looking into getting a goshawk

[andyfoster10 0]

hi all im thinking of getting a goshawk for my first bird got a couple of mates with harris hawks so know the basics just asking for a bit of advice from experianced goshawk owners

also any body in liverpool who owns a goshawk would you be willing to take me out with your goshawk just so i can see how different they are to harris hawks

Edited August 1, 2010 by andyfoster10

[redtail23 1]

if i was you i would start with a harris hawk ive been doing falconry for 8 years and i found a gos hard to handle so i went back to a harris just my advice mate all the best.

[liftboy1 0]

No offence mate, but you would be diving into shit! A gos is only for someone with experience, the gos requires flying every day and to kill on each session, And obviously there are different species available and imprint and parent reared variants. Trust me you would not want a gos as a first bird but you wont understand until you have flown a harris or redtail. And flying a gos is very different to a harris.

[Sky09 8]

Harris or Redtail for your first bird you will be sorry if you start with a gos

[craigyboy 1,274]

ffs dont get a gos for your 1st bird,no offence but youl either kill it, lose it or ruin it

Edited August 1, 2010 by craigyboy

[andyfoster10 0]

i know its my first bird but my mates got a harris hawk and a red tail and ive been out with him quiet a bit and ive been learning each time we go out, its not as if i dont know anything at all im not just going to get 1 straight away im going to read up about it alot more and if some 1 on here ha a goshawk and in the liverpool area could take me out so i could see the difference in the goshawk to the harris or red tail

i know what you lot are saying get a harris or red tail as first bird but why would you get a bird you dont want just to teach you things when a lot of people are saying a goshawk is completely different to a harris so why not get the bird you want thats a little bit harder to train than a bird that you dont want

and what would happen to the harris or red tail after youve got it and learned of it

i dont see the point my self

Edited August 1, 2010 by andyfoster10

[jasper65 6]

I feel for you pal as deep down I know a Goshawk can be a handful but certainly not out of reach of any first time falconer with his head screwed on. Imprinted Goshawks seem to be the trend these days which isn't rocket science to get out and fly although allot will tell you otherwise, I have a young female Finn x German here I'm swapping with a pal off the forum! she's been socialy Imprinted, Dish and Carcass fed and now around 48 days old, Its as tame as a Robin and wants to follow me and just generaly be with me and the rest of the family, I'm certain this bird won't take much to be taken up and flown, how this bird turns out in the long run will be down to the falconer and also the mount of quarry there is available.....

 

Having said that a genuine Parent Reared Gos straight out of the aviary can test the best of them, some are more sensible than others and come on quickly but a Majority are breathing fire when first taken up and need some careful handling in conditioning during the start of the manning process and there after. I did a Finnish x Hungarian bird the other year which was pretty arsey at first but after some careful Hooding and quality manning sessions the birds started to bend my way.

 

its not all about walking around with a Hawk hanging upside down like I have seen countless times!! a birds manning proper should never be started until the bird will feed off the fist which could take a few days with a Goshawk, during this time the bird should be kept somewhere quiet or Hooded, lots of people in the past have Maligned the Hood but I have to say I couldn't train a Parent Reared bird without one not even a Harris, its the only way I know.........

 

You're right moving from a Harris to a Gos is a different ball game but the one thing the Harris will teach you is: weight management, conditioning, some Manning experience, Hands on experience all helps to stand you in good stead should you move up a few levels to a Goshawk, the Redtail on the other hand will teach you plenty with its tighter weight control and arseryness, all this will prepare you for whats coming should you finally take up a foisty Parent Reared Goshawk.........

[graham01 1]

hi all im thinking of getting a goshawk for my first bird got a couple of mates with harris hawks so know the basics just asking for a bit of advice from experianced goshawk owners

also any body in liverpool who owns a goshawk would you be willing to take me out with your goshawk just so i can see how different they are to harris hawks

Mate,like Jasper said,with a sensible head or the right mentor that has good experience,there is no reason why you couldnt have a Gos BUT you cannot take advice from Harrishawkers about Goshawks! The only bit i will disagree with that Jasper posted is weight management experience.Most Harrishawkers weight management is lax at best, woefull at worst,Harris fly at so many different weights that an idiot could get them to fly free(and there are thousands to prove that)Goses,well almost anything else really, have a very tight hunting weight range and will be easily lost if not adhered to.If none of your friends havent flown anything else other than Harrises then they cannot teach you anything other than the very basics of Falconry.The lad who i fly with had flown Harrises before we met and when he moved onto Falcons he was amazed at the difference in skill,tecnique and dicipline needed to fly other species,let alone accipiters and worse stll parent reared ones!Good luck,you are really going to need it,as ive said it aint impossible just a difficult start and a waste of a lot of money if you get it wrong

[liftboy1 0]

My personal opinion is getting a gos as a first bird is mad!!!!

[gold medal 2]

if you want to give me £1000 ill easy scratch your face then vanish never to be seen again!

dont get a gos for your for your first bird

[liftboy1 0]

No offence to you lad but people like you ruin the sport, the harris will be more than capable, trust me, you will shit your pants with a gos!

[supersam 64]

i got a male p/r 50/50 german/finnish gos last year as my first bird.

did a year with a mentor that flew gosses before i got the bird and had no trouble with the gos.

he managed to lose a talon over tangling with a rabbit in mid november and i had to finish the season early but at that date he had 114 kills.

he took rook,grey crow,maggie,s,jackdaw,s,rabbits,pheasants,ducks,and took a black back gull too!

if you have a good head on your shoulders i dont see why you cant start with a gos like i did

[andyfoster10 0]

i got a male p/r 50/50 german/finnish gos last year as my first bird.

did a year with a mentor that flew gosses before i got the bird and had no trouble with the gos.

he managed to lose a talon over tangling with a rabbit in mid november and i had to finish the season early but at that date he had 114 kills.

he took rook,grey crow,maggie,s,jackdaw,s,rabbits,pheasants,ducks,and took a black back gull too!

if you have a good head on your shoulders i dont see why you cant start with a gos like i did

 

 

thanks for that supersam thats the way that i say it

[supersam 64]

i got a male p/r 50/50 german/finnish gos last year as my first bird.

did a year with a mentor that flew gosses before i got the bird and had no trouble with the gos.

he managed to lose a talon over tangling with a rabbit in mid november and i had to finish the season early but at that date he had 114 kills.

he took rook,grey crow,maggie,s,jackdaw,s,rabbits,pheasants,ducks,and took a black back gull too!

if you have a good head on your shoulders i dont see why you cant start with a gos like i did

 

 

thanks for that supersam thats the way that i say it

also my brother was coming out watching me fly mine.

and my mentor gave him a loan of an imprint male to fly and he did a good job with him.

flew him for a few months no bother.

[gold medal 2]

i got a male p/r 50/50 german/finnish gos last year as my first bird.

did a year with a mentor that flew gosses before i got the bird and had no trouble with the gos.

he managed to lose a talon over tangling with a rabbit in mid november and i had to finish the season early but at that date he had 114 kills.

he took rook,grey crow,maggie,s,jackdaw,s,rabbits,pheasants,ducks,and took a black back gull too!

if you have a good head on your shoulders i dont see why you cant start with a gos like i did

 

 

thanks for that supersam thats the way that i say it

also my brother was coming out watching me fly mine.

and my mentor gave him a loan of an imprint male to fly and he did a good job with him.

flew him for a few months no bother.

yeah but you did it with a mentor who was also flyin a gos