Must have materials to imprint a Goshawk

[kitana]

Hello all,

2017 will be the year for me to get and imprint my male goshawk After loosing my MHH to sudden death a few months ago, I am well and ready to go ahead to the next step for me. I'll use OC from the start with this bird.

However, I am NOT at all in love with a faconry bird in the house I figured I'm not the only one who can't tolerate poop on the floor or on the couch and bad smells. So, considering there are so many experienced falconers here who imprinted (together) dozens of goshawks, if not more, let's see what equipment or materials do you all deem an absolute necessity to facilitate imprinting an Accipiter?

Imprint tank, rubbermaid container, etc? And everything else! Help me make myself a "grocery list" of what I'll need if I want to succeed in this adventure!

[royale26]

Audrey,

I have had very good success keeping young goshawks in the house by utilizing a kids plastic pool and canvas painter tarps. The tarps can be washed and absorb the mutes, and the low sides of the pool catch 95% of the slices. Some falconers, abhor the idea of tying down a young raptor, but I had no problems with this as long as you tie them down very early on, before they know any better. Without living with an imprinted eyass goshawk through its first fall, I think that you will have a very hard time obtaining the results that you probably desire.

[keitht]

Are you planning on keeping it in the house?

I threw out what I used in my current Journal article: I put them in a small nest box made out of cardboard that I move them around in. I soon put that in a soft sided pet crate commonly sold at any pet supply store. They are cheap. They have mesh sides that stop most of the mutes. From there, I go to an imprint tank / box that is fairly large. They can be made on the cheap like mine, or made very nice, like Harry's. From there, I tie them on a shelf perch in the living room. I keep cheap outdoor carpeting spread around for the "overspray."

There is no real containment proof system when it comes to goshawks in the house. It's something I put up with until cool weather comes. I find that you pay a little now, keeping them indoors, or, pay a lot later and possibly forever for not. The messy part will pass soon enough. In 3 or 4 years you will find and remove the last remnants of floating down. LOL

Having said that, I'm sure that some others deploy a system where the bird is kept in the house little or none at all. That used to be my system many years ago but I've come to prefer the house method.

[wayf]

I use a kids play pen with the fine mesh, sides fold down for easy access. I keep 2 playpens and switch out when one need to be washed down. The fine mesh will catch 99% of the mutes. I find mine at yard sales and have never paid more than $15.00 for one. I have used the play pens for 40 + years. I place them in the middle of the room that way I can walk all around them. Large bath pan as a nest box. once they start jumping up on the sides I lay out tarps to catch mutes. When they refuse to stay in the pen I tie them to a floor perch again with tarps. Tarps can be washed daily while the eyas is weathering.

Use lots of air freshener!

Wayne

[goshawkr]

Audrey,

Looking forward to hearing about your progress on this adventure.

The must have list for an imprint goshawk is:

1) goshawk.

Thats it!! Really.

To more seriously address your question though, here is how I handle raising a goshawk in the house.

I have a basket with low sides (about 2cm) that I stuff full of fresh evergreen needles about once a week. The gases from these needles seem to have antifungal properties, but whatever the reason this closely mimics what a young goshawk is being raised on out there in the wild, and nature usually knows best.

When I want the young goshawk to be able to get down and play (and its a ton of fun to play with them when they are young), I will place this basket directly on the floor and they will run off and explore. When I want them to just hang out, but dont want them running around, the basket goes up high, but on something very stable so that they dont knock it over when they step to the edge to mute.

Baby goshawks have an intense fear of heights. This shuts off instantly one day when they are about fledging age. I use this to my advantage. I have a small stool that I built for my nest basket to keep it very secure, and even thought it only holds the basket 22cm off the ground, this is enough to trigger the terror in a large down goshawk so they dont jump off to go play. It is important to remember this fear because you need to make sure they feel securely supported any time they are picked up. I have picked them up with my hands by forming a secure basket under them with my fingers, but usually when I need to carry them around they are herded into the basket I mentioned and I carry that around. If you just pick them up you can create a fear of your hands because they will associate your hand with the terror of not being supported. When the 22cm stool is not enough height to keep the baby hawk from going exploring, I can get a few more days of containment by using a much taller one, but this will only work for a short time. Once the fear is gone, they have the ability to glide and as soon as they realize this the only way to contain them is with walls or tieing them down.

I have a small collection of old blankets, and this is what I cover things with to contain the mess. They wash easy in the washing machine, and keep the couch and floor out of danger. Usually if I put the basket on the stool in the center of a large blanket, the mess wont get anywhere else.

