first harris hawk loving it but need advice

[seffa 0]

hi every one new to forum, studied harris for a year i paid deposite for female harris last year and picked up my female in augustthis year from a reputable breeder sorted . manned her , trained her entered her on rabbits ,since then shes had 25 rabbits 2 blue hares 2 hen phesants ,5moorhens ,and a squrrel . she caught squrril and moorhen this morning now heres wer i need advice . im originally into hares with lurchers and i got the hawk for catching brown hares ,she had caught around fifteen rabbits before the 2 blue hares and then seemed to shy off rabbits for awhile but then i brought her back on with them. since then ive had her on numerouse amount of brown hares but she has only hit one and then let go of it .ihad her on one this morning i put up out of its seat in the snow which i would say was the easyist oppertunity shes had to stop one but she just hovered over and then pulled off it was soul destrying to see it split in the snow. the question that im asking you experienced hawkers is have iruined her for hares because ive recently heard u shouldent enter on hars in fisrst year she flies at 2.2 but dropped her to 2.1 for a hare this morning oh and by the way ive loved every minite of training manning and hunting its a brilliant sport and i hope someone can take time to enligten me on the hare subject cheers seffa

[mickmck 716]

hello [bANNED TEXT] , i think it all comes with time , my female was a bit hit n miss with rabbits on the lamp but getting better with time , she has had hold of 2 hares but just cant keep hold of em , and she flys at 2 lb 4 oz she is mint on pheasant and rabbit , she also had squirrel and last weekend a weasel , some one told me you should either take em on the lamp or day time and not both , be she is not bothered when she goes out . so just bare with her mate and you should have a good alrounder . cheers mick

[seffa 0]

cheers pal

[mickmck 716]

cheers pal

 

 

ok mate , im no expert but im sure somone will put you right , if you dont make mistakes you wont learn lol!!

[Foxy09 3]

A young bird can be put off in its first year if it gets a rough time on a hare, my advice would be to give them a miss for the rest of the season and re-build her confidence on Rabbits, then i would get her on a couple of hare carcasses at the start of next season before trying her again.

 

Foxy

[Foxy09 3]

Just noticed in the pics the bird doesn't seem to be in her first year plumage, is she an older bird?

[mickmck 716]

Just noticed in the pics the bird doesn't seem to be in her first year plumage, is she an older bird?

 

 

the pictures are of my bird , she is 4 years old

[seffa 0]

A young bird can be put off in its first year if it gets a rough time on a hare, my advice would be to give them a miss for the rest of the season and re-build her confidence on Rabbits, then i would get her on a couple of hare carcasses at the start of next season before trying her again.

 

Foxy

cheers foxy that sounds about right pal

[kev2560 7]

i have heard of male harris hawks at 1.7 hanging onto hares and female,s flying at 2.7 that wont touch them we had an aggresive 2.3 female that took everything but if a hare got up she would turn off some birds take them some birds dont the only way you can be sure off a hare hunting bird is a female redtail cheers kev

[seffa 0]

i have heard of male harris hawks at 1.7 hanging onto hares and female,s flying at 2.7 that wont touch them we had an aggresive 2.3 female that took everything but if a hare got up she would turn off some birds take them some birds dont the only way you can be sure off a hare hunting bird is a female redtail cheers kev

cheers kev ill keep that in mind by the way i nipped out before at last light and she nailed arabbit made up

[kev2560 7]

i have heard of male harris hawks at 1.7 hanging onto hares and female,s flying at 2.7 that wont touch them we had an aggresive 2.3 female that took everything but if a hare got up she would turn off some birds take them some birds dont the only way you can be sure off a hare hunting bird is a female redtail cheers kev

cheers kev ill keep that in mind by the way i nipped out before at last light and she nailed arabbit made up

glad to hear your enjoying it to be honest i dont think theres much more satisfying watching a bird hunt an kill that you have trained from the begining

[falconer 3]

i know [bANNED TEXT] you mean ive seen my brothers 1.6 mhh take a 6 pound hare but yet ive seen a 2lb5 fhh refuse them the best way is to get a NON shot hare and feed her up on it then drag it for her a couple of times then at the beginning of next season try and get her a young hare that isnt to big.

[seffa 0]

i know [bANNED TEXT] you mean ive seen my brothers 1.6 mhh take a 6 pound hare but yet ive seen a 2lb5 fhh refuse them the best way is to get a NON shot hare and feed her up on it then drag it for her a couple of times then at the beginning of next season try and get her a young hare that isnt to big.

yeah theres a few said same thing am gonna give it a go see what happens cheers [bANNED TEXT] since last post shes had another 8 rabbits ,and took a moorhen off top of water on sunday mornin smart kill

[harrisboy 0]

i do a lot of lamping with my fhh and they soon pick it up just keep at it [bANNED TEXT] and u will get ther

[stoaty1 35]

They don't all like the look of hares, the size can put them off. I have seen lots of birds fly hares, pull level and think better of it. Once they hit them then they have a rough time and this can put them off again. As yours has not had this happen to her then maybe she just needs a bit more confidence. Try her on big lures, hare carcass's preferably and when she nails it really pull it around so she knows she has to hold on. Keep lifting the hares head while its on the line and when she hits the head let her have it. Just like you probably did with your rabbit lures. Then go out for the real thing and try dropping her weight a little just to sharpen her appetite. Dont do it alot but her weight may have crept up a bit since she flew free. Some of this will be due to her increased muscle but you should be safe for 1/4 oz. Are there any falconers near you who can assess her keel and advise on this weight decrease. If she still doesn't take them dont worry about it. You have a bird that is doing really well for a first season bird, there are many seasons ahead for both of you.

regards

Ian