# 1st Bird of prey!



## reptismail (Nov 15, 2008)

Okay guys im fit and healthy again now so can start the research into getting one again! I can build an aviary no problem, I have a glove and jessies so i have a lot left to get! But i'm still torn on what to get, i originally planned on getting a barn owl but im wondering:what other owl's are good begginers birds? How often do you have to fly owls?


All input would be much appreciated!

All the best

Ismail


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## bloodpython22 (Feb 19, 2010)

reptismail said:


> Okay guys im fit and healthy again now so can start the research into getting one again! I can build an aviary no problem, I have a glove and jessies so i have a lot left to get! But i'm still torn on what to get, i originally planned on getting a barn owl but im wondering:what other owl's are good begginers birds? How often do you have to fly owls?
> 
> 
> All input would be much appreciated!
> ...


Yes you still have alot to get what jessies did you get. . Iv found alot of owls can bite through leather ones. .Little owls.. Barn owls may be bengals are ok to start with but never underestimate any bird mate one of my birds attacked my face today! !!!.you fly owls the same as other birds of prey but iv found it alot more hard work than say hawks or falcons


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

unless you have prior experience with BOP then barn owls are not reccomended as beginners birds, especially if you want to fly your bird. given how small they are its very easy to kill one with incorect weight management if you dont know what your doing. they also have one hell of an attitude for such a small bird, iv had less trouble with european eagle owls than iv had with my barn owl :lol2: i would say a bengal eagle owl is the ideal owl for a beginner, good size (not too small, not too big) and a generally easy going nature.

i would reccomened you buy and read these books: Training Birds of Prey: Amazon.co.uk: Jemima Parry-Jones: Books , Understanding Owls: Biology Management Breeding Training: Amazon.co.uk: Jemima Parry-Jones: Books and look into getting a copy of this Understanding the Bird of Prey: Amazon.co.uk: Nick Fox: Books

you should also find a local mentor (an experienced falconer) to show you the ropes and look into the LANTRA beginning falconry award (Falconry Training Courses - Lantra Awards UK)


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## reptismail (Nov 15, 2008)

Im going to be getting mentored by a man called john eccleston this summer hopefully, i will be learning with a harris hawk though.

Thanks


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

I would reccomend you joing the International Falconry Forum - it is a mine of experience and information,

http://www.falconryforum.co.uk/


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## reptismail (Nov 15, 2008)

Im already on that, i forgot about that haha, thanks


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## JurassicParking (Nov 20, 2010)

I did a tonne of research when I wanted to get into birds of prey. From what I read, the best beginners seemed to be Barn Owls, Harris Hawks or Buzzards.


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## becky89 (Nov 24, 2009)

reptismail said:


> Im going to be getting mentored by a man called john eccleston this summer hopefully, i will be learning with a harris hawk though.
> 
> Thanks


That's good  That will help you with the basics and you should learn a lot. If you want to fly something other than a harris in the future it would be good to find someone with that particular bird or who has experience with them, you'll probably find owls are more difficult to fly than harris hawks. As for how often to fly them, I personally say as much as possible, don't have them just to fly at the weekends!


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## gaz0123 (Aug 19, 2008)

my college does a 1 day falconry workshop on saturday's, you could go to that


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## kevandshalona (Mar 30, 2009)

barn ownl very delicate bird for a starter loose an oz over winter and it will die especially last winter we had , they are so small and delicate i would reccomed a female harris especially if you have a mentor then after manning an dtraining her up and working her properly think about owls they are so small and get spooked really easy by crows etc when flying , good books to read are books by jemima parry jones 
atb
kev


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## anthony reilly (Jan 16, 2010)

bloodpython22 said:


> Yes you still have alot to get what jessies did you get. . Iv found alot of owls can bite through leather ones. .Little owls.. Barn owls may be bengals are ok to start with but never underestimate any bird mate one of my birds attacked my face today! !!!.you fly owls the same as other birds of prey but iv found it alot more hard work than say hawks or falcons


Most anklets an jesses are made from leather..apart from braided jesses. You dont fly owls the same as other birds of prey either. With hawks u lower the weight to get an instant response, falcons you fly to a lure an owls you get a bond with the bird you dont lower the weight atall. The bond you get with an owl will be enough to get the bird to fly to you but it can be fustrating if there is distractions as owls have a very very tiny attention span.


