Goose, imprint male gyr/saker

[Falcon Boy]

Erik,
Question for you. The past two days i offered Goose a big ole' rabbit carcass [it was white and brown, would that matter?]. The rabbit was 6.25lbs gutted and i left it open for him at feeding time. He would not touch it. Matter o fact, he missed his evening meal last night becuase he wouldn't touch it, and then again this morning he wouldn't touch it. Last night i cut off a foreleg and let him eat that[not much food at all, but so he'd see the colors and realize it's food]. Still wouldn't hit the rabbit today. I got worried about him not eating for an extended period of time for an eyass and screaming more [everyone within two miles of my house knows he's good at it when he wants to be....] and gave him some sparrows to much on about mid-day. I put the sparrows on the carcass and he still wouldn't eat the rabbit after eating the sparrows. Any ideas?
thanks

[Falcon Boy]

Here is a vid i put together of Goose from 19 days until hardpenning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXWS7ZJMJWA

[Shortwingn]

Hi Noah,
Might want to try putting some chopped quail or what you had been feeding him before on top of the carcass. Let him have a feed or two and reduce the proportion. He should begin to rip the carcase as well and recognize it as a food item.

[Falcon Boy]

Erik,
I will try that again when i get a new rabbit. I ended up chopping the other one up becuase i didn't want it to go bad and didn't have enough freezer space [new hawk food arrived a few days ago]
thanks

[`Chris L.]

Noah, sounds like your coming along. He is looking good. Thanks for all of the updates, it is great to follow you through this.

Thanks again

[Falcon Boy]

I don't think i will be keeping a daily log anymore, as for the next month, per the breeder's advice, i am going to keep him fat and just work on lure work. He's pretty vocal around food time still, and i still have to feed him 3x a day. I tried going to twice a day... but the headache was in no way worth it.

[gabboon]

I am planning on using a backpack mounted Merlin Systems 1/3 MX ].

Have you put on the back pack mount yet? I think I will use one on my Harris', but might need an experienced hand to assist. My only experience has been with satellite transmitters and that's a bit different. Plus it doesn't matter if those birds don't like me after the experience.

[Shortwingn]

Hi Noah,
Keep the log going if you will. At least until the first kill. There might be more help than you think.

[Falcon Boy]

Steve- I havn't ordered my backpack yet, i had one then it got lost when i moved back from NY. I have installed one on a 5yr old pere/prairie last year, but it was the only time i've done it and i installed it a bit loose and he was mean as hell. He would bite even with the hood on and made it hard to put it on so it was kind of a rush job. He ended up ripping it off the next day anyway. I would be more than willing to help you though if you want if i'm still in town, i leave august 10.
Here is a thread of the install i did a last year, i can a mistake in the pics looking back at it, one side of the strap on the front was a bit looser than the other,which i think explains why the stitch broke. Please excuse the perch used in the pics, but as the thread says it was just for the install. The other perch was only used until my friends new block arrived, which was actually 2hrs after the picture was taken [go figure]



Erik- I will keep it updated then although probably not everyday. Since the breeder told me to keep him fat for a month after hardpenning i'm not going to really start flying him to late july/early august, and by that point i'm contimplating just waiting another week and a half until i move since the fields are tiny here in MD.

[Jimmy]

What's the theory on keeping him fat for another month? Are you trying to lose the vocalness? Ain't gonna happen..... [smilie=eusa_sick.gif]

Is he trying to make flights yet? Noah, you can take this for what it's worth. But, I think I'd fly him free for the first time, where you are now. At least if things went sour, you'd be familair with the area. It would suck to move to a new place, and lose him on the first couple of flights because you didn't know the layout of the land.......

[Falcon Boy]

The breeder said that gyr's tend to rely on their parents for a longer amount of time than most other species so by keeping him fat a month it will lessen the chances of screaming becoming worse. As of now he's still eating 3x per day and if he misses one you are gonna hear about it....

Anyone else have an opinion? points well taken thanks jimmy, i'll think about it.

[outhawkn]

The breeder said that gyr's tend to rely on their parents for a longer amount of time than most other species so by keeping him fat a month it will lessen the chances of screaming becoming worse. As of now he's still eating 3x per day and if he misses one you are gonna hear about it....

Anyone else have an opinion? points well taken thanks jimmy, i'll think about it.

Noah, what are you thinking man! To ask if anyone else has an opinion, you should now by now I ALWAYS have an opinion. [smilie=smileys13.gif]

But this time I'm actually going to give it some thought, and will post my thoughts tonight.
I agree with jimmy, I would fly him free where he is used to flying the first time or two if possible. They develope great homing instincts.
JMO

[outhawkn]

Please tell me that aint the..Easter Bunny. [smilie=eusa_naughty.gif]

[chamokane]

The breeder said that gyr's tend to rely on their parents for a longer amount of time than most other species so by keeping him fat a month it will lessen the chances of screaming becoming worse. As of now he's still eating 3x per day and if he misses one you are gonna hear about it....

Anyone else have an opinion? points well taken thanks jimmy, i'll think about it.

