GreyRake
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Everything posted by GreyRake
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Could mix some vinegar with some of that strong lemon juice used for cooking. Might do the job.
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He was on my friends list, check if hes stil there
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Funny thing is, scientists have shown that the mink never has had any real long term effect on the water vole population. It's human destruction of habitat that has reduced the water voles numbers. It has been shown that areas void of mink have just as many water voles as in areas with high numbers of mink. Like almost all rodents, water voles are very prolific and have no trouble keeping up with the pressure placed on them by predators. Habitat is what determines if they can survive in an area, not the predators in it. This fact has been proven time an time again my multiple studies done by
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I take it the hunting with dogs ban covers mink too? Only rabbits and rats allowed?
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I'm enjoying ferreting in a t-shirt
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Makes spotting parasites easier too.
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I'd be starting with thick gloves, get him used to being picked up and held before trying to let him loose on your skin. Try and make him think biting doesn't effect you to start. Never had a wild polecat, but that's how I'd go about it.
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My wax coat is made by 'Duncan Honeyman LTD' not sure about prices, had it for years. Just put my back to the wind and rain and I'm toasty inside. I need to get knee pads, good reminder.
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I put an extra hole in-between each if the existing holes, but might need to put more in, that couple of mil makes all the difference I guess. Was a very narrow hole I retrieved the collar from, she might have been reversing through it. Not sure how big the spacing in my nets is. My cheap nylons are certainly small. Got some new nets from Andy Kelly a few weeks ago (great nets) think they might have bigger holes.
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My jill was having scratching fits about a month ago, lost the hair on her tail, then from her rump. Was just her shedding her coat. She has a nice new coat now. Give the hairs a light pull, if they come out with ease it's quite likely just that. If your still worried a trip to the vets will put your mind at rest.
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Your not wrong BPR, if I had a long net today it would have been a case of 3mims setting then all four caught. Rather than half an hour to loose three . Might try a bit of tape around the collar, Darbo, thanks. Norseman, does that not restrict their breathing?
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Debens tracking collar is a great bit of kit. But it snags the nets all the time! I realise this isn't a problem for people with long nets or good dogs but when i'm using purse nets i'm forever untangling them. Then the rare problem of the collars actually getting pulled off during a rabbit battle arises. Four foot dig today, just for the lost collar, had it on the tightest set hole - id created myself. My jill is great at getting through nets, but at times the collars snag. I cant work more than two ferrets without running around the warren like an idiot. I'm considering (depending on th
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Think your right the one. I did intend on going back to it, but time gets on haha. Will try that hole again next time. I had considered them loosing the rabbit inside but couldn't quite commit to the idea. Surely the would have smelt and explored to find the rabbit? Maybe not. These two (brother and sister) are keen workers, but I sometimes think they are too quick to decide whether a holes empty or not. Keen to see how the kit I got from Dogger gets on. She seems a bit ditzy at times but I'm keen to compare her to my best jill.
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Lost my good lock knife during the last few weeks.... I blame my partner, but, hmm, haha. Anyway, just using a kitchen knife now, sharpened it but still have to slice lightly 5-10 times to get a rabbit open. Any harder and I may slice too deep too early. I'm convinced it's to do with the way I squeeze the urine out. I'm sure the gamekeeper that used to take me managed to squeeze out some shit pellets too... Was a long time ago... Can't be sure. Do you guys just gut early and not worry about 'peeing' them?
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This particular bit of land has short grass all year round. There sometimes is a sneaky hole we miss, but in this case we had an especially good look around - only two holes. Plus we would have herd/caught a glimpse or a rabbit bolting.
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do cats kill ferrets? Certainly wouldn't put it past them.
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Very informative tiercel, thank you. I was sure i had heard they produce two different kinds of droppings. One to be ingested again and the other to be left as waste. Cows have extra stomachs, but rabbits just re-process it again? These bunnies seem to have been feasting on it! I've also noticed when i've been out, piles of droppings around the warrens, some pellets have a kind of mould on them and the others have none. I guess this fits in. So i must be bursting their stomach/intestine? Im sure its not when i'm cutting. Must be when i'm peeing them - Squeezing the urine out after dispatch
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I had a bad morning too. Two lost out of unetted holes (I did take that risk, knowing there was a few open holes) Another got out of a net just in time before i made there..... and a four foot dig to retrieve a collar. My worst outing yet
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The battle was moving all around, to the entrance then back deep into the hole, it never really stayed still to get a location on, once it did go quiet, they came out straight away. Usually my hob will stay with a rabbit in a dead end for a good half an hour at least, allowing me to dig. But it seemed very odd for them both to just come out like that, so soon. Even if they had killed it, my jill would have kept ragging it for while. Its as if it had bolted but we would have noticed it As long as they didn't back away from a scrap !!!
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Two rabbits i gutted in the last few weeks have had a large mass of small brown balls in a sort of brown paste. I know the obvious answer is its rabbit shit, but theres just too much and its around the stomach area, but not inside any organs. It gets all over the meat I'm good at not cutting into and intestines or anything. Am i right in thinking rabbits actually eat their own shit? Wonder if i'm bursting something when 'peeing' them. Any ideas?
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Theres a chance we spooked the rabbit yeah, when it was at the entrance my partner tried to make a grab at it but it shot down again. Maybe they did kill it then, hob killed another two last weekend 6ft+ down, think he's sitting out for a few weeks until I'm working flatter ground.
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Last weekend we saw a rabbit hop into it's hole. Just two entrances, threw a net over each then entered my jill. Was a fair bit rumbling and we caught a few glimpses of the rabbit around the entrance but It didn't bolt. Was taking a while and my ferreting partner said he seen the rabbit putting up a good fight, so I popped my hob in the lower hole. Thirty seconds later both ferrets just wandered out, not interested in going back in. Couldn't see any holes we missed. My hobs good at making a kill and he will move on after, but not that soon. Left us a bit puzzled.
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Think thats nonsense, my silver mitt is a cracking working. I guess because its an attractive colour, some may have been bred for it over workers, BEW etc.
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Nine months for sexually maturity i think. I'd get them done just before their first season, December/January.
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Kind of like a lasso.