I am currently using a very large clear plastic tub with a snap on lid as a way to keep them contained while I am asleep, for travel in the car, etc. I have two so that I always have a clean one to rotate in, and I cut a big hole in the lid and covered that with plastic coated hardware cloth so there is plenty of fresh air getting in.

Once they reach fledgling age, they are pretty easy to contain by tying them down. I put an indoor tail saver perch centered on one of those blankets I mentioned and the mess is nicely contained. As was mentioned, this goes best if you introduce the idea of tying them down when they are very young (about 4 weeks old) so that they are used to the idea that their leg movement is restricted.

I also start OC on day one, like you indicate you will do. My primary shaping project is lure training. Before they can walk well, I have them running to the lure and footing it with gusto (and with a lot of laughing on my part as they fall over while footing the lure). My current goshawk will usually come instantly to the lure at a range of over 800 meters, and she has never seen more than a few tidbits attached to the lure in her life.

If you sit and think of the things that you will train your hawk to do when out hunting, almost all of them can be accomplished while you are waiting for them to grow up so that when it is time to hit the hunting fields, they are all polished and ready to go. You have a good 6 weeks of time waiting for your baby hawk to grow up or so. Its time you can put to good use if you plan it out well.

Also remember, there are some core instincts that draw goshawks and other accipiters. For example, they are instinctively drawn to individual trees and even more so to stands of forest. But anything you expose your baby goshawk to as it is growing up will be considered "normal" without any fuss. Its good to look ahead to what you think you may want your goshawk to accept and bring that exposure when its very young.

[HGlider]

https://www.amazon.com/Fencing-Certi...ing+mask&psc=1

[HGlider]

I kid just a little. It is perfectly safe as long as you notice the subtle body language. Also I remember the crest being a lot higher maybe 6 inches or more.

[red_tailed]

This is def a thread I need to follow. I too have plans to pull a female goshawk this spring (have a few nests pegged) so I def need to get my ducks in a row. I'm also lucky in that I live only 15-20 min from Dan Pike (depending on border wait times) so that will be of great help. When is the best time to start introducing the hood? I absolutely hate having a bird that doesn't hood

Bob
BC Canada

[Dillon]

Harry McElroy's outline in his Desert Hawking series has some good options for someone who doesn't want to live with an eyas in the house, and he transitions to the mews rather quickly.

[goshawkr]

When is the best time to start introducing the hood? I absolutely hate having a bird that doesn't hood

Both McElroy and McDermott suggest introducing the hood from day one by way of a lot (dozens) of little sessions where you place the good on the baby hawk's head, but do not cinch down the braces scattered throughout the day. Once the skeleton is fully developed (~5 weeks old or so) then you can strike the braces and quickly take the hood back off.

I have done this, and liked the results. However, I found it works just as well to introduce the hood when I start flying them. There is a bit of intial fuss, but they settle in quickly. I keep hooding as part of the daily routine. Although having said that, you would probably be amused at how animated the discussion is with my 5 year old goshawk about whether or not she really has to wear her hat.

[red_tailed]

That's interesting to hear about the hooding. I'm currently flying a female Finnish bird for a friend of mine. She doesn't hood and there have been countless times where it has surely been needed. I think the fear of pissing off and possibly ruining an imprint gos stops more falconers from hooding their goshawks.

Bob
BC Canada

[goshawkr]

I think the fear of pissing off and possibly ruining an imprint gos stops more falconers from hooding their goshawks.

I would agree.

Pissing off a goshawk, particularly an imprint, is not something to be taken lightly. However, they are not nearly as delicate [mentally] as they are made out to be. My suggestion is to be as delicate as you can and do your best to avoid upsetting them, and when they get upset anyway just remain calm and diffuse the situation as much as you can. Certainly do all you can to avoid adding to the fuss.

For me and my goshawks with regards to hooding - once the hood comes out it is going on. I do it as gracefully as I can, and after 2 decades I have learned some tricks to get it on. But if that means they hang gently like a bat for a few minutes while the hood goes on so be it. Eventually, the hood becomes a positive because from their point of view all the scary stuff goes away when the hood is on, including the hood iteslf. provided that the hood fits well.

If you know Operant Conditioning there are a lot of ways to polish up hood manners in a goshawk. Even though I am good at OC, I usually dont bother to make that a formal project. But hooding certainly could go onto the list of OC games to play while the baby goshawk is growing up.

I just hood each and every day while being handled, and let the routine work itself out. So long as I can get the hood on within 5 minutes I am satisfied.

