Help needed with aggressive Harris

[Lenster 0]

I picked up my new female harris last Thursday, she was 2 lb 5 oz, been trying to man her ever since. She's still not interested in any food. Jumpy as hell!

Managed to get her on the scales today, she was just under 2 lb.

All she does is bate away from me, then when I pick her up she foots me like a nutter and fixes me with a stare like blue murder, there's been no change in her right from the start. She's 9 months old, parent reared, from a well respected breeder, but I'm beginning to have my doubts about how well it was reared.

She's not my first harris, my male was perfect, and I've flown peregrines, goshawk and goldie's so I do have a bit of experience.

Maybe I'm expecting too much from her? Any ideas would be great!

Edited January 16, 2008 by Lenster

[bobandfin 0]

Hi

In my opinion a untouched harris 9 months old is has hard to train as a gos and you would not expect a gos to feed yet.

Tell you what i would have done

Tether her in a weathering give it 1 chick a day so to drop its weight stay in the weathering may be will not eat while you are there

keep doing this till she eats then the next day pick her up and feed her she will eat on the fist put her back as soon has she has done eating so she thinks only good things about you and build on that.

I have used this no stress method for years including haggard gos and spars to be put back in the wild

Bob

Edited January 16, 2008 by bobandfin

[horris 3]

Hi

In my opinion a untouched harris 9 months old is has hard to train as a gos and you would not expect a gos to feed yet.

Tell you what i would have done

Tether her in a weathering give it 1 chick a day so to drop its weight stay in the weathering may be will not eat while you are there

keep doing this till she eats then the next day pick her up and feed her she will eat on the fist put her back as soon has she has done eating so she thinks only good things about you and build on that.

I have used this no stress method for years including haggard gos and spars to be put back in the wild

Bob

sorry but i dont agre with that, that is not the best way 2 do it the hole point in manning a bird is bonding with it not ripping its friggin weight down the only reason that bird will givin doing it that way is because its bloody starvin 1 chick a day how about some 1 givin you that ya would be more pist off that is bang out of order wat ya need 2 do LENSTER is sit with the bird for as long as you can there is a method of sitting with the bird until she falls asleep then for her to fall asleep in front of you she must trust you a little then and as for the food give her washed rabbit a good crop full while you still work her on the line for god sake dont give her 1 chick aday gud luck

[bobandfin 0]

Well he as already taken over 10% of the birds weight off with no advale you can only use this method with a bird at top weight i can assure they eat on the fist long before a 10% weight reduction Once the bird is eating on the fist normal manning takes place

Bob

ps never yet had to reduce a birds weight by more than 10% in 20 years

Edited January 16, 2008 by bobandfin

[SPAR 2]

GET THE MANNING DONE FIRST, SLOWLY DROP THE WEIGHT BY 1/4 PER DAY BUT ONLY WHEN YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE BIRD AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

QUITE AGREE WITH HORRIS.

[Lenster 0]

Wow! A few things to think about there! And a few differences in opinions too! Yeh Bob, she reminds me of a nervy gos.

I think I agree that the least stress the better, I'll take a few steps back and man her as if I've JUST received her, in the dark too.

 

Cheers all, I'll keep you posted.

[bullet 125]

im going with what horris has said as the bird needs to trust you, i had a female redtail years ago, it took a long time to get her to feed off the fist, my mentor at the time said she wont starve her self to death, but manning is the way forward, if you give it a chick a day then for what reason will it want to know you, its getting a chic every day isnt it with out seeing you! one is better than none the bird thinks

belive me im no expert but you come and man my male if you think you have probs, but i can handle him

[bobandfin 0]

The method i use works because it is easyer to man a bird that feeds on the fist so you do not start manning until it does feed

the bird is all ready feeding when you are there. normally eats within 3 days .as for the 1 chick a day i was thinking of a spar i would give a large bird 2 chicks as you have started at top weight the bird has not lost much weight.

