Pulling out the eyes . . . .

[Ideation 8,216]

Ok, so this might sound a bit weird, but bear with me. . . .

 

I go out quite a lot with johnnyboy68 as many of you know. We use a range of ferrets, mostly jills, and we get on top of a decent number of rabbits between us each season.

 

I use locators, he doesn't so much (his land he does solo doesn't really require it as the sets are small), we always carry a shovel. But in general, we get very few digs. Last season, we could probably count them on one hand, this season we have had a few more so far, but i think maybe only a couple.

 

The jills we use, WILL NOT, leave a live bunny, although quite quickly they will come off a dead one (but usually give us enough time to get a mark).

 

The thing is we do get rabbits bottled up in stop ends, it is inevitable, and also get some rabbits that choose to face and fight the ferrets. However, what i have noticed is that both of us seem to own ferrets that instead of scratching at the arse of the rabbit, either dig over the top of them, or rag them out of the stop end and then go straight for the eyes. Same with rabbits that don't run quick enough along the tubes, it's out with the eyes.

 

These jills can definatly kill, with the old throat lock, if needed, but all seem to go for the eyes first. This pulling out of the eyes seems to panic even the most stubborn of rabbits into bolting.

 

You can pretty much guarantee if you have heard a bit of a ruck down there, that in a short while you will get an eyeless rabbit bolting into a net. It is only when these eyeless rabbits refuse to do the decent thing and head for the surface, that they are quickly killed and left by the jills.

 

I have also noticed that if you drop a dead bunny in front of them, they go straight for the eyes and crunch them.

 

I might be mad, but you would swear the jills understand the game, and are trying to force a bolt, rather than kill if they can help it.

 

 

So has anyone else experienced this? And am i mad with my last point???

[ryangolding 4]

It happens all the time with one of my jills, must like the taste of eyeballs.

[smithie 2,429]

i never had a 1 eyed bolter but dug down to plenty to find the ferret on the eyeball.. i put it down to the fact it soft and they can get there teeth on furter there than the rest of there head... easy going so to speak

[Col_c88 41]

Ive not been in the game long enough to really say this is something they know but one of my hobs ive seen on many occasions,(not all just fairly often) will DRAG a rabbit out and not let go until someones got there hands on it... i dont know if all ferrets do something similar... but when i hear alot of noise underground and ive got him down ... if he gets a hold on it i can alot of the time guarantee hes coming out arse first with a rabbit in his mouth kicking.... hes a big strong hob so he has no trouble at all.. sometimes i wonder if he knows that this will be his dinner later ... either that or hes not hit that stage where he kills them... i dunno haha.....

 

believe it or take from that what you will.. ill try get some pics of it if i go out on the weekend and we get anything

 

my polecat however seems to of totally changed from when i first got him and worked him.. though i believe it was YOU Ideation who told me give it a season or 2 and it will get brave and kill more often underground

[THE GRIFF 8]

All my ferrets seem to go for the eyes first as well, it must be instinct bred into them.

[Ryan_b_09 18]

i ad a ferret that did that they must love a nice fresh eyeball

[Ideation 8,216]

I get the instinct to go for the soft bit first, but it's funny that they seem to do that and then stand back and wait to see if the bunny will bolt. They are quite capable of killing, but choose to inflict less damage initially. They seem to whip out the eyes in passing just to help things a long.

 

Seen the larger jill chomp straight through the top of the skull / forehead a few times, when she has had enough f*****g about, and also had her surface to kill rabbits in nets when i have been occupied and had a couple bolt at once, she comes up, kills it then goes back down. Weird.

 

Last sunday we had a funny one, my little silver jill nailed a bunny in cover that had pretty much escaped the net and started to make it's escape, but she got her teeth in it's arse and held it there until help arrived.

 

Remember years ago, out with the old man, slightly winging a bunny with the shotty and it went into cover, not having a dog with us at the time, in went the hob, who got hold of it in the bushes and did pretty much what Col is describing.

