pet ferrets or proper working ferrets

[Kay 3,709]

i must have had a real odd pet ferret at one time because he kiled the kids rabbit , he hadnt been worked so i dont really understand how he knew how to kill it

[shamus 36]

praising yourself as a genuine good guy is pretty modest is it not?

[poacher3161 1,766]

poacher youre losing the question mate , ie if ferrets are only bred for show and not workd do we lose the good working qaulities like terreirs and lurchers , so in the end we have pets and show ferrets and we have workers , great getting some good answers and good constructive critisism , shame you hurt your back RUN FOR YOUR LIFE could had done with ahandy chap about as the current younger members are not cut out fore the great game lol and run for your life if your fit for a day out your welcome like people with abit knowledge getting harder to find

I cant see ferrets losing their killing instinct as its part of their genetic make up unlike dogs were different types have evolved over the last thousand years.IMHO i dont think we have anything to worry about by people who keep ferrets other than to hunt them.atb dell

[poacher3161 1,766]

i must have had a real odd pet ferret at one time because he kiled the kids rabbit , he hadnt been worked so i dont really understand how he knew how to kill it

I cant ever see ferrets on display in a pets corner with the guinea pigs and rabbits can you atb dell

[Kay 3,709]

i must have had a real odd pet ferret at one time because he kiled the kids rabbit , he hadnt been worked so i dont really understand how he knew how to kill it

I cant ever see ferrets on display in a pets corner with the guinea pigs and rabbits can you atb dell

 

 

There must be a reason for that though dell i am sure someone knows out there

[Kay 3,709]

poacher youre losing the question mate , ie if ferrets are only bred for show and not workd do we lose the good working qaulities like terreirs and lurchers , so in the end we have pets and show ferrets and we have workers , great getting some good answers and good constructive critisism , shame you hurt your back RUN FOR YOUR LIFE could had done with ahandy chap about as the current younger members are not cut out fore the great game lol and run for your life if your fit for a day out your welcome like people with abit knowledge getting harder to find

I cant see ferrets losing their killing instinct as its part of their genetic make up unlike dogs were different types have evolved over the last thousand years.IMHO i dont think we have anything to worry about by people who keep ferrets other than to hunt them.atb dell

 

if Whin has found the secret to eternal life he must share it

[whin 463]

funny thin years ago there was a hunting come pet shop you would,by ferrets in shop next to guinea pigs rabbits and pidgoens the shop was called ernie follies a great old shop in its hey day it was situated in edinburgh , lieth walk , most ferrets will kill the odd rabbit its when you work them a lot you find the good ones ,like in any sport , as kids our crude method of initaition ,was if you chucked a big wild buck in the one that latched to the head [bANNED TEXT] away,he was for the keeping , we used to take r ferreting very serous as teenagers and well stll do as an adult at times ,nothing worse than digging to aferret and it comes of and the rabbit moves on ,

[TOMO 24,839]

i think win has point, i have no objection to pet owners but not all ferrets work the same , and thats a fact

 

of course the ferret killed the rabbit kay, but breeding none workers year after year cant be good as far as working is concidered.

 

i have unfortunatly burried my best worker today , went to feed them yeaterday and she's laid dead in the middle of the court. right as ninepence the day befor, just hope she aint cought this swine flu i have had all week

[Kay 3,709]

To be honest i have no idea if you can breed out '' predatory instinct'' over 100's of generations , in reality there more likely to become endangered due to high cases of neutering , maybe not in my life time but who knows

 

Whin's beefs not with there working ability , its with people who dont work there ferrets , hence the second topic of pet dry food

 

dry food is convenient thats whay it was designed , for the record Whin , NO my ferrets dont get dry food , neither do my dogs any more , if not working the ferrets here in my care makes me a bad person then so be it

[whin 463]

my beef is that ferrets will lose there ability if kepst for generaitions of pet to pet , and its adiscusion not a dig as my sister has few well sheel not work them unless locatored her sort of pets ,nothing worse than losing good working ferrets in the middle of the seson tomo i wonder if the pet oners actualy understand what attributes a real good working animal can do on its chosen qaurry

[whin 463]

kay my darling youre no a bad las so dont go down that road listen and understand

[Swampy 147]

I don't understand what you're trying to say Whin. So you think working ferrets should still be kept in cramped rabbit hutch style cages with no stimulation apart from when they are worked? What's wrong with putting toys, pipes, etc in with your ferrets?

 

Who really cares if someone goes out once a month with their ferrets or every day?

 

It's got nothing to do with anybody what a person does with their working animals IMO.

 

Oh, and I'm an 'Extreme hunter' on here because I post a lot due to:

 

1) I've had to give up my job as a plasterer due to ill health,

 

and

 

2) because I can't get out as often as I'd like to, (see reason 1) and still enjoy reading about the things I've been doing since I was a kid.

 

I still manage to actually get out and do a bit now and again though, even if I'm not as 'Extreme' as others on here!

 

Malt,

When you speak of why you can't get out as much as you used to. You forgot to mention the restraining order!

 

rgds

 

Swampy

 

Ninging on the outside of the the fish bowl

[Malt 379]

I don't buy this thing about ferrets loosing their working ability. :no; I'll agree that some ferrets work better than others, but they are totally different to dogs. You don't breed ferrets for form, ie, long legs for speed, a powerful jaw, deep chest, etc.

 

Also look at cats, 'Tibby' next door might posses as much hunting ability as the cats down at your local farm, despite not being bred for work.

 

Feral ferrets do pretty well once they become established, how many of them are ex workers that people have dumped for being shit workers? They wouldn't survive long enough to breed if they couldn't hunt.

 

Saying that, I would always breed worker to worker, but I don't think that we are in any danger of loosing our ferrets working ability because of pet ferrets.

 

I'm more concerned about breeding for exotic colours and these 'angora' ferrets due to the associated health risks, but even then it will not affect my stock and it's working ability.

 

 

 

 

PS Swampy: Keep quiet about that, FFS!

Edited November 9, 2009 by maltenby

[TOMO 24,839]

I don't buy this thing about ferrets loosing their working ability. :no; I'll agree that some ferrets work better than others, but they are totally different to dogs. You don't breed ferrets for form, ie, long legs for speed, a powerful jaw, deep chest, etc.

 

Also look at cats, 'Tibby' next door might posses as much hunting ability as the cats down at your local farm, despite not being bred for work.

 

Feral ferrets do pretty well once they become established, how many of them are ex workers that people have dumped for being shit workers? They wouldn't survive long enough to breed if they couldn't hunt.

 

Saying that, I would always breed worker to worker, but I don't think that we are in any danger of loosing our ferrets working ability because of pet ferrets.

 

I'm more concerned about breeding for exotic colours and these 'angora' ferrets due to the associated health risks, but even then it will not affect my stock and it's working ability.

 

 

 

 

PS Swampy: Keep quiet about that, FFS!

 

 

 

your last paragraph says it mate, these people breeding strange shit in to ferrets is exactly the point, it cant be good for them .

[whin 463]

only way is to keep the working lines what ive done is farm them out to mates and people i trust, so i can get aline back and find whats producing the [bANNED TEXT] stuff and get the odd new ones in and put away the non workers