Starter Pack

 

The items shown are the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM for the training and maintenance of any bird-of-prey used for falconry. Please note that this is NOT a lower-quality range of equipment, but is selected from our normal range, world-renowned for quality, style and durability. The Harris' Hawk or Redtailed Buzzard are widely-regarded as the best for a beginner, although other species of birds can also be catered for.

ACCOMMODATION

Most of all, make sure you have the correct housing, food and equipment before your bird arrives. The correct accommodation for a falconry bird is not an aviary, but should be a fully-enclosed "mews" (a modified wooden shed is OK) for initial training and afterwards every night. During the day the bird is "weathered" - tethered to its perch, with a bath within reach, if possible on a lawn, but under a lean-to-shelter (a "weathering shelter") in case of bad weather or very hot summer sun. The weathering lawn may need to be fenced to keep out dogs or foxes if no-one is around to look after the hawk. Domestic cats are not usually a problem.

Essential Items

Purpose

Special Offer

FREE Vest
or
FREE Bag/Strap

with every starter pack

ESSENTIALS OF TRAINING

Training is a surprisingly short process. A Harris hawk can be trained to fly totally free and retrun to the falconer in about 3 weeks, or even less.

1. Weight control The hawk must be a little hungry when flown, as it ONLY returns to the falconer for food. It is weighed at the beginning of the training, and the falconer will expect to reduce the fat weight of the hawk by about 10% to start with, and will adjust this "flying weight" a little if necessary.

2. "Manning" This is a process whereby the hawk is makde steady to all the things it has to see when in a captive state. The hawk is firstly expected to take food on the glove, which will require a reduction in weight to make it hungry enough to do this. Afterwards, the hawk can be carried around whilst eating. This can help to take its mind off any scary sights and sounds. To make the meal last longer, we use "tirings", which are pieces of meat with bones in , which the hawk can only eat slowly. The longer the meal lasts, the more manning the hawk gets every day. If you try to man the hawk without tiring, it will take much longer, and it will never be as steady as one which is manned using tirings. HAWKS KEPT AT THEIR FAT WEIGHT DO NOT MAN.

REMEMBER: Hawks return to the falconer for food, NOT for affection, and must be a little hungry when flown. Appetite is induced by weight reduction ONLY. It is not possible to start training without weight control.

Diet

All birds of prey eat raw meat only. It is common to feed a day-old chicks, but this diet is not sufficient on its own. You should feed a varied diet, including possibly rabbits, quail, rats or mice, along with a vitamin/mineral supplement.

Jess set (anklets, mews and flying jesses)

Leash swivel

Line used as a safeguard during training, before the hawk is allowed to fly free

Hawking Vest or bag with strap

*Free with the starter pack

For Male Harris Hawk

For Female Harris, Male or Female Redtail

£330.00 (plus £18.00 p&p) including free vest or bag and strap

£340.00 (plus £18.00 p&p) including free vest or bag and strap

Prices will vary for other species. Please contact us for further information if necessary. When ordering we need the following information:

1. Species and sex of hawk

2. Hand tracing for glove size, faxed or by post, not e-mailed

3. Chest size/height for vest if required

It is also possible to vary the items in the pack (eg balance scales/weights instead of digital or portable instead of outdoor bowperch), with a price adjustment as necessary.

CHOICE OF HAWK

There are differing opinions, but if you intend to go an to take wild quarry, a Harris' hawk is very user-friendly, robust, and easy to train and handle. You could also consider a redtailed buzzard, although they are slightly harder for a beginner. With any bird that will not generally catch anything its usefulness ends as soon as it is trained, whereas the Harris' or redtail will go on taking quarry and improving over months or years. AVOID anything small, like a barn owl or kestrel, and there is no margin for error with weight, NEVER think of the hard birds like goshawks, sparrowhawks or eagles until you are very experienced. Some of the middle-sized to larger falcons are relatively easy to train, but will ALWAYS need to be flown with radio-tracking equipment. You may be interested in owls, and some species can be flow successfully, and some will even take quarry. However, if it is your intention to fly at quarry you may be giving yourself a very hard time.

RADIO TRACKING EQUIPMENT

A Harris' or redtail, trained properly and flown at the correct weight is unlikely to be lost, but they ARE regularly lost by inexperienced falconers, and it is likely most will not survive in the wild. Tacking equipment in NOT a shortcut to training a hawk properly, but is the next best thing to a guarantee that you will bet your hawk back if anything unforeseen occurs, and is therefore well worth considering if it can be afforded. A good system is probably going to cost more than the bird, but remember that you keep the system for many years, and it will help to locate lost hawks time and time again. NEVER buy a cheap system. You will not have an effective guarantee if it goes wrong, and they are ALWAYS inferior in operation.

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