up twice trying to lose him and he was on his tail the first time and the second time he couldn't hang in there...He was slow to respond to the lure, but when he came down he was as sweet ever...No mantling or carrying on...I will be dropping his weight in 4-5 gram increments from here (most likely). Tomorrow I will be weighing him every hour to determine his daily metabloic rate and to see where his weight dop levels off. I'll post the chart later on...
I've got some great pics, but my wife has the camera right now...
Jeff you are almost there...easy into an more weight reduction... if he is as you said chasing hard... he may just need the right slip to get going.... I think he is still to high, my coops flew at 301-308 and the other 290 -300. These were eastern coops , yours might be a bit smaller... Cutting to much to quickly is as bad ( worse to me) than not reducing enough to slowly...
Possibly try field hawking him as slips will be closer and more in the open.
.02
Barry
44 days ...315 grams
Bullet spent the night out last night...We went car hawking and he missed a slip on sparrows and then another one on grackles...Right at dusk, he checked off of a pigeon and went to roost. He wouldn't come down for anything, so I had to wait and call him down this morning...Hopefully it will be his only night out ever...I'll drop his weight a little more and keep trying...