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## Blurboy (Feb 9, 2007)

Can you please tell someone who knows very little about keeping and owning Birds Of Prey but who has admired them since I was a kid, where can you fly your bird when you get one? I have always wanted a hawk or owl and would love to know more about them with a view to possibly getting one. I'm not some little child who fancies one on a whim, I always always do enormous amounts of research before owning ANY new animal or pet. I'll definitely have to get some books and read up but I just wanted to ask a quick question to those who know. Cheers.


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## miss_ferret (Feb 4, 2010)

short answer: on farms. i know a lot of farmers so it was just a case of asking them : victory: i also fly in my back garden on occasion, but i have a large garden.

most farmers are happy to let you fly on there land providing you prove yourself responsible and polite. start messing them around and you'l be kicked off before you know it. if they give you rules to follow, you follow them to the letter. and make sure your bird dosent go near the poultry :whistling2:

it may take slightly more asking around if you want to hunt a bird on the land, but that is because most will agree to it, thinking it will keep the wild rabbit population down, only to find the falconer looses intrest after a few weeks or dosent turn up from one week to another. put simply: dont offer to hunt rabbits unless your very serious about it.

avoid flying on public land (parks and so on) its just not worth the risk.


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## Spadger (Jun 16, 2009)

owls you get a bond with the bird you dont lower the weight atall. The bond you get with an owl will be enough to get the bird to fly to you but it can be fustrating if there is distractions as owls have a very very tiny attention span.[/QUOTE said:


> Can I ask what experience you have with owls to make this statement


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## wilko92 (Aug 29, 2011)

Simple fact with any bird of prey. Owl, hawk or falcon.. if it aint hungry it aint coming back... also bullet jessies or the string type ones are very good, but! only for when your flying the bird easy to remove and easy to put back on when flying is over, i do not! recomend you leave your bird in the garden with these jessies on. Why do i say this? well my dad was looking after a mates bird he got it out in the morning and put it out in the sun with in 1 hour the bird had picked it way through these jessies which where perfect before my dad put it out, how ever 3 days later my dads mate got a phone call to say his bird is stuck on an areil in oxford (flown from birmingham 100mile trip) the bullet jessies had broken under neath the little shrink wrap rubber they use and it cause it to basiccaly be a V shape which got caught and tangled on the ariel, how ever got it back and it had done some serious damage to its legs which resulted in the bird being put to sleep. so leather is always best to stick them out in the garden the breaking strain is alot higher and cant be picked at untill it gives way! also if the bird did get off, atleats the leather wont get the bird caught up on an ariel or a tree branch!


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## SilverSky (Oct 2, 2010)

anthony reilly said:


> owls you get a bond with the bird you dont lower the weight atall. The bond you get with an owl will be enough to get the bird to fly to you .


ignore this, this is total bull plop!

a fat owl wont fly to you no matter how much its bonded with you


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## waterdragon555 (Nov 27, 2010)

reptismail said:


> Okay guys im fit and healthy again now so can start the research into getting one again! I can build an aviary no problem, I have a glove and jessies so i have a lot left to get! But i'm still torn on what to get, i originally planned on getting a barn owl but im wondering:what other owl's are good begginers birds? How often do you have to fly owls?
> 
> 
> All input would be much appreciated!
> ...


 
I "work" at a bird of pray centure.You have to fly them every day and barn owls are the best to get.If you are still stuck join falcony forums.It is brill.  I think you should have a flying exprence first though.

GO FOR IT!!!


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