Few Pics Of My Red Tail......

[muttley94 74]

I've noticed that people generally go for a Harris or red tail for their first bird, Im a long way off the stage of getting a bird yet but out of curiosity and increasing my knowledge what the main differences between their training processes and is one much harder than the other? from what ive gathered the red tail would be harder to start with?

sorry if im wrong and this is obvious though!

[Longers7 720]

From my own personal experience mate red tails normally take quite a while to get going as opposed to what I've seen of my mates Harris's when it comes to getting them going!

Experienced falconers say that a red tail is a good bird to start with as you learn more as you have to put a lot more work into them, Harris's can lead falconers into a false sense of being a better falconer than they really are, as they sortve self train themselves in a way. Red tails are harder to get properly fit as opposed to Harris.

I've found that red tails are more aggressive on kills, are a bit more powerful, and once you get them really turned on there commitment on a chase can be a lot better than a Harris.

Saying all of that, one Harris can be totally different to another as can a red tail, a lot depends on the falconer, how much/and what game your putting up for the bird, what sort of land you have to fly/hunt on,how much time you can get out with them. What sex of bird you have/get Etc etc etc,

The list is endless, and it's only when you do get a bird that you realise just how much time and thinking about different things they take.

A mistake on the falconers behalf can lead to a life long problem on the bird. If you buy an older bird then chances are your buying someone else's f**k-ups.

However, all of this is just from my own personal experiences, and from what I've read.

[muttley94 74]

Thanks for the response Longers,

okay cool thank you thats interesting! I'm still a couple of years off of finishing uni so plenty of time to make decisions once i know more about the different birds and the sport itself but id assume I'd get one young and try to train it up myself my dad had a HH many years ago so hopefully he will be of some help! Either way both Harris' and red tails seem like fantastic birds! Great pictures by the way!

[huntmad 1 4]

Been flying redtails at everything now for 15 years,after flying harrises a gos and several spars,i think thats quite a hard job u took on an done really well,i loce redtails myself but fitness is everything with them an motovation comes from this an food,i think youd do really well with an eyess nxt year,just make sure its coming from a seclusion aviary as you dont want an imprint.well done [BANNED TEXT]

[Longers7 720]

Thanks mate, definately think red tails arnt a bird you can just get going in 5 mins as opposed to a few harris I've seen, at times it's been more of a chore than an enjoyment getting him hunting, seems like I've had to work really hard at every element of training etc just to ge his fitness up and gett him hunting

[tictac 218]

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Edited February 1, 2015 by tictac

[huntmad 1 4]

Big mistake people make wi redtails is to man them straight outa the aviary when their weight is way to heavy an the weathers too warm,especially wi big females who have high fat reserves, the result is an unresponsive hawk that sits on the glove wings out aggressively gripping the glove,my usual routine with an eyess is roughly this,new hawk fresh out of pen,weigh it work out roughly were i think its going to respond at then i bow it out in a quiet spot where i can walk round it several times aday an it can see me an the dogs ferrets etc,this is gentle manning .il only weigh this bird once a week until its ready for sitting on fist an walking around,i slip out at night an leave a skinned chicken neck or so as its weight is coming down,once its responsive straight on creance,feed on fist feed on lure an start setting up mock hunting senarios,i find these really help

[huntmad 1 4]

The senarios are like this,plant a dead rabbit in some cover an beat the cover gently have someone pull it out an il slip hawk on it,il do this even when still on creance as i believe this is better than just flying to the fist repeatedly until u trust it not to bugger off.too much to the fist creates problems.i do the same thing with a dead squirrel or lure,hide it at bottom of tree on a string an have someone pull it up the treetrunk as i slip hawk an give a cry ,really turns them on to looking up !for bushytails.i get good results doing this as it gives me nice quiet well adjusted hawks that get most of their manning in the field,all avgression is on the quarry ,hope this helps someone with their own ideas

[david901 164]

Hi Huntmad,

I totally agree with you regarding manning them when they are too heavy.

A lot depends on the nature of the bird, but this can increase resentment of the falconer if the bird is enforced to endure hours of manning if its not ready.

 

I also like to set up "easy" kills with a lure or carcase etc, with the bird when its ready.

As long as you don't rob it of its catch it helps get rid of any frustration on the hawks part and lets it find out what its meant to do.

If you are going for hare, I would use a large fur lure or better still hare carcase to allow it to gain confidence.

[huntmad 1 4]

Hi david,personally i never rob an generally give full crops on single kills in a hawks first season,then il starve a day or two followed by a low value feed like washed meat to stretch the crop an receptors,on the third day il usually be back to normal out hunting or lure chases for fitness,i usually fly on split chicken necks asi find it easy to maintain weight an fitness on these supplemented with kills.i do fly at hares and use big lures or carcases to start hawks ,but i do find this more important for males aswell as harris or goshawks,i find with female redtails once the've a few kills an confident they'l try anything.my present female is 7 an she still trys to pull foxes down flying at 2.11 -2.12,lethal on rabbit squirrels an hares but she'l rarely even look at a pheasant at any weight

[huntmad 1 4]

This is just my way ive learned through trial an error both mine and other peoples,it works for me but im sure there are plenty of other ways boys use successfully.i think the trick is to minimise any handling mistakes before they happen,ive seen several people fail with redtails especially males ,trying to train them like a harris an piles o manning then flying to the fist repeatedly then they say the hawk wont hunt an is lazy,ive seen beautiful hawks ,natures hunting machines as usefull as budgies in their hands

[david901 164]

Hi Huntmad

 

My old redtail took a couple of pheasant and ducks plus a few moorhens. Feather is not really their strongpoint but they can do it.

My red would soar above me at times and I often wondered if I could put up pheasant when she was above me then I would get a beautiful stoop.

She would do it to rabbits but I never got the opportunity with pheasant or duck.