 

Col - so was i right mate?

[stealthy1 3,964]

When rabbits get stopended they fight with their front claws like digging, the back legs are only good for moving forward or shuffling soil up the tunnel to flick it outside, I often wondered about the eyeless rabbits, until one day I was digging to a stopend, and when I broke through on of my jills ran forward at the rabbit and the both began franticly scratching each others heads, this is why I think some very youny ferret kits get their eyes dug out, probably because they dont have the strength in their front legs to have a good go back, I've also witnessed one of my jills leap onto the back of a bolting rabbit that was also dug to, and grab the head, presumably to force the rabbit down so it could grab its nape.

[Col_c88 41]

Id like to think so mate... They must know somethings going on if ya think about it

[Penda 3,219]

ive had eyeless bunnies bolt to the nets and ive dug to eyeless bunnies that have held the ground on the ferrets i dug 3 foot on a bank years back to an old buck that my mates 2 jills were having a spot of trouble with i always think that sometimes the bunnies aspecially older does and bucks will hold there ground and face the ferret and obviously i think the eye will glint up in the dark the ferret sees this nice bit of soft flesh and gets stuck into it the bunnies got 2 options then bolt or be eaten

[smithie 2,429]

when digging down i just as often find the rabbit with its arse to the ferret as i do head . i also had a pole that would drag the bunnies back..... down the fluffin hole, it was a bloody nightmare on the rocky ground as you always had to dig when that hapened..

[muddy210 34]

not had a ferret yet thats gone for the eyes even when they have been chucked in the hutch for them had a big hob who used to hold rabbits till you dug to them both but dint kill them a lot of the time you heard the squeal and that was the que to start digging got some new kits this year so i will be waiting to see how these carry on with it all

Edited September 21, 2011 by muddy210

[Ideation 8,216]

It's a very handy thing really, it greats maximum pain and confusion for old bunnykins, with minimum actual damage (leading to a kill in).

 

It's one hell of a battle when you think about it, my jills weigh on average 500-800 grams, and the bunnies often around 1500-2000 grams, and as stealthy1 says, they have some really mean claws on then, not to mention the teeth.

 

So to make your way blind a long a tunnel, and then get boxed to feck by something that weighs 3/4 times more than you, lock onto it with your mouth and roll around like a mad thing, all in the dark, takes some balls.

 

If you had a terrier as game etc, you would think it a champion!

 

Mind you, they can take some knocks, i have a jill here who already from this season, has some cuts, scabs all over her face, a gashed front leg (bite i think) and a long nasty scratch across her neck and under her chin.

[patterdalejoel 669]

if you think about it, a ferret that manages to bolt (in ANY way) and not kill should be bred from, or tthis is what USED to happen, before evertyne bred 6 litters of sh!te every year, so you may have managed to keep one of the old strain somehow? its like natural selection, if it doesnt do its job, it doesnt survive? just a thought?

[Ideation 8,216]

if you think about it, a ferret that manages to bolt (in ANY way) and not kill should be bred from, or tthis is what USED to happen, before evertyne bred 6 litters of sh!te every year, so you may have managed to keep one of the old strain somehow? its like natural selection, if it doesnt do its job, it doesnt survive? just a thought?

 

 

I definatly think that the advent of collars has meant that folk are more inclined to breed from ferrets that kill in a lot. Not that i am knocking it.

 

It's funny though because the ferrets we use can definatly kill quick if they decide to, but seem to do anything in their power to not have to, or maybe i am reading too much into it.

 

I couldn't be doing with having to get the spade out on every set.

 

One more funny thing - i have also noticed that my jills like to take above ground shortcuts, i.e they will surface, run across the top of the warren and dive back to ground at a spot closer to the rabbit. Anyone else?

 

But hundreds of bunnys netted last year and only a small handful of digs.