david901
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Posts posted by david901
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Who said anything about having an argument??
This section is pretty dull at best, so it's good to hear any debate from experienced people like yourself & I mean that genuinely........rather than the usual 'nice hawk mate' or ' my hawk caught this.....'
Too true mate. I've been on the IFF too long...lol
An exchange of ideas is a good and healthy thing.
To me, hooding is a way of reducing stress for the bird.
lol theres not much happen on the iff anymore that site has went to the dogs.
Because they were all self proclaimed legends and loved dick measuring contests on there
Yep and the same seems to be happening on Facebook.
I'm always amazed at the amount of falconers on there who never have a poor day and go home empty handed.
It must just be me that has poor days.
I used to go on the IFF quite regularly, but after a while I got sick of all the nonsense, so stopped going on it.
I still go on for a wee look every now and then.
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Your gos is unlikely to be very successful on wild partridge and pheasant unless its flown fairly regularly to keep it fit.
Although you can do jump ups etc that helps to keep them going, but nowhere near as good as regular slips on gamebirds.
Just another thing to consider....Lol
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I have never lamped with a hawk, so can't comment on it.
When I flew the redtail, the best way to fly them was from the soar. Redtails seem to do this naturally as its the way they have evolved to hunt in the wild.
But a Harris' Hawk will also soar and you will get some very exciting sport flying them this way. Also you have the other ways of flying them, ie following on or from the fist.
The redtail, Harris' and goshawks can all take hares if that's your thing, unfortunately not all birds will take them and after a rough ride, some will quit.
My friends Albidus/Finnish gos damaged all the tendons in her Hallux on an encounter with a hare, making her useless as a hunting hawk from then on, but that's the risk you take flying hawks on quarry.
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Who said anything about having an argument??
This section is pretty dull at best, so it's good to hear any debate from experienced people like yourself & I mean that genuinely........rather than the usual 'nice hawk mate' or ' my hawk caught this.....'Too true mate. I've been on the IFF too long...lol
An exchange of ideas is a good and healthy thing.
To me, hooding is a way of reducing stress for the bird.
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Hi Sean
Do you know if Andy Hunter has sold that young female gos yet?
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Oh go on david.....enter into a debate about it.......that's what we lack on the falconry section!
Sorry mate, but I can't be bothered. Life's too short to argue about such things
I do what works for me and my hawks,though I can't think of a single reason not to hood [or at least learn how to do it ].
I flew a Pere x saker at crows and gulls and I always used the hood to get into a decent position and range and allowed me to pick and choose the slips and I do the same with the gos when hunting crows.
It also makes equipping the bird or coping etc somewhat easier.
I agree, everyone has their own way of doing things, its just I'm always right.................LOL
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I flew a redtail for about 8 or 9 years.
They are great hawks as long as you get them fit.
Mine took a wide range of quarry, such as squirrel,rabbit,moorhen,duck and pheasant occasionally as well as a few pigeons and an odd crow.
They were good natured and fairly straightforward to train and hunt.
Mine would follow on as well as soar above.
The biggest hurdle I had was when ferreting. I couldn't trust them 100% not kill them.
I never tried lamping them, though I don't see it as a problem.
Its interesting as when looking at the prices of them now, they are considerably dearer than the Harris',
whereas years ago, they were quite hard to sell as everyone wanted the Harris'.
I got given a female redtail that no one wanted. She turned out a good hawk.
Personally speaking, for rabbiting I don't think you can beat a good Harris' for ease and enjoyment.
But for squirrel hawking I think a redtail is better as they are capable of sustaining the inevitable bites that will happen.
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Hi Sean
Its nice to see some rabbits for a change.
They are few and far between over here.
Its also good to see the use of a hood, not many people use them nowadays which to me is a mistake and shows a lack of skill.
how do you work that out? ive never used a hood, I like my gos bomb proof, its each to their own, nothing to do with skill
Unfortunately a lot of guys don't know how to hood a bird.
It has nothing to do with making a hawk bombproof, - manning them does that,
But hooding does have a lot of advantages. Whether you choose to hood or not, that is your choice.
I wouldn't have a hawk if I couldn't hood it.
That's just my humble opinion and I'm not entering into a debate about it.
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Hi Sean
Its nice to see some rabbits for a change.
They are few and far between over here.
Its also good to see the use of a hood, not many people use them nowadays which to me is a mistake and shows a lack of skill.
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Hi Sean
Well done.
With practise, not many pheasants will get away from her when she learns to hold them by the head.
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im in a built up area, my male way noisey in his first year but I took him work with me doing nights out in my truck, yeah I still hear that noise today!! that was 6 years ago, wouldn't swap him for the world, the female I got as an older bird, she calls in the summer months breeding time, got a lad after her, she may go to him if I decied to go pr
Hi Bullet
Does your male donate???
yes mate he does
You could always breed one from your female.
My own female stands, lays and incubates.
I don't think it would be too hard to inseminate her.
You could give it a go yourself mate.
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im in a built up area, my male way noisey in his first year but I took him work with me doing nights out in my truck, yeah I still hear that noise today!! that was 6 years ago, wouldn't swap him for the world, the female I got as an older bird, she calls in the summer months breeding time, got a lad after her, she may go to him if I decied to go pr
Hi Bullet
Does your male donate???
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A good Avian vet is required to look at it.
It may need to be X-rayed to check it.
