Meet Shaymus!

[Featheredsamurai]

Been away for a while, reason why is I was plain old ridiculously busy to have any time to spend on a computer haha. I got my falconer's license and have been busy training my newest bird, going on epic adventures, and taking care of Rosie and Kenji.

Shaymus is my dark morph red tailed hawk, I'm pretty excited as it's the first bird I got as a baby. Training him has been pretty easy, stupidly so. It literally only took 5 days of training until I free flew him. He wasn't the best flier at first haha, but now he's a powerful and strong flier. I took him to high wind places so he could learn to soar and fly down, and he's now learning to be a successful hunter.

I'm very excited for next year when he goes through his first molt, he'll have his beautiful adult plumage and a red tail

pics are of course needed

Here's where he lives, looks pretty boring being tied to a perch but it's really not bad. I also have a perch out on the lawn. Keep in mind he free flies daily

video of Shaymus when he was learning to soar
(slight profanity by my friend in the video)

[ame="http://youtu.be/bP8Fh9vYxSk"]Shaymus is a dragon - YouTube[/ame]

 

[RavensGryf]

Wow! Thanks for the video, very cool watching Shaymus fly. He's beautiful.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Wow! Thanks for the video, very cool watching Shaymus fly. He's beautiful.

Thanks I love that video.
It's been a lot of fun getting to work with him, and getting to meet so many falconers through him. First time I've met people who could talk about birds so much I almost get bored haha

 

[Timothy]

Wow! That is too freaking cool man. I'm hardcore jealous right now. Unfortunatly i wouldnt have any capacity to give a bird like that the requirements needed for it to be healthy and happy. They are a ton of work, Need free flight all the time, and live animals to eat like rats and rabbits. as far as i know anyway, correct me if i;m wrong. But props man, they are not easy to handle from what i've heard. I am hardcore jealous. I saw one like that in person waaayyy back in elementary school, one was brought in for a treat to the kids, and it was free flown in the auditorium. awesome experience for me. Dude. I want one so bad, I wish i could take care of something like that!

Im suprised you havent edited your list next to your username to add Shaymus next to your other buddies ^^

 

[jasper19]

wow that is an amazing bird

is training to free fly the same with every bird? It really makes me wonder why they come back they can just soar and falcons are predators to...

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Wow! That is too freaking cool man. I'm hardcore jealous right now. Unfortunatly i wouldnt have any capacity to give a bird like that the requirements needed for it to be healthy and happy. They are a ton of work, Need free flight all the time, and live animals to eat like rats and rabbits. as far as i know anyway, correct me if i;m wrong. But props man, they are not easy to handle from what i've heard. I am hardcore jealous. I saw one like that in person waaayyy back in elementary school, one was brought in for a treat to the kids, and it was free flown in the auditorium. awesome experience for me. Dude. I want one so bad, I wish i could take care of something like that!

Im surprised you haven edited your list next to your username to add Shaymus next to your other buddies ^^

It is way cool not to hard to care for, mostly just time and finding places to let him fly. And watching out for dangerous feet LOL. It's surprisingly social, so my co-apprentice and I drive all over to meet up with other falconers to learn, and go to meet ups.
But yeah. Live animals are needed to help them learn to hunt better, I just remind myself that it's food. I also only buy animals meant to be killed and not intended as pets, I get rabbits from meat rabbit suppliers, pigeons from falconers, quail from egg farms.

I got a pigeon from another falconer yesterday, intended to be food but it's a semi tame sweet bird that came from a breeder(close banded with info) D: so after hours of being conflicted I gave in and decided it's a pet. Made it some little anklets and jesses until I get a pigeon harness, and it currently lives in a ghetto cage x.x haha. This is the only one though, I'm letting other people handle the pigeons now on. don't have room for more XD

Just haven't gotten to it yet XD will be listed shortly

 

[Featheredsamurai]

wow that is an amazing bird

is training to free fly the same with every bird? It really makes me wonder why they come back they can just soar and falcons are predators to...

it's different with birds, raptors are easy to train because they're stupid compared to parrots. So with a hawk or falcon they fly with you because your a team, they know they will get to hunt because we're flushing game for them. And if they fail in catching anything they still get to eat at the end of the day.

BUT,

you have to manage their weight carefully. I weigh my bird every morning and evening, and before I fly him. I also know how many grams he looses an hour. If I fly him to light he'll be starving and weak, and if I fly him to heavy he'll be full and unmotivated and might go sit in a tree for hours. you want them low enough that they're hungry, but never so low that it affects their muscle mass. I feed Shaymus about 60 grams a day right now(in winter he'll need more food to maintain his weight), then the next day when I take him back out to fly he'll be back down to his hunting weight.

Parrots and corvids are intelligent and stay around because they like you and your part of their flock, hawks stay around for food. Only exception is the Harris hawk who are social and live in groups.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

Is he affectionate like a hookbill? I mean he's obviously not going to be conure or macaw cuddly, but will he accept scratches or does he derive any pleasure from physical contact? My first love affair with birds was with corio raptors that used to come to my school for a demonstration every year. I used to work as an assistant for them when they came in so I got to handle and feed the birds- they had a huge eagle owl called Boo, a buzzard, a kestrel, a barn, snowy, elf, little and tawny owl... lots of beautiful birds!

