hobs and kits

[Col_c88 41]

hopefully by next year we will of moved to a bigger place and my GF said the shed will be mine (since i took over most of the shed this time) so it will undoubtly be for ferrets and i will have more than the 2 hobs i have now..

 

my mate has some jills and when i get more space i can have one off him and start breeding so whilest its on my mind and i forget to ask.. what im wondering is what is a hob like with a kit? will they kill them if there not the father to the kit (like wild animals do) or are they more social. i understand you should keep the jill seperate from all the others when its pregnant but i would imagine he would want to give me a young one.. let me work her for a while, see what shes like and see if shes right to breed.

 

also the 2 hobs fight if there in the same hutch but with ALOT bigger space would they still fight or is it just because there a bit cramped if i put them in the same hutch? (there fine in the field)

 

just thought id ask while its fresh on my mind even tho it will be a good year might aswell get as knowledgable as i can now..

 

thanks

[ferrety f 23]

The hobs will fight when in season no matter how big the cage/ court, its normal hob behaviour and not fair on the one taking the beating.

 

I would also not chance a young ferret with a hob in season, he may do it some real damage.

[f mac 40]

u may want to consider working jills only and keeping 1 vas hob... breeding for stock is fine if u got homes lined up for the rest

Edited June 18, 2011 by f mac

[Col_c88 41]

well atm i have 2 working hobs but thats it.. obviously when im alot more experienced i will start getting more.. but need more room like i say.. the plan between me and me mate was to get a load of us working some of the bigger warrens so they will have homes thats for sure.. as i know alot of his mates cant be bothered with out else but the actual ferreting .

 

thanks for the advice

[Ideation 8,217]

Alright mate, first things first you need to ask yourself if you have the work for 3/4/5 ferrets as opposed to 2. If so then crack on.

 

Same with breeding, you need to ask yourself do you REALLY need more ferrets, and if so, do you REALLY need to breed a litter yourself, of potentially 10 + kits, if there are other decent litters available to you to have kits from.

 

Sounds like you are on the right track with regard to getting in a young jill and working her before you breed, but it will take a few good seasons to figure that out. FOr example, kits born this summer, will not really work properly this winter, but will have their first full season the winter after. I think it takes at least a couple of good seasons graft before you know what you have ferret wise, and if its worth breeding from.

 

It's also fairer on the jill to wait a few years to breed, having kits in her first season is a bit like being a teenage mum, more stressful and more likely to go wrong.

 

I leave my pregnant jill in with the other jills (once mated) up until the last week of pregnancy and then put her in a run on her own, somewhere nice and quiet and peaceful. I then just let her get on with it, making sure to pack the food (an the right kind) into her.

 

I would never put the hob in with kits. . . . . until a good few months old.

 

Nearly all hobs will fight this time of year if they have their nuts, i have two brothers who are fine but still have the odd scrap. It will stop once their nuts go back up.

[Col_c88 41]

ok thanks Ideation.. yea we have the work i have 4 farms..and there all riddled with ferrets.. plus one has pheasents on and im sick of getting s*** off the phesent men when im shooting (air rifle) on that farm (i dont touch there phesents but they just dont like me as i am the only person aloud other than there syndicate) so id rather have the ferrets there when their season starts.. and yea i want to breed them myself i want to get involved in the whole thing it really interests me.

 

but you have gave me a bit more to think about thanks!

 

also im glad they wont fight as much later in the year thanks for the peace of mind

 

 

i tried to send you a PM about a post i saw you make on the terrier forum but it said you cant receive any more??

[The one 8,582]

Your hobs will bum each other when in season despite being in a bigger cage ,and a hob can kill kits even laying on them and killing them that way .If your wanting a few more ferrets the way to go is as many jills as you want and one snipped hob to bring them out of season as jill will live together in or out of season

[Ideation 8,217]

ok thanks Ideation.. yea we have the work i have 4 farms..and there all riddled with ferrets.. plus one has pheasents on and im sick of getting s*** off the phesent men when im shooting (air rifle) on that farm (i dont touch there phesents but they just dont like me as i am the only person aloud other than there syndicate) so id rather have the ferrets there when their season starts.. and yea i want to breed them myself i want to get involved in the whole thing it really interests me.

 

but you have gave me a bit more to think about thanks!

 

also im glad they wont fight as much later in the year thanks for the peace of mind

 

 

i tried to send you a PM about a post i saw you make on the terrier forum but it said you cant receive any more??

 

No problem mate.

 

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