Before
you get your bird it is a good idea to prepare a training routine. There’s
more than one ‘right’ way to train a bird, you need to pick which way suits
you the best and stick to it.
Because
I’m training a Harris Hawk I need to avoid the bird seeing me as a food source
to prevent imprinting and screaming. The hawk should see me as a source of
opportunities to hunt for its own food. To do this I need to get her hunting as
soon as possible and after the initial training avoid feeding her myself. The bird will get most of its
tidbits by moving away from me.
Here’s my training routine
Day one
Pick up the bird at teatime. Put on the anklets, leg bell and jessies at the breeders after giving the bird a thorough examination. Check her eyes, mouth, beak, legs, feet, talons, wings, tail, feathers and vent.
When home get her out in a secure dim lit room. Weigh her, spray her with anti mite then put her on the bow perch on the lawn and leave her to get used to her new equipment, being tethered and her new surroundings. Before dark put her in the aviary on the bow perch, place carpet under it to protect her feathers when she bates. If it’s sunny put her straight in the aviary instead of the lawn so she doesn’t get too hot. Don’t offer her any food at this point. She might not sit on the perch she’s never seen one before.
First week
She
will stay tethered to the bow perch in a open front aviary for the next 10 days
so when I start to train her she will be used to, her equipment, being tethered
/ restricted, and familiar with her new surroundings and me.
When
she was in the aviary with her parents she had access to food whenever she
wanted it that ends now. When I start to train her she will only be fed once a
day during a half hour flying session. To get her used to feeding for a
30-minute period, each morning she will be offered as much food as she wants on
a feeding draw, but the food will be tied onto the draw and removed after 30
minutes. Before the draw is inserted the whistle is blown so she starts to associates the
whistle with food. The food is removed after 30 minutes to condition her
appetite. She will learn that food is only available for a short period each day
and what she eats has to last her the rest of the day. She will also learn that
food follows the whistle. She will be offered food twice a day until she realises what’s
happening and feeds, after that once a day. Avoid getting into a routine where
you open the shed door get the food put it in the aviary. This may cause her to
think the door has opened food is coming, you want her to associate the whistle
with food not any other noises so vary the timings. At no point should she see
you with any food or at feeding time. If she takes a few days before she feeds
don’t worry it will knock a bit of weight off her and she will start to learn
what hunger feels like.
Second week
By
now you should know roughly how much food she is eating each day. Don’t feed
her on day 10 morning. She gets no more food until she feeds off the glove. She
will only be fed chicks and rabbit with vitamins during the training so it will
be easier to control her weight
On Friday, day 10 / Start of training
Day
10 evening pick up the hawk and hood her in the aviary. Weigh her and record it (-
the hood). Go to a quiet part of the garden slacken the hoods braces wait for
10-20 second then remove the hood, by delaying the removal of the hood it will
prevent the bird in the future pulling her head back as you loosen the braces,
this must be done each time. When
she bates help her back onto the fist, do this until she is stood settled on the
glove no matter how long it takes, whistle and offer her a large slashed piece of rabbit and see if she will
eat. If she bates lift her back up. Its better to do it outside there’s more
going on so it’s a bigger achievements. Always weigh the food so you
know how much she’s had and how it affects her weight.
Don’t
look at her at all, look past her, stay relaxed and move slowly. When she’s looking around
twitch the meat so she looks at it. Give her 30 minutes to eat then put her back in the
aviary
or on the lawn. If she doesn’t feed try
the next morning and then the evening until she does, hooding and noting her
weight each time. When she eventually takes a bite let her have a good feed then
man her for as long as you can. She gets no food until she eats on the fist.
Manning / Hood training
Once
she feed off the fist manning should properly start. To begin with
sit quietly with the bird on the fist when she has settled and stopped bateing
stroke her chest with the hood. Then put it on. Leave it for a few seconds then
take it off. Put it on again, occasionally do up the braces then undo them and
wait awhile before removing the hood. Increase the length of time the hood stays
on for over the next few days. While the hood is off introduce her to something
new slowly walk around with her, show her the ferrets, dogs etc take her inside
then take her onto the street. Only progress when your bird has shown she can
cope with what she’s being exposed to. If she starts getting very unsettled
hood her, let her settle then take off the hood again. Spend a while with her on
the fist just watching TV or reading so she gets used to being with you. Stroke
her all over with a feather to get her used to being touched. Always show your
bird there's nothing in your hand before putting it up to her feet so she wont
be tempted to grab you thinking you have food.
