I really appreciate this. It is very helpful. I am an apprentice in the States and just got my first Harris last Sunday. He's coming along, but can be quite stubborn at times. He loves to pull out his jesses when he's in the mew. Like the feather idea. He nipped me a few times on the first day or two, but I did my best not to pull back and kept at it so he gave up.
Thank you, I hear so many falconers throw around the term ‘positive reinforcement’ without fully understanding it so I thought it would be a nice thing to include and explain
Great video, this channel is an awesome resource, it has given so much useful information as I’m about to start my apprenticeship here in the U.S. I had a question, what books or text were you referring to when talking about old falconry techniques? I’m interested in looking more into the history. Thank you!
Awesome video. I am now interested in something I never thought I would be interested in. How often do you need to keep up with training, and how often does the bird need to be taken out? I imagine quite often yeah? Do you have experience with owls? Pros/cons with them?
Very nice work. I appreciate you taking time to share your passion. I am learning as I am going to apply these skills to perch and flight training my young peacocks. THANK YOU!!
Excellent Video !!! I was waiting for this one, thanks. One question: what do you do with the bird once you put on the equipment? You said in this vid that you don´t like the " awaiking " process and I agree with you, so please can you tell me exactly what you do from the moment you put on his equipment? you keep him on the glove and start to touch him with a feather? for how long? ? you put him on a perch ? If you can tell mi what did you do with your Harris once you put on him the equipment that would be very helpful for me. thanks
I put the equipment on and then put them on a perch because a new bird typically is not very happy with the procedure. Then the next day I would pick her up and just find a quiet place to just sit with her on the glove, I only start to use the feather once I have sat with her enough times for her to not bait if the feather approaches her
@@MercerFalconry mi bird has not yet the equipment, all will put it on in a couple of days but today almost get him to eat on the glove without any equipment, you can see the vid here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eyR3I9LkDO8.html Finally can you tell me what do you give her ( harris ) in a one week food? thanks
Excellent work!!! It’s tough to say how much she eats in a week, if she’s only having day old chicks then it will typically be 2 to 3 a day but as she is on a varied diet and has beef and quail I have to decide how much she eats each day depending on her weight that day
Another great video smashed out the park Dan. I know you said you don't want to annoy your bird by Manning to long and I guess this is different for each bird but do you have a rough idea of how long you man for and when you say always end on a positive , in guessing you mean food reward , would that be a chick from the birds daily food quota.
Thanks, it’s tough to say, some birds I have spent less than an hour a day whereas I have spent a few hours a day with others. And no ending on a positive doesn’t always mean a food reward, if the hawk is nice and relaxed and so are you when she goes back on the perch that’s a success
Thank you so much for making these videos! I find them to be very informative, I also love your calm and easy nature in explaining things. When you work with the feather, does it need to be a feather from the same kind of bird of prey? Can an eagle feather be used with a hawk, or can they tell/see/smell the difference and then find it threatening?
Hello, not very clued up on any kind of falconry but I gather there comes a stage where you no longer have the bird on a string and trust it? Do you know when to trust it and will the bird come back to you if you let it go?
When she is flown she is free and can go wherever she likes (she wears a tiny radio tracker) but when she isn’t flying and I am carrying her somewhere or she is on a perch having a sunbathe and bath she is tethered with a leash
I breed mice for my snake , had a hawk appear yesterday and I ended up feeding him 8 mice , the last 3 , it came right up to me and ate it on the ground . It would be the highlight of my life if I could get this beautiful bird to be friends with me .
Hi Dan. I've just taken charge of my first ever hawk, a 4 month old male Harris. I'm 6 days into the Manning process and feel we are making positive progress. He now takes food from the glove and grows more and more comfortable with my presence - he even allows gentle stroking of his chest. The one thing we both seem hesitant about is actually getting on to the glove. I can tease him into getting one foot on but not the other - although today I noted he seems to be 'thinking about it'. I have tried a more direct approach but this doesn't produce a result and I don't want to upset his otherwise clear progress otherwise. Any suggestions? TIA Martin Woollatt Cadaval, Portugal
Unrelated Question: How far apart are your vertical bars in the falcon weathering? I'm about to construct and need to know whats best. can bars be put on the inside and mesh on the outside (problem with pine martins where I'm located). Cheers
@@MercerFalconry right im infatuated with hawks. Intrested in how you can bind with them but i never wanna be ill informed i never wanna put one of these gorgeous birds or those around me in danger so ive been researching it for the past 2 days. Wanna be fully educated before i step into this and make it a lifestyle
@@MercerFalconry right. Im excited and would love to rush into it but i know i need to be aware of every aspect before i can. I also know i keed to become a lisenced falconer in the state of new york to even be able to own a hawk. So ill have to know all there is too know and pass that test with 80 percent or above before i can even start training one. I will frequent your channel as well as reading up on it so i appreciate you for walking us threw the steps and showing us the proper ways to care and handle these birds of prey 💯 🙏
@@MercerFalconry Is there any other way I can text without having the world see what I am texting about Dan? You would be interested in what I have to say.
