# harris hawks and birds of prey?



## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

Does anyone here keep any birds of prey eg harris hawks eagles? Do you know of any caresheets?
cheers tom


----------



## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

I think you may be better off finding a falconer and getting some good books on falconry. Keeping BOP requires slightly more than a basic caresheet will give you. There are some good falconry forums out there too that may be worth joining and asking questions on. It may even help you find a falconer in your area.


----------



## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

my mates next door neighbour has 2 harris hawks. I'd love to have a bird of prey but just wondered if anyone on rfuk has any or know where to find any. I doubt i'd be able to get one because of the size of enclosure they need and so on.


----------



## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

tom1400 said:


> my mates next door neighbour has 2 harris hawks. I'd love to have a bird of prey but just wondered if anyone on rfuk has any or know where to find any. I doubt i'd be able to get one because of the size of enclosure they need and so on.


Go and knock on your mates next door neighbours door and have a chat with him, much better straight from the horses mouth.


----------



## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

I never really used to get on with him very much as i kind of fancied his wife which he didn't like lol. But i'll have a hunt about to see if there are anymore falconries in my area


----------



## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

Join a local Falconary Club. They will have everything you need to start up and maintain raptors. Harris Hawks will likely be what they recommend. I would certainly go against an Eagle as your first. Just saying, as you mentioned Eagle in your first post.


----------



## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

I couldn't think of any other birds of prey you can keep as pets. I really do like harris hawks. But i don't think my mum would like me to have one.


----------



## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

They require a shed load of attention. I honestly wouldn't recommend them to anyone who doesn't have the time to take proper care of them. It's cruel to have them strapped to a perch most days of the week.
Harris hawks are the beginners choice but require more time to fly than other raptors (Owls mainly). There is someone on here who is active in Falconary. Corvin or something. Try and find his/her posts in the Other Exotics Pet section and PM him/her.


----------



## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

ok cheers. I've found a falconry forum so i'll have a look and ask a few q's


----------



## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

tom1400 said:


> I couldn't think of any other birds of prey you can keep as pets. I really do like harris hawks. But i don't think my mum would like me to have one.


Then the way around it is too find and join a local club or find a friendly falconer (with a pig ugly missus  ) who can mentor you. The more you know about the subject, the more experience you have and the more you show that you are serious about falconry and it's not just a whim, the more chance you have of your mother letting you have one.


----------



## Robbie (Dec 4, 2006)

Not to sound like some folk on here but you really need to be serious with raptors. They require more space, time and effort than ANY other snake or lizard. Well, any that I can think off.
Not as though you can get away with feeding once a week and maybe missing a few days. They need to be fed to target weights otherwise its risky to fly them. Then you have to factor in flight times etc.


----------



## tom1400 (Jan 21, 2007)

believe me i won't be getting a bird of prey until i know everything about the bird i want to get. I wouldn't want anything to go wrong. I know they require alot of space as my mates neighbour has a 15foot by 8 foot cage outside for him. It is massve.


----------



## basky (Dec 11, 2006)

i used to train birds of prey and it's great fun but does take time and patience. to fly the weather has to be right and they basically need to be slighty under weight so that they come back to you. it is adviced to fly them as much as possible for excercise. to train them you need to start with them on a line etc, you can also use telemetry so if they do fly away you can find them again. jemima perry jones is the best in the uk and owns the national bird of prey centre down in gloucester. she has written loads of books on falconry and one specifically on owls. 
heres some of her books:
http://www.play.com/Search.aspx?sea...y+jones&page=search&pa=search&go.x=21&go.y=14

if you serious about keeping one i'd suggest you go on a 5 day course, which will cover everything, good luck and if you wanna know anything else just pm me :smile:


----------



## corvid2e1 (Jan 21, 2007)

basky said:


> jemima perry jones is the best in the uk


debatable. she is pretty good (although if you have ever met her, her attitude stinks) but I would not recomend going totaly on the advice of one person, as each falconer has their own methods and opinions. your best bet would be to get several books writen by several different falconers, as well as talking to, and working with if posable, several different people, then taking bits from each that suit you and your bird best. a harris is a good choice as a first bird. common buzzards are also pretty good, although not always the best hunting bird. they would rather eat roadkill than catch their own prey.


----------



## basky (Dec 11, 2006)

emma ford and phillip glasier (jemima's father) are also very good and have books out.


----------



## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

this is the forum i use

International Falconry Forum

and i currently have a kestrel and a saker falcon in rehab.

Nerys


----------



## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

The bird of prey center just outside cardiff does 3 day and 5 day courses for new falconers or people learning, I would suggest that before you went into buying, you do a course and get some hands on experience, just to make sure you like it and can speak to some people who already have birds or work at the center. I imagine most bird of prey centers offer some sort of courses.


----------