[red_tailed]

The only other gos I flew was a 3 year old imprint I got secondhand. She hadn't been hooded for 2 years and spent those 2 years in a mews. I did a bunch of OC to get her to get going with the hood but she eventually got it. I also did a bunch of "arm drops" for exercise on days not flown. Hood goes on, drop arm in a circular motion 10x, whistle hood comes off and there was food. Hood goes back on and repeat. I would do 100+ arm drops in less than 10 minutes. Afterwards she was tired and she got her rewards. Sure do miss that bird.

Bob
BC Canada

[kitana]

Wow, thanks for the participation, I guess I'm not the only one to wonder about the subject!

Geoff, the idea of placing the nest box high upon a stool is genius. How did you come up with that? I mean, it's a baby bird, and birds nest up high and... oh... I see... LOL

That would be lots easier to manage at my workplace since floor space is very limited, and could be replaced with a high perch when the bird starts branching. Painter's cloth on the walls behind it, and being ready to wash the floor in front of it often, is much easier for me and my coworkers than dealing with a baby playpen or a huge rubbermaid box.

I'm very interested by what Harry McElroy does to imprint a bird while keeping it outside. I'm ready to have this bird inside for a few months, maybe until the end of its first hunting season, but no more than that, and even that will be a hassle. I got two old old old cats in the house, with no teeth left and one is declawed, but I don't want to risk anything, and I'd prefer not to have my home smell like my aviary...

If some have pictures of their setups to share, that would be great! I saw a few here and there on different threads, but having a collection of them on the same thread would be nice I think.

Thanks again!

[goshawkr]

Audrey,

Thats exactly why I like the nest/basket on the stool. Its versatile, simple, dosnt take up much room. Its also very easy to improvise if you take your baby hawk to a BBQ or some such. I learned the trick from my local friends who flew goshawks, and I keep scratching my head when I see these more complicated ideas catching on.

It would be very easy for you to tranisition from the stool to a rundrick (now a days often commonly called a pole perch for some reason). Although I think you might have a short period of time when your baby hawk is too old for the stool and too young for the rundrick. I dunno though, because I have never actually used a rundrick.

In terms of the method McElroy uses to move them outside, its very simple. Just leave them in the mew/weathering yard for gradually increasing periods. Make sure you keep your social time, especially in the september time frame. But you dont need to be around them 24x7. Goshawks are very social animals. They will crave your company and want to hang out with you. But much like domesticated cats, they also will crave some alone time. I think it might actually drive goshawks a bit mad to not give them any alone time.

[kitana]

You know, I think I'll get along well with a goshawk: I can be driven crazy if not given enough alone time myself! LOL

So the stool idea is here to stay! I knew this thread would be beneficial in some way!

And what about night time? Would a simple dark rubbermaid box turned upside down over the bird do the trick, or would it be better to introduce and use a hawk box (giant hood) as night quarters right from the start?

I may be splitting hairs here, but I'd rather do it theoretically, months in advance, rather than in real life when the hawk is here!

I'll be getting a baby English setter from France at around the same time... Oh joy... What have I done... LOL

[goshawkr]

You know, I think I'll get along well with a goshawk: I can be driven crazy if not given enough alone time myself! LOL

So the stool idea is here to stay! I knew this thread would be beneficial in some way!

And what about night time? Would a simple dark rubbermaid box turned upside down over the bird do the trick, or would it be better to introduce and use a hawk box (giant hood) as night quarters right from the start?

I may be splitting hairs here, but I'd rather do it theoretically, months in advance, rather than in real life when the hawk is here!

I'll be getting a baby English setter from France at around the same time... Oh joy... What have I done... LOL

you could let your baby goshawk sleep in the basket on the stool if you are certain that cats/dogs/etc. will not be a danger and if you are certain that the nest cant get knocked off the stool by the baby hawk's activities. Or put the basket into a box for the night. The giant hood idea is not bad either, but you run into some

Something else to keep in mind. Baby hawks stand up and walk backwards in a spiral pattern to the edge of the nest and then evacuate. This creates a very randomized pattern on the ground, and this means you need to be prepared for a circle around the stool to get splattered in hawk poo. Its really bizarre how a 7 day old baby goshawk that can barely hold its head up will suddenly rally its strength, stand up, and walk back to the edge of the nest.

This might all make for a problem if you want your baby hawk to sleep in the giant hood. The need room to lay down, and to walk their circle backwards until they are about 60+ days old. You could use a big cardboard box for them to sleep in during this time though.