Noah,

I haven't flown a gyr hybrid myself but I have seen them become pretty unpleasant when their weight was cut too soon. They were noisy and they didn't want to fly or take the hood and they seemed a little crazy and unhappy. Gyrs can be intelligent and affectionate but also temperamental.

On the other hand, they can take a long time to start killing game and at some point they need to be hungry to understand the facts of life. If the breeder has had a lot of experience flying this type of bird, I would listen to his advice on the timing.

If it's pretty congested where you live, you might want to wait until you get to NM to fly him much. Some young falcons can get adventurous and they can cover a lot of ground in a hurry. It might be a lot easier to get him back in the open desert where he can see you and you can see him. I try to use a really open area with a reasonable number of roads to train falcons.

[Shortwingn]

Hi Noah,
I have always believed in windows. There is a time for a young bird to learn. Miss the window and its gone. Sure with a bunch of hard work you can turn around a marred bird but if you hit that window it is a seamless transition.
With a hard imprint you shouldn't need to cut them as hard as a chamber or passage bird. You might find your hard imprint flys just for fun. Why not do the creance work with your bird and see how he handles it. Make it a game. Take the weight down real slow, perhaps 3-5 grams a day. You might see a game become real serious for your eyass in a hurry. Either way he will build flight mussel (something he would be doing if he were in a natural setting), get airtime and build confidence. Imprints are all about confidence. That's why some people refer to them as "that crazy imprint". Nothing ever told them it cant be done. Throw bags and keep one with you as a fail safe if you feel its right to cut him lose. Dont go too crazy with bags as you could miss that window and he might think bags are the goal of life, same with the lure, fist, etc.
Imprints as I see them are a labor of love. As the soup natzi from Sienfeld said "I suffer for my soup". Just like soup you will get out of it what you put into it.

[Saluqi]

Hey Noah,

I just read this last page of entries and couple of things come to mind with regard to your bird's fear of rabbits. First I would make a rabbit lure, pretty simple to buy a cheap dog training retriever dummy, I just googled this place http://www.gundogsupply.com/dummies.html, and they have the canvas ones for $8.50. You can pick up a rabbit skin w/fur at a hobby shop and sew it to the dummy, you might want to make some ears too. Then replace your normal lure with this one. It's function is pretty obvious.

The other thing that you can do is buy a small young rabbit in as close to a natural color as possible, and kill and freeze it whole. You have now created Mr. Frosty. Keep Mr. Frosty in the freezer and get a length of para chord with one of those spring loaded button locks like they use on outdoor parkas and such for closing the hood - know what I mean? They sell them at sewing supply stores for like 50 cents each. Make a loop with the chord and the button lock and put it around Mr. Frosty's neck and put a tantilizing chunk of red meat under it and cinch it down. Now when your bird is really hungry bring him to the rabbit lying in the grass and just set him next to it and make sure he sees the meat. He will eventually eat the meat. You can do this repeatedly with the same Mr. Frosty and eventually he'll be bating at the rabbit, I believe this will imprint a prey image on your birds brain. If you ever want to do some restrained pursuits I can fill in a bunch of details for you.


Paul

[Lee]

Here in the east there are lots of hills and lots of cover something to remember when you fly free, if you do fly free here, find the biggest field you possible can and by big I mean 50 acres or more those big falcons can cover some ground in a short amount of time. Have you thought of using a Kite or balloon for waiting on training? You might want to teach him to wait on so you can fly upland game and ducks just in case the jack rabbit flights dont pan out you always need a back up plan. If it were me I would start flying him to the lure and then start kite or balloon training MAKE SURE YOU INTRODUCE THEM ALOT I made a bad mistake last year but not showing my bird the kite enough she would fly great to the balloon but when I switched to the Kite due to strong winds whipping threw it, she spooked and hauled tail never to be seen again and I introduced her to the Kite a week before I flew her too it, and she still spooked. I think you should introduce him to feathered quarry first, I dont know how well the jack rabbit hawking is going to go with a tiercel he may get bucked off a few times and stop flying them, and then it might be harder to retrain him to go up and wait on IF the blunt of your training is at ground quarry??? I dont know if it makes a difference but if it were me I would want him up a few hundred feet regardless of quarry I just think if you start him on tail chases at jacks you might ruin him for feathers. Plus the balloon or kite will keep him focused on the bait line and it may help keep him from playing or raking off as much. Just a thought??

[outhawkn]

Here in the east there are lots of hills and lots of cover something to remember when you fly free, if you do fly free here, find the biggest field you possible can and by big I mean 50 acres or more those big falcons can cover some ground in a short amount of time. Have you thought of using a Kite or balloon for waiting on training? You might want to teach him to wait on so you can fly upland game and ducks just in case the jack rabbit flights dont pan out you always need a back up plan. If it were me I would start flying him to the lure and then start kite or balloon training MAKE SURE YOU INTRODUCE THEM ALOT I made a bad mistake last year but not showing my bird the kite enough she would fly great to the balloon but when I switched to the Kite due to strong winds whipping threw it, she spooked and hauled tail never to be seen again and I introduced her to the Kite a week before I flew her too it, and she still spooked. I think you should introduce him to feathered quarry first, I dont know how well the jack rabbit hawking is going to go with a tiercel he may get bucked off a few times and stop flying them, and then it might be harder to retrain him to go up and wait on IF the blunt of your training is at ground quarry??? I dont know if it makes a difference but if it were me I would want him up a few hundred feet regardless of quarry I just think if you start him on tail chases at jacks you might ruin him for feathers. Plus the balloon or kite will keep him focused on the bait line and it may help keep him from playing or raking off as much. Just a thought??