The day after she feeds on the fist
To
avoid screaming never
get your bird onto the fist in the aviary with food. Go in slowly and low and
pick her up, she will eventually stop bating. Hood her and weigh her. Put a
piece of meat on the glove, whistle, remove the hood and let her feed. She may
think that she can't get anywhere from the bow perch through bating, It could
put her off coming to you so use a low T perch in the training from now on.
With the end of the leash tied to the glove place a piece of meat on the glove
just out of the birds reach, whistle and tap on the glove, this
signal must be given each time you call her from now on. This is a big step for
her so give her a while. She will lean forward trying to reach it, she must
not be aloud the food unless she jumps. When she jumps, as she eats the meat on
the glove toss a tidbit to the ground. The hawk should jumps down to it and
learn that the glove is a good place to find food from. Repeat the exercise but
increase the distance slightly. Hide the food in the glove and then call her, if
she wont jump tilt your hand for a moment to show her the food is there, as she lands
on the glove toss a tidbit on
the floor. I am trying to get her to jump to the bare glove and then fly away from
me for the reward to avoid the bird seeing me as a food source
and prevent imprinting and screaming. Do this until she comes the length of the leash.
After the initial jump and when she
starts to get the idea, If she doesn’t come within a minute or so finish on the last thing she has done and then man her. Extra manning should be
done with the bird at this point. In the evening put her into the
travel box to spend the night. The next morning put her back on the bow
perch. Do this each night to get her used to the box and being picked up.
A few Harris hawks bate from their owners because they learn they only get a rewards when they are called back to the fist. The above way, the bird gets a reward from being on the fist.
After
she’s Jumped to you
Always
start with the last thing she did the previous day. Once a routine is
established, all that’s needed is to increase the distance of the flights
using the creance and increased the length of time the bird sits on the fist
before the tidbit is served. Occasional tidbit can be offered on the glove. Only call her 6-8 times during these training
session. Remember it is better that she comes a short distance quick than a long
distance in her own time. Wait 30
seconds for her to come, if she doesn’t come reduce the distance and cut her
food for the day. When she lands on the fist she can be walked about so she can
find her own food, which you can hide behind bushes logs travelling box etc.
Always fly her into the wind and have a foot on the creance line for safety.
When she is coming a distance over 25-30 feet training should be done away from
home. If the hawk is coming before you call her it’s could be a
sign her weight is too low. The plectrum with bell and telemetry mount can be
fitted at this point ready for when you fly her free, If it was fitted with the
rest of the equipment she might have pulled at it and pulled out her deck
feathers. She should be a lot st
The
rabbit lure
If your bird grabs hold of a live rabbit on its back she will get dragged about until she get hold of the rabbit’s head. During dummy bunny training to help your bird learn this before it actually takes on a fit healthy rabbit, when your bird catches the dummy bunny, keep shaking it until the bird grabs hold of its head then stop and let her have the reward which should also be placed on the bunny’s head.
When the hawk will come 50 feet instantly on the creance, the next step
is to shown her the dummy bunny. When you drag the bunny
shout “Ho” she should go for it, shake it gently until she grabs the
head then stop. Move in slowly and low with a
tidbit on your glove, once she's had the tidbit and reward from the bunny throw a tidbit to the side just out of her reach and keep hold of the
bunny. When she lets go of the bunny to get the tidbit put the bunny in your bag
without her seeing it as she eats. When she gets used to chasing, you joining
her on the catch and the trade off you can start using a real dead rabbit.
Have ready a lot of rabbit tidbits in your bag. When she catches the real
dead rabbit give her a moment to pull at it then move in slowly and low with a
tidbit on your glove. Help her to get food from the carcass and also use the bits from your bag, don’t let her see you getting the bits from
your bag make out they are coming from the rabbit. When she’s almost had her
rations and she starts to release her grip cover the rabbit with your bag and
throw a tidbit to the side and do the trade off. Your bird should look forward to you joining her on a
kill as she thinks you will help her get the food quicker.