Forget taking it to a dog and cat vet as they generally know SFA about birds.
It is possible the bird has just bruised itself, but unfortunately they have small thin bones easily damaged..
If it was mine, I would rest him up until the vet has a chance to look at him.
How did he bump his wing, was he flying at the time?
Good luck with him
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Today I pulled my Parent reared German Gos.
He is a little rocket and great fun to fly.
The good thing about such a small male is there is always stuff to chase.
He usually flies around 1lb 5oz up to 1lb 6oz.
Any higher and he tends to stay out overnight...LOL
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Hi Redtail007
That is a good age to be running pups on.
The few times I bred a litter, I couldn't wait till they were old enough to be rehomed at 8 to 10 weeks.
I can't imagine anything more destructive than a litter of pups at that age
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Both Imprint and Parent reared have their advantages and disadvantages.
It all depends what you require.
If you get the bird at a decent age and do lots of positive manning,
a parent reared gos can become very steady but there is always a bit of fear factor with them.
I have never waked a bird, but from what the above posts have stated, the hawks are very tame at the end of the process.
The biggest issue I have with my imprinted female, is if she gets bored or frustrated, she will nail my Brittany.
Not very good for the dog and if he was a shy type of dog, it could have ruined him.
Parent reared hawks can also do this, but it is usually with less ferocity and less frequency IMHO.
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Hi Accip74
I like your suggestion about waking.
Unfortunately it requires a team of people to do it correctly and I don't have any mates that would be obliging enough to do a nightshift waking my bird as I slept ...LOL
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Hi bullet,
I personally prefer PR hawks.
They have their drawbacks, but to me they are easier to understand and get on with...no screaming/manteling, etc etc.
The thing with PR is you need to do a lot of manning at the beginning, though there are PR and then there are PR hawks.
What I mean is some breeders state they are selling PR birds, but they have been incubated and hand-fed for a week or two which means they are imprinted to a degree.
I prefer naturally bred and reared, then there are no surprising behaviours.
Hunting in company can be a problem with some hawks not tolerating strange dogs and crowds, whereas most imprints can be ok with them.
It all boils down to the skill of the austringer and the type of hunting you do.
For hunting pheasant at field meets I don't think you can beat a decent imprint.
For popping out on your own for a bit of mixed hawking, I would choose PR.
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I sympathise, David. It's a vicious circle to break out of, because rising pup prices mean rising stud fees and I've been told by vets that while some of the health checks are expensive, others are not, but the certificate pads that the vets have to use to record the results are just ridiculously priced, so they have to pass that on to the owners.
Viszlas seem to have exploded in popularity as pets too, recently. I wonder if this has pushed the price up, because there is a demand from people prepared to pay that sort of money? It's counter-productive in the long term (to me, anyway) because a high cost doesn't necessarily attract the right sort of owner. It's all well and good saying that per working year of the dog's life, it's not too bad but...
If you're going to be working your dog regularly, you've also got the other associated expenses, like decent weatherproof clothing, transport, cartridges, kennel etc.
If you could pay for the dog in installments for every year of the dog's life (which is never going to happen) then that argument would make sense - but £1,000 is more than 1 months' wages to many people and all in 1 lump sum, it is a heck of a lot, whichever way you slice it!
I'd also be very wary of paying anything like that for a breed (not getting at Viszlak here, coz I know there are some good working dogs in the UK) that hasn't got a really strong working base in the UK, because I'd want a gundog, not a pet that can dabble in gundog work and may or may not cut it in the field. If I wanted to import and establish an overseas breed (or revive a traditional native one that has become more of a show / pet) then I'd be offering experienced, working homes a hell of a good deal and asking for some honest feedback.
However, I am an old fashioned Luddite and an old lady
All I can say is take a trip to Ireland and look on Donedeal and take your chances!!!I totally agree Mossdog.
Vizslas have a bit of a dubious reputation.Some good, some not so good.
At £1000 its too much of a gamble for me, though I'll keep looking.....Perhaps I will look at Ireland.
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I will be flying my 7 year old male PR German gos, will pull him next month or so.
I may also get my 6 year old female imprint gos out later in the season. She has a knackered foot from 2 seasons ago and so far has struggled to hold quarry, which is a shame as she was a hell of a hawk in her day.
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Unfortunately Mossdog, some people see it as a way to make a fair bit of money.
I have been considering getting a Viszla pup, but can't seem to get one for much less than £1000. Not cheap.
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Totally agree with above post
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How can a picture tell you how much "graft" a dog has done?
Anyway, there are loads of dogs out there working to ground every weekend without getting badly marked.
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dee mac
I agree to a certain extent to what you are saying, BUT unfortunately there seems to be a load of folk jumping on the band-wagon so to speak and breeding any dog to any bitch without looking to produce a quality pup.
I have seen loads of dogs bred without any mention of working ability. There seems a demand for "poser" dogs by the general public and I am finding it rather difficult to source a well-bred HPR pup that isn't going for silly money.
Thinking Of A Redtail
in Falconry
Posted
That is something I totally agree with.
Get the hawk that you want and suits the terrain and quarry you have available.
I find it hard to re-home any one of my hawks and I always check on where they are going.
My old redtail, I gave her to a breeding home on a loan basis.
They can breed from her and sell any young, but they can't sell my redtail on. If anything happens she comes back to me.
I have an imprint gos with a damaged foot that I would do the same, but I haven't found the right home yet.