advice on male harris please

[coney clucky 93]

ive a male 4 yearold harris he is giving me sleepless nights and headaches i bought him late october and he was straight out of aviary fromnd his weight was 1lb 10 oz he was flown lastyear at 1lb 6 and flew well he is well manned up and will jump to fist in mews and on lawn up to 6 feet and no more will ignore my calls to come and no tempting him to come works he is at 1lb 4oz and ive spent hours with him he feeds great on fist and is as keen as owt to come when offered food but as i say 6foot ive been in contact with previous owner and he as even given me the birds hunting and management records for last two seasons i dont know what im doing wrong advice please

[banjo14 49]

what is his fattest wieght youve had him?

[charlie caller 3,654]

What does his keel feel like at his current weight? does he feel fat, obviously difficult offering advice on a bird you cant see,but if his keel feels plump, try dropping him a little at a time, and carefully monitor his progress at each stage, but keep feeling that keel bone,becouse you dont want to start him screaming.

[arcticgun 4,548]

gradual weight drop is likely the way forward, difficult to manage this time of year with the temps yo-yo'ing all the time, but I sure once he down a little his respoce will come on leaps and bounds , all takes time, best of luck with it

[stoaty1 35]

If he was flying/hunting at 1.6 and is not responding at 1.4 then I would not advise further weight loss without seeing the bird. Where abouts are you? Do you know how to feel the keel/have anyone near you that can do it for you? When you say the bird is manned well is this outside and does the bird eat well when walking it round? Sorry if this sounds like an interrogation but these factors and more are required before any meaninful advice can be given. Weight loss may be required but you only get this wrong once and with cold nights happening birds will go low quickly.

Good luck with him

regards Ian

[grovsey 74]

ive a male 4 yearold harris he is giving me sleepless nights and headaches i bought him late october and he was straight out of aviary fromnd his weight was 1lb 10 oz he was flown lastyear at 1lb 6 and flew well he is well manned up and will jump to fist in mews and on lawn up to 6 feet and no more will ignore my calls to come and no tempting him to come works he is at 1lb 4oz and ive spent hours with him he feeds great on fist and is as keen as owt to come when offered food but as i say 6foot ive been in contact with previous owner and he as even given me the birds hunting and management records for last two seasons i dont know what im doing wrong advice please

having a bird just sat on the first does next to nothing ,having the bird on the fist working on a tiring works wonders.so many poeple will think just having the bird on the glove for hrs is getting them anywhere ,sadly its not

whats the birds fat weight as in ur post ur say 1lb 10 and u say the bird was going at 1-6 was the the begining of the season or the end?

is his keel sharp ?

tbh if the bird was 1-10 fat i cant see it going at 1-6 as that is not a great deal of a bird of that size ,but would never tell anyone on the net without seeing a bird to take weight of but the numbers dont add up

[coney clucky 93]

is keel isnt to sharp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

is keel isnt sharp but i can now feel it he is manned well in and out of the mews and will like ive said fly to me as soon as it see the glove held out with chick but only 6ft he flys to fist and covers his food i walk a round garden and handle and play with his feet wings tail and he dont flintch he dont like dogs or barking and thats the only thing that stops him eating if the dog is near his weight sice ive had him hasnt gone over 1lb ten oz the only thing i can think ov is previous owner is very small guy and fat im very tall and thin and he still not use to me and the sound of me calling him people say that they cant tell the diffrence but my previous female harris was missing two days once and people tried to get her to no avail when i got to her she came to me as soon as i got out of me car without even calling her or offering her food this male seems great till the distance gets over 6ft and he just not even looking at me or food on glove

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hunterdave 27]

is keel isnt to sharp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

is keel isnt sharp but i can now feel it he is manned well in and out of the mews and will like ive said fly to me as soon as it see the glove held out with chick but only 6ft he flys to fist and covers his food i walk a round garden and handle and play with his feet wings tail and he dont flintch he dont like dogs or barking and thats the only thing that stops him eating if the dog is near his weight sice ive had him hasnt gone over 1lb ten oz the only thing i can think ov is previous owner is very small guy and fat im very tall and thin and he still not use to me and the sound of me calling him people say that they cant tell the diffrence but my previous female harris was missing two days once and people tried to get her to no avail when i got to her she came to me as soon as i got out of me car without even calling her or offering her food this male seems great till the distance gets over 6ft and he just not even looking at me or food on glove

i would not go down any iower then 1ib4 not this time of year have you tride wached up rabbit

[redtailhawk1 84]

Nobody on here can tell you without seeing the bird. I would not take him any lower. Not with this cold on its way. It's not all about dropping weight for responce. It will not respond as well if its too low. My diary tells me that from when I first had my red LOL

[j j m 6,536]

Agree with grovsey on this

[charlie caller 3,654]

Just a thought mate,have you tried feeding him on the lure? it would be interesting to see his response at a distance with the lure,also do you feed him in his mews or in the garden very close? try taking him somewhere different, and see how he goes, if and it is only an if (as stated we have some cold weather looming) he is a little heavy,give him a try in the dark, with a headtorch shining on some food,if you normaly feed chicks,try something he will be really keen for (white mouse?) Ihave see birds overweight for daytime flying respond well in the dark,try it bud it may give you some food for thought, good luck.

Edited December 11, 2012 by charlie caller

[GazCross 0]

Has the bird been entered?