I agree , I use a kite and have an overhead fan in the living room.Directly over her. Every morning I hang the kite from the fan. I then feed her and with my hand I spin the fan. It rotates around about 6-8 times and she cares less.I then remove it and turn the fan back on. Later when she is older and we start kite training for real, she will expect to see the kite above her and it SHOULD go smooth. (Of course now that I said it , that wont happen).

[Falcon Boy]

Lee- If you can find a 50 acre field in my part of maryland... you got a good thing going. I don't think we even have a 50 acre field up near where gabboon is. From everyone i've talked to out in NM, flying longwings on jacks doesn't need a pitch, usually the bird is flown off the fist or off a pole.

Paul- Thanks for the idea about the frozen rabbit and the dummy. I'll pick up a dummy today while i'm out. I might take you up on some info about the restrained pursuits once i get the bird going well to the new lure.

[kimmerar]

If you ever want to do some restrained pursuits I can fill in a bunch of details for you.

Paul - I would love to hear your details - when you get a chance

[Falcon Boy]

[gabboon]

Its not been hot here in MD lately so I know someone just likes taking pictures of himself. Please leave the shirt on! There might be children viewing this stuff. [smilie=smileys13.gif]

[Falcon Boy]

I was in syracuse from august until may.... it's hot here [smilie=smileys13.gif]

[sevristh]

Its not been hot here in MD lately so I know someone just likes taking pictures of himself. Please leave the shirt on! There might be children viewing this stuff. [smilie=smileys13.gif]

[smilie=wut.gif] [smilie=eusa_clap.gif]

[Falcon Boy]

Little update for y'all- Goose has quieted down so much it's unreal. He is still eating twice a day.... but if i try to skip the morning feeding everyone in the county knows about it. He is a bit vocal if i let him get hungry, but other than that generally silent. I no longer worry about him screaming his ass off everytime i try and make a phone call... which is nice.

I am currently working on wedding him to a knew lure after leaving the other 4 outside and having raccoons drag them off during the night. Yes, it happened four times, and yes it took me four times to learn not to leave them outside on the porch [smilie=eusa_doh.gif]

I havnt pushed hooding at all because he would bite like a maniac whenever he saw my hands. Biting has pretty much stopped now though, which my hands are thankful for.

Anyway, he isn't bad for a first imprint in my opinion. He is silent a majority of the time, and i've learned a ton from the experiance.

Side note- I gave him a baggie bunny a few days ago. He flew 15ft off the fist to hit it [he had never flown off the glove before] and grabbed it's butt. He held on for 2sec then let go and went to pout on a rock. I killed the bunny and he has been eating that the past few days.

[Jimmy]

Sounds like progress to me!

[Falcon Boy]

here is a picture a photographer took from last week

[wesleyc6]

Good to see things are working out Noah!!!!! Can't wait to hear about all the bunnies he slays!

[gabboon]

Noah,

I've got a nice block that I won in a raffle some years ago. I doubt I'll have any need for it anytime soon so you are welcome to it. It does not have a spike or base but it looks good. It was made by some guy in PA but I can't remenmber who. It is signed. If you want it give me a shout next time you are coming to Frederick and I can give it to you or leave it out to pick up.

[outhawkn]

here is a picture a photographer took from last week

I love them blue feet!

[Falcon Boy]

Noah,

I've got a nice block that I won in a raffle some years ago. I doubt I'll have any need for it anytime soon so you are welcome to it. It does not have a spike or base but it looks good. It was made by some guy in PA but I can't remenmber who. It is signed. If you want it give me a shout next time you are coming to Frederick and I can give it to you or leave it out to pick up.

If you don't want it i'd love to put it to good use [smilie=icon_thumright.gif] I'll let you know next time i'm headed up there.


Bill- I love the blue feet/cere as well. His beak is blue as well until the tip, where it is black.

[`Chris L.]

Noah, I can hook you up with a spike if you want.. Steve is the block wood or metal? .. let me know if you need one Noah...

Oh , goose is look great. I cant wait to hear about thta first kill

[gabboon]

Noah, I can hook you up with a spike if you want.. Steve is the block wood or metal?

is wood, let me know if you need any more info.

[Falcon Boy]

Thanks guys! Chris i'll send you a PM when i go pick up the block, thanks a ton to you both! [smilie=banana.gif]

[`Chris L.]

is wood, let me know if you need any more info.

Great I have a spike that would fit it perfect. Is it already drilled out, the hole for the spike??

If so I can weld a auger screw that will fit the hole on the spike for you. If its not drilled I will tell you what size you will need


here is a pic of it



let me know [smilie=icon_thumright.gif]