Flying free / Hunting
There
is no need to do any more training after the bird has been introduce to the
bunny, or fly the hawk free before hunting. Go to a place which holds
plenty of game. Test her response on the creance from a high perch if her
response is good. Take the creance off, put on the flying Jessies and try and
find her something to chase. The rest of the training can be done during hunting. If
she doesn’t catch anything finish on the dummy bunny which can be set up in
bushes and pulled as you beat the bush so the bird starts to learn to expect quarry to be
flushed by you. So far she has only flown 50-100 foot in a straight
line, she will need to learn flying skills now, turns, flying in wind, landing
in trees etc, which
she will do by herself. If she is out of position for a flush, she will soon
learn the error of her ways. Her
fitness level must also be worked on. On days where it’s not possible to fly,
jump ups must be done to build up the hawk’s fitness levels. See Jump ups below
This
is were the hunting weight of the bird has to be assessed a Harris hawk will
chase a rabbit and at the last second throw up in the air or if they miss, sit
and watch the rabbit run away. These symptoms are an indication that the hawk is
over their true hunting weight. To
catch rabbits consistently a Harris’s hawk must fly hard, crash into bushes,
and rebound in pursuit after a miss. If
it doesn’t do these things it’s too heavy, its weight must be dropped.
When
your bird makes her first kill dispatch it then take your time help her feed
from it and give her a good crop. After the first kill, try very hard for an
unbroken string of kills on successive days. After she had 10 kills she can
start making multiple kills and be introduced to other hawks. Tidbits at this
point should be a lot smaller then the initial training period tidbits.
Following on
Always walk into the wind and ensure there is a suitable landing place in front of you. Cast the hawk into a tree or on a post and head towards the next landing place. As you hear the bird flying towards you from behind whistle and offer her your glove, when she lands give her a tidbit. Put her back in a tree and do it again. Put her back in a tree but don't offer her the glove when she come and only whistle when she lands in front of you then offer the glove and give her a tidbit. Carry on like this but slowly increase the amount of times she flies in front of you before whistling and rewarding her.
The swinging lure
The
swinging lure is useful for recalling a hawk which is a long way away or one
which is lost. It should be introduced after she is flying loose and after she
is chasing the dummy bunny well. Begin the same way as with the dummy bunny but
give a constant whistle signal and put a large amount of food on it. If you do
need to use it the bird will defiantly come expecting a big easy meal when it
hears a constant whistle. Don’t over use the swinging lure it is for
emergencies
Self-hunting
If you haven't got a dog, to prevent your bird self-hunting she must think that you produce all the quarry so you need to work hard every clump of grass, bush, log pile etc must be bashed. Letting your bird look for food herself is teaching her to self-hunt.
Ferreting
It’s
a good idea to position the ferret hutch so the hawk can see them during the day
and get used to how they look and move etc. When you first go ferreting the bird
must be held on the glove. The ferret should be put down the hole in front of
the bird so the hawk can watch what’s going on. When a rabbit bolts the bird
should be held until the rabbit is heading away from the warren other wise
disaster can strike, the rabbit may go into another hole, the hawk will land on
top of the warren and the ferret will come out looking for the rabbit and walk
straight into the hawk. After a while and a few bolted and caught rabbits the
hawk will realise the ferret is producing the rabbits and will start to ignore
it. Once the hawk has accepted the ferret as part of the hunting team it can be
put up a tree to get an advantage but care should still be taken, the rabbit
might stop at the entrance of the hole and the ferret grabs hold of it just as
the hawk does.
Lamping
The best time to start lamp training is when it starts to get darker earlier. By now the bird should have caught a few rabbits and learnt to get hold of their heads. If lamping were done before this point the hawk would get dragged about and kicked a lot and not being able to see what’s going on properly could put her off hunting at night. Training starts exactly the same as training in the day. Get her to feed on the fist with the lamp, then jump to the fist then fly to the fist increasing the distance she flies each time. Once her response is good and she’s built up her confidence flying at night she can be taken lamping to a place that holds plenty of rabbits. A good night must be picked with a slight wind to cover your noise. Always walk into the wind to avoid the rabbits picking up your scent. The dummy bunny can be used at the end of the night if you’ve been unsuccessful. Her weight may have to be reduced slightly, her response should be the same as when she’s hunting in the day, flying hard, crashing into brushes, and carry on chasing after a miss. Farms with sheep wire fences should be avoided when lamping.
Jump ups
Have lots of tiny tidbits in your bag. Place the bird on the lawn, with the creance on if she is not fully trained. Hold your fist almost directly above her so she will have to fly vertically to get to it. Call her to the fist with a tap on the glove and a whistle. When she lands on the glove toss a tidbit to her starting position on the floor. She will fly back down. Repeat this but don’t always give her food, lower your arm down to the floor when she doesn’t get a tidbit. When her beak opens she is getting tired give her a few more jumps then give her a rest before carrying on, If she starts to gape again straight after a rest she is really tired. The fitter she becomes the more she will be able to do. A fit strong bird can easily do 200+ jumps in one quick session.