the bottom line is you now have a bird that will feed on the fist with no STRESS to the bird at all

This method was devised by one of the top falconers in the country who i know very well who lives in Norfolk now days

Bob

[horris 3]

The method i use works because it is easyer to man a bird that feeds on the fist so you do not start manning until it does feed

the bird is all ready feeding when you are there. normally eats within 3 days .as for the 1 chick a day i was thinking of a spar i would give a large bird 2 chicks as you have started at top weight the bird has not lost much weight.

the bottom line is you now have a bird that will feed on the fist with no STRESS to the bird at all

This method was devised by one of the top falconers in the country who i know very well who lives in Norfolk now days

Bob

ok mate i understand wat ya on about now you explained you ment a spar i just dont agree with people rippin the weight off birds just so its quicker for them

[horris 3]

im going with what horris has said as the bird needs to trust you, i had a female redtail years ago, it took a long time to get her to feed off the fist, my mentor at the time said she wont starve her self to death, but manning is the way forward, if you give it a chick a day then for what reason will it want to know you, its getting a chic every day isnt it with out seeing you! one is better than none the bird thinks

belive me im no expert but you come and man my male if you think you have probs, but i can handle him

r ya goin on international falconry forum now bitch

[terrys 0]

I picked up my new female harris last Thursday, she was 2 lb 5 oz, been trying to man her ever since. She's still not interested in any food. Jumpy as hell!

Managed to get her on the scales today, she was just under 2 lb.

All she does is bate away from me, then when I pick her up she foots me like a nutter and fixes me with a stare like blue murder, there's been no change in her right from the start. She's 9 months old, parent reared, from a well respected breeder, but I'm beginning to have my doubts about how well it was reared.

She's not my first harris, my male was perfect, and I've flown peregrines, goshawk and goldie's so I do have a bit of experience.

Maybe I'm expecting too much from her? Any ideas would be great!

 

Absolutely impossible for any bird to lose 5oz in under a week - must have been fed [bANNED TEXT] it was first weighted.

 

If you have really properly flown the birds you say you have you would know this, and would equally know how to train and not starve a hawk.

 

Concentrate on what you are doing and man the bird, do not starve the fecker.

 

Its nothing to do with how the bird is reared, I'm afraid that it is just your own incompetance.

 

Harris's that have been left with parents for a long time are notoriously harder to train.

 

Starving the feckers always causes the sticky footedness.

[SPAR 2]

I picked up my new female harris last Thursday, she was 2 lb 5 oz, been trying to man her ever since. She's still not interested in any food. Jumpy as hell!

Managed to get her on the scales today, she was just under 2 lb.

All she does is bate away from me, then when I pick her up she foots me like a nutter and fixes me with a stare like blue murder, there's been no change in her right from the start. She's 9 months old, parent reared, from a well respected breeder, but I'm beginning to have my doubts about how well it was reared.

She's not my first harris, my male was perfect, and I've flown peregrines, goshawk and goldie's so I do have a bit of experience.

Maybe I'm expecting too much from her? Any ideas would be great!

 

Absolutely impossible for any bird to lose 5oz in under a week - must have been fed [bANNED TEXT] it was first weighted.

 

If you have really properly flown the birds you say you have you would know this, and would equally know how to train and not starve a hawk.

 

Concentrate on what you are doing and man the bird, do not starve the fecker.

 

Its nothing to do with how the bird is reared, I'm afraid that it is just your own incompetance.

 

Harris's that have been left with parents for a long time are notoriously harder to train.

 

Starving the feckers always causes the sticky footedness.

 

I dont think its imposable for a Harris to loose that much weight, IF I WANTED TO I COULD OF NOT FED MY HARRIS FOR 5 DAYS WHICH WOULD BE A LOSS OF 1oz PER DAY, But I'm one of these people that dont agree with weight loss to quick for me to loose 5oz from my Harris it would take me about 2 weeks.