 

[Timothy]

wow that is an amazing bird

is training to free fly the same with every bird? It really makes me wonder why they come back they can just soar and falcons are predators to...

it's different with birds, raptors are easy to train because they're stupid compared to parrots. So with a hawk or falcon they fly with you because your a team, they know they will get to hunt because we're flushing game for them. And if they fail in catching anything they still get to eat at the end of the day.

BUT,

you have to manage their weight carefully. I weigh my bird every morning and evening, and before I fly him. I also know how many grams he looses an hour. If I fly him to light he'll be starving and weak, and if I fly him to heavy he'll be full and unmotivated and might go sit in a tree for hours. you want them low enough that they're hungry, but never so low that it affects their muscle mass. I feed Shaymus about 60 grams a day right now(in winter he'll need more food to maintain his weight), then the next day when I take him back out to fly he'll be back down to his hunting weight.

Parrots and corvids are intelligent and stay around because they like you and your part of their flock, hawks stay around for food. Only exception is the Harris hawk who are social and live in groups.

This was so interesting to learn! I'm thirsty for more information on them. Would you be able to tell about your experience with him as he gets older and stuff? Like what's his personality like? Does he bite you at all? I know their talons are deadly of he grabs your throat by accident. Oh man it's so cool.

 

[RavensGryf]

I second Timothy's post above! I found it VERY interesting too! Tell us more Ashley lol!

How did you happen to get into falconry in the first place?

 

[Featheredsamurai]

This was so interesting to learn! I'm thirsty for more information on them. Would you be able to tell about your experience with him as he gets older and stuff? Like what's his personality like? Does he bite you at all? I know their talons are deadly of he grabs your throat by accident. Oh man it's so cool.

for sure, as he grows I'll be more than happy to share how he is. He doesn't bite at all, I can stick my finger in his mouth and he won't bite down. I've known birds who bite, but generally they stick with their feet. I've been grabbed a couple times, always my own fault and involves food. Hawks get crazy when they have food, and once they grab on they don't want to let go.

He's very tame right now, but as he grows older and gets hormones he may become more unpredictable and a little dangerous. will share as things go along

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I second Timothy's post above! I found it VERY interesting too! Tell us more Ashley lol!

How did you happen to get into falconry in the first place?

Glad it's interesting! I'll have to take more videos for you two, I have him lure trained. That's pretty cool to see, I use it about once a week to keep it fresh in his memory. For hawks a lure is a last resort if they refuse to come back, every time they "catch" the lure you give them a good meal so it's very motivating to fly down for it.

I got into falconry through a high school friend and her dad. I also really wanted to free fly a bird, but parrots have so many predators and neither of mine are great candidates. Flying a predator is a great way to fly with confidence.

 

[Timothy]

When and Why did you get into Falconeering (is that the right word? it sounds cool regardless) But you should have names him millennium. Millennium Falcon (Jk, im big on str wars, hence my conure named Chewbacca and his brother Boba Fett)

anyway, im curious as to what led you to get him, nd how you were introduced to handling that type of bird.



\\\Edit: It appears you were typing the answer to my question in this post the same time i was typing it out to ask it :x

 

[Timothy]

I second Timothy's post above! I found it VERY interesting too! Tell us more Ashley lol!

How did you happen to get into falconry in the first place?

Glad it's interesting! I'll have to take more videos for you two, I have him lure trained. That's pretty cool to see, I use it about once a week to keep it fresh in his memory. For hawks a lure is a last resort if they refuse to come back, every time they "catch" the lure you give them a good meal so it's very motivating to fly down for it.

I got into falconry through a high school friend and her dad. I also really wanted to free fly a bird, but parrots have so many predators and neither of mine are great candidates. Flying a predator is a great way to fly with confidence.

I've read about keeping Red Tails on the net a bit just now, but there is so much scattered info and its all different site to site. About how much is the upkeep on them? And how much time is required daily to work with them (you have other birds so obviously he Shaymus doesnt get 100% of your time)

I saw you had him in a pen of sorts, is that a normal way to keep them? can you post various pics of his enclosure sometime?

I know im asking alot but this is captivating me

 

[Featheredsamurai]

lol my friend named his kestrel Milly, short for millennium falcon. Maybe if I ever have a falcon that would be a good name.

As a apprentice I can have either a red tailed hawk or American kestrel. I've always liked red tails so I went with that. Plus kestrels are hard, because they're so small weight management is much harder and they have a lot of dangers. I got my bird from another falconer, Shaymus had just left the nest and the falconer knew I was on the look out for a dark morph so he grabbed him for me. as for handling, I picked it up as I went along. had very little hands on before. So as I worked with shaymus the falconers around me gave tips and told me what I did right or wrong.

it's hard to find good info online, unless you find a good thread on a falconry forum. best way to learn is to find someone who really knows a lot about birds and can teach you.