Training can be done at any age but for a Harris hawk I wouldn’t even take one away from its parents until it’s at least 18 weeks old and then train it from there
Lots of good info 😁 I hav a query for you that I can't seem to get any useful info in books or on line 😑 In January I borrowed a 5yr old Female HH to put along with my 3yr old Male during the Molt. In May two chicks hatched, in July one of the chicks became vocal in the Aviary, she is still quite vocal ☹. Will this pass or is there anything I can do to help her to be less vocal ? Please help 🙏 ps - she is quiet at night and generally quiet during flying or while sitting on the fist. One rainy day I had her in my office away from the others and she reminded quiet then too.
Hi mate love the vids. I have a question if you have the time to answer. Me and my grandad are both really interested in falconry and hoping to have our first bird in the not too distant future. We was hoping to have one Harris hawk between us that we would both look after, would that be viable or is it usually a 1 on 1 process?
That sounds like a lovely idea, as long as you are both taking part in bits of training and flying a Harris hawk will definitely be able to make a bond with both of you!
@@MercerFalconry thanks for the reply :). I have noticed that you aren’t too far from where I live. Where is the best place to send you a query about an experience day?
I’m not really running the experience days at the moment, with my birds having so much time off with the bird flu I really need to make sure they are ready for displays, once I have finished with displays for the year I will get them ready to start experience sessions again
@@MercerFalconry that’s fair enough mate 👍🏼 it wasn’t so much a flying experience that I was after anyway more of a couple hours of educational and technical stuff. No worries all the best 👍🏼
My brahminy kite is not at all letting me to put on those anklets, ? Im just worried if I do it with force it's gonna lose it's trust on me and be scared the next time it sees me! Is there anything you can suggest?
I have seen it happen to people in the past, try to make sure she’s never in a position to be able to reach up to your face, and try not to be hesitant around her because of it, if you are she will know and try to take advantage further
I am trying my first night of taming. The only way i can get my harris on the glove Is with the Hood on. Is it possible to leave the hood on all night long? My problem Is that if i take it off it goes crazy. Any suggestions please?
Absolutely, I have left hoods on birds overnight many times during training and when I am at shows my falcons sleep with their hoods on, a have friends who always hood their hawk overnight
I currently own a poultry farm and I've been having issues with stray cats and other small animals surrounding the area at night. Is there any possibility for a hawk to be free during the day and hunt this little creatures? My dogs are doing their best, but they can only catch cats. Any experience or info would be appreciated.
Sorry for the late reply, i have only just seen your comment! it wouldnt really be practical for a hawk to do this job, cat scratches and bites can be very dangerous to birds of prey so it wouldnt be safe for the hawk. with all the other little creatures, its unlikely the hawk would even go after anything small, and if she did, once she had caught one she would sit for the rest of the day and do nothing. it would be much better for you to set up boxes with break back rat and mouse traps, if you contact a local pest controller they would be able to help you.
@@MercerFalconry yo hablo castellano .No se ingles pero tradusco con el traductor .I speak Spanish. I don't know English but I translate with the translator.
Good point Off topic but Personally I want to get into falconry but the main problem I have with it is how to get enough money and still have time for the bird
More babble!!, every time i see someone telling people how to train a hawk & they haven't got a decent whistle round their neck i think "Amateur". I have trained Sparrow hawks, Goshawks & Harris hawks & its as good as useless to not have them trained to a mechanical whistle, you can not rely on your gob to deliver every time, especially if you have just run 1/2 mile after a flight!!. If a hawk was on my fist a refs whistle was around my neck & that hawk was trained to that whistle. One blast & my hawks responded without fail, & if they didn't they were on a kill. All the Hawk & Falcons i have trained in the last 50 years know the whistle well.
I am really enjoying your channel. I am a newly licensed apprentice falconer in the US. My sponsor and I are in the process of trapping my first passage red-tail and I am most appreciative of any videos about manning. I'd seen the use of the feather before but not to move your hand up closer and closer along the feather until you are touching your bird. That is one more thing I will incorporate when I finally have my bird. Thank you!
@@MercerFalconry Today was the day! I trapped a tiercel juvenile red-tail hawk! He's only 949 grams but feather perfect. I had him on the glove a couple hours this evening after leaving him hooded after getting him home and all his equipment on this morning. He did take a few small bites of meat from the tongs so hopefully he'll begin to trust me soon!
A juvenile hawk was perched outside in my garden here in South Africa. How do i establish a relationship with such a wild hawk? what do i feed it? i am (if i may say so) and expert dog trainer and have always found out local hawks fascinating and this year noticed this young one hanging around my house. Thanks for your excellent video.