But I defiantly disagree with your last to points

 

Harris's that have been left with parents for a long time are notoriously harder to train.

 

Starving the feckers always causes the sticky footedness

[Lenster 0]

Well I wondered how long it would be before someone starts going off on one! I came on here with the best intentions of getting some good advice, (which I did). But like I said before, I DO have experience, but it seems I've been spoilt in the past with easy going birds. It's just that this one's proving to be a bit different. No ones perfect. I know people who've been training birds for decades and still learn new things. That's what makes falconry so special, I'm sure if it was so easy we probably wouldn't be doing it.

 

By the way, she was stickyfooted from the moment I got her.

[jasper65 6]

Hi

In my opinion a untouched harris 9 months old is has hard to train as a gos and you would not expect a gos to feed yet.

Tell you what i would have done

Tether her in a weathering give it 1 chick a day so to drop its weight stay in the weathering may be will not eat while you are there

keep doing this till she eats then the next day pick her up and feed her she will eat on the fist put her back as soon has she has done eating so she thinks only good things about you and build on that.

I have used this no stress method for years including haggard gos and spars to be put back in the wild

Bob

 

 

I totally agree Bob

 

How this method can be conceived as ripping loads of weight of a bird is beyond me? The guy is only saying to give it one chick a day until SOME weight has come off her until she feeds off the fist, How the hell anyone thinks they are going to Mann a bird before it feeds off the fist with it bateing about everywhere is beyond me! you may get away with it with some Harris's taken up earley because of their gregariouse Nature! but if you take up a P/R Gos of say 10 weeks and think you're going to Mann it without getting a fair bit of weight of it you're in dream world....

 

I have had a Gos in the past edge into its seventh day before finally feeding off the fist! now are you all going to tell me this bird didn't lose alot of weight in its 7 days of fasting? its was obviousley self inflicted by the Gos but I'm Buggered if I was going to feed it until if fed from the glove.

 

You all need to step back a bit and read again what this guy is saying! He's 100% right in every way to get the birds weight down to feed off the fist, only then should the quality time of manning begin, trying to man a fiery bird which is bateing about of the fist is only going to cause resentment from the bird towards you! if it gets fed all the time while being Manned then this is a positive aproach which enforces a bond with the bird, half the reason I read about P/R Gos's having to be cut low to fly is because the manning forced upon the bird so you end up flying it on Hunger! baisically there's no bond with a bird manned like this, the only reason it returns to you is because its starving hungary and will always have to be flown sharp....

 

Jasper

[Lenster 0]

I totally agree Bob

 

How this method can be conceived as ripping loads of weight of a bird is beyond me? The guy is only saying to give it one chick a day until SOME weight has come off her until she feeds off the fist, How the hell anyone thinks they are going to Mann a bird before it feeds off the fist with it bateing about everywhere is beyond me! you may get away with it with some Harris's taken up earley because of their gregariouse Nature! but if you take up a P/R Gos of say 10 weeks and think you're going to Mann it without getting a fair bit of weight of it you're in dream world....

 

I have had a Gos in the past edge into its seventh day before finally feeding off the fist! now are you all going to tell me this bird didn't lose alot of weight in its 7 days of fasting? its was obviousley self inflicted by the Gos but I'm Buggered if I was going to feed it until if fed from the glove.

 

You all need to step back a bit and read again what this guy is saying! He's 100% right in every way to get the birds weight down to feed off the fist, only then should the quality time of manning begin, trying to man a fiery bird which is bateing about of the fist is only going to cause resentment from the bird towards you! if it gets fed all the time while being Manned then this is a positive aproach which enforces a bond with the bird, half the reason I read about P/R Gos's having to be cut low to fly is because the manning forced upon the bird so you end up flying it on Hunger! baisically there's no bond with a bird manned like this, the only reason it returns to you is because its starving hungary and will always have to be flown sharp....

 

Jasper

 

 

 

 

Well said that man!