Yup, some form of enclosure is the normal way to keep them. Some falconers keep them tied to perches all over their lawn. The dog run is a 5' wide x 8' tall x 10' long dog run I bought as a weathering yard. I like the kennel, keeps out racoons and other dangerous animals. To keep raptors you have to get a falconers license, and it is regulated. in CA you can either have a weathering yard, or a mew. and the game warden has to inspect your set up and equipment before you get a license. a mew is like a shed with a window. I think it's important to fly everyday, but sometimes you just don't have time and that's ok occasionally. when the birds are molting you should keep them fatter to help them grow strong feathers, so flying can be a little risky then. I've flown shaymus for as little as 10 minutes and as long as 2 hours so far. As long as he's responsive I'll keep flying him, but sometimes I'm busy so I end it early.


as for upkeep
in a day shaymus will eat a variety of things, each line shows a different option of what I could feed him. different foods have different nutritional values. Day old chicks are good because of the yoke, but don't have much else on them. mice are full of nutrients(rats more so). quail are fatty, and aren't great as a only diet. starling is amazing and super nutritious. The more nutritious the food is the less they need of it.

1 mouse + 3 day old pheasant

2 mice

1 mouse + 1 day old chick

1 starling

1 quail leg + a wing with breast meat attached.

pigeon wing with some breast meat attached(bigger meal)

prices
starlings are 70 cents each, mice are 70-80 cents each, a live quail is $1(frozen quail is $2.50 each yuck), pigeons I get for free, day old chicks are 35 cents each, unsure of the price of day old pheasant as I got a big bag for free from a friend.

so upkeep isn't that expensive, but all the other stuff adds up. The enclosure, buying leather, equipment, perches, glove, hood, giant hood. for the license, mews inspection, and everything I had to buy I spent about $1300. and I was being very cheap, and got some stuff from friends XD my sponder said $1500 is a good price to expect to pay when getting started. After that daily upkeep is pretty cheap, just paying for gas to drive around haha

 

[Betrisher]

Wow Ashley! You sure don't do things by halves!

Your gorgeous boy is a stunner and I bet you've got a for-life bond with him already. You're doing something I've always dreamed of, so I'll be following your adventures closely. Please don't be shy about posting them!!!

I have a Seamus too, but he's a ginger cat. Not quite in the same league...

 

[NiRD]

Haha, congratulations and welcome to the falconer's group! Have you made your first kill yet? Wait until you get footed! 0.0

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Wow Ashley! You sure don't do things by halves!

Your gorgeous boy is a stunner and I bet you've got a for-life bond with him already. You're doing something I've always dreamed of, so I'll be following your adventures closely. Please don't be shy about posting them!!!

I have a Seamus too, but he's a ginger cat. Not quite in the same league...

Thanks, it is something I ways dreamed of too! I'm glad I fiy had the chance to get into it. One day you might too

I hope to keep him for his whole life, he's unreleasible so he won't be going back to be wild unfortunately. I really love this bird, but be doesn't love me like a parrot would.

Haha, congratulations and welcome to the falconer's group! Have you made your first kill yet? Wait until you get footed! 0.0

All his kills have been bagged so far, no true kills yet. Best one was a pigeon my friends released at about 30 feet away, and Shaymus had to chase it down before grabbing it. Dragged it down to a muddy creek in a ravine, I ran down and had to crawl through mud(to keep from sinking) to trade him off. And this was at a landfil and next door to a sanitation plant D: best shower ever after that, I was so worried about whatever terms where in there.

Haha... Haha... Been footed about five times already x.x always around food and when I'm passing him food I'm not quick enough and get grabbed. Luckily he's a TINY male red tail, Hunting weight at 690 grams. And he has very dull talons at the moment, but still hurts! I'm much more careful around my friends feme, don't risk it with her lol. I was bleeding yesterday. I've also been footed by my friends augur buzzard when changing anklets.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Is he affectionate like a hookbill? I mean he's obviously not going to be conure or macaw cuddly, but will he accept scratches or does he derive any pleasure from physical contact? My first love affair with birds was with corio raptors that used to come to my school for a demonstration every year. I used to work as an assistant for them when they came in so I got to handle and feed the birds- they had a huge eagle owl called Boo, a buzzard, a kestrel, a barn, snowy, elf, little and tawny owl... lots of beautiful birds!

He's not affectionate at all from what I've see , I can touch him anywhere and I do pet him a little but he doesn't react or seem to care about what's going on. As he matures he may act differently. My only hope is he doesn't become dangerous to me or the people around me, don't want that haha. That sometimes happens as red tails mature

Owls can be very affectionate when hand raised, and can enjoy being pet. Eagles also create good bonds with their handlers.

 

[Timothy]

Wow i'm so amazed by all this information. Like Betrisher said, Please! Dont be shy about posting! I really love the content you've added so far. Hopefully you can throw in a vid of him catching some live prey, And im totally digging those pics, More would be awesome xD

Boy ive been looking at my posts, i sure am demanding lol.

I'm so happy for you that your enjoying him. he sounds like hes got an awesome Mommy. It's too bad he doesnt enjoy scritches, but im sure he enjoys the fewds!