chandlerTX
24 posts
Oct 10, 2006
11:00 AM
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I lost my first bird to a coopers on Saturday. My Dad came over to see the birds fly. We let them out at 1:00 P:M. The birds had just been released and the hawk hit them so quick. The people who saw a 37 year old man jump a 6 foot fence to chase a bird must have thought I was crazy. Luckly I was able to get a better look of the bird on Sunday. His eyes were yellow so he was not full grown yet. My birds a starting to roll, a few are still tailriding. At what point should the birds be locked down in Texas? Chad
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rosebudrollers
26 posts
Oct 10, 2006
11:23 AM
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Chad,I am in central Texas and have locked down 3 weeks ago.Have never seen the devils this bad before. CM
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katyroller
57 posts
Oct 10, 2006
6:15 PM
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I am in Katy, a suburb of Houston. I have seen alot of Coopers in the area but I am still flying. If I fly mornings or afternoons the kits get harrassed, so I have been flying early evenings and haven't been bothered. Also my neighborhood doesn't have alot of big trees so the Coops don't really have anywhere to hide. Hopefully I won't have an overfly!
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Santandercol
347 posts
Oct 10, 2006
8:59 PM
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Katyroller,
There are alot of them stinkin' Coops around here too.Tried trapping 'em.They're to darn smart!I fly in the evening like you and 3 out of 4 flys are sweet.Then he'll show up but they rarely get one as I think they aren't so hungry later in the day.If there is an attack,I lock down 2 days before flying again.
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Kelly
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trevsta65
26 posts
Oct 11, 2006
3:21 AM
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what season do you think is worst for hawk attacks.it is mid spring here in aus and im am getting hit by all sorts of skysharks i have been lucky so far but its not helping me train my youngters .
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T_ROCK
14 posts
Oct 11, 2006
5:52 PM
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Im in Illinois and there is so many coopers around here I am not even flying. I didnt have this problem all summer. What is the deal do these guys migrate or will they stick around? I thought I would wait till the evening about a week ago but sure enough 1/2 hour before dark he scared them off so high and far they were gone till the next day through out the day they all made it back but one and I never have seen him again. I still see the coopers around here chasing the wild pigeons every day so I still have mine on lock down.
Last Edited by T_ROCK on Oct 11, 2006 5:55 PM
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JMUrbon
20 posts
Oct 11, 2006
7:10 PM
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Chad, To answer you question as to when do you lock up your bids. Well that all depends on how many birds you are willing to let the suckers get. They will continue to hit you til they are all gone. I figure if they get on a regular schedule then lock them down. You will thank yourself next season when you have some holdovers to put it the air instead of all young birds again. I did it for years and believe me it is much more enjoyable to have some older birds to fly come spring. Even if they havent come in to the roll yet they will be alive and able to if you will allow them to be. Joe
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katyroller
60 posts
Oct 11, 2006
7:32 PM
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T ROCK, the Coops should migrate through your area but you may also have some residents birds. When I flew in SoCal. I had a resident pair that would hit me year round and took ALOT of birds. I don't think I have any resident birds in my area and hopefully they don't start picking off my birds and decide to set up permanent residence.
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J_Star
626 posts
Oct 11, 2006
7:39 PM
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Well...Hunger is a bitch. Wait tell the winter months and you will see how notorious and cunning they will be to get one of your birds. Every time you will fly them, you will watch the chase, the hunter and the hunted. No matter how fit your birds are, in the winter months they are disoriented and easily caught. Best of luck.
Jay
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Santandercol
349 posts
Oct 11, 2006
8:45 PM
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Joe,
Seems like you've given some good advice there about holding your birds in once they start getting attacked too much!My question for ya is,the following,if you locked down say in November and started flying again in early April,would they have enough time to really start rockin' ready for WC prelims?Or would you use older more experienced birds in competition?Any input apprecciated.
Yits,
Kelly Waugh
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JMUrbon
23 posts
Oct 12, 2006
4:10 PM
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Kelly, I have locked down for the last 5 years and I have also won this region 3 of those years. I lock down everything old and young and all ages will come back to flying condition fairly quick. I think that what you are asking is will the young from the previous year be ready for competition, well probably not but they certainly will be the following year. You will need them in order to compete because there arent many guys out there that can compete with young birds. Save the holdovers and each year you will see a noticable improvement as long as you do your best to preserve them. You know when I started flying rollers you rarely heard of falcon attacks and now it is the topic of discussion at almost every fly or get together. We as managers have got to change with the times and if that means locking your kits down in order to have birds in the spring than I believe that must be done. Just my 2 cents though. Joe
Last Edited by JMUrbon on Oct 12, 2006 4:19 PM
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J_Star
629 posts
Oct 12, 2006
7:58 PM
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Kelly,
It will take them a few days to start to kit back together. That is for young and old alike. But the mature birds need a few more days, depending on management, to get them back in shape. Usually about 7 to 10 days for me.
Young ones, that happen to be locked because of winter preds, are a bit different. You need to fly them everyday and gauge their improvement in performance. About three weeks to five weeks (depending on weather conditions and flying time and whether they were tail riding or just start short spins before lockups) and they will be like pros. I am speaking about what my experience with my birds every lock down for the winter. It could be different for others.
Jay Alnimer
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Santandercol
350 posts
Oct 12, 2006
8:14 PM
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OK,thanks for that Joe,Russ and Jay!!So I guess the next excitement will be the beginning of breeding season eh.I'm still flying my 3 youngbird kits,11 kit up twice today,trying to get them to fly together by flying them more often.Seems to be working.
There were some coopers around for a short while till a week ago but none were taken and right now we're getting Indian summer,almost no rain since May and the preds seem to have split for now.
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Kelly
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bman
64 posts
Oct 13, 2006
5:51 AM
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Joe & everybody,
Thanks,I have been agonizing over over being locked down for three weeks.You guys settled the issue I'll wait for spring.The three or four times I did fly in the last month I got hit every time!Including my first falcon.Can't risk whats left.
Thanks
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Ron
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