FIRST DAY FERRETING FOR LENA

[skycat 6,174]

This morning, on our first proper ferreting trip, I decided to take Lena, Schuck's sister (Airedale x Sal/Grey) Schuck's been lamping a few times now, but poor little Lena has had to content herself with mooching up until now. The hedges we were doing today are long, more or less continuous warrens for hundreds of yards, BUT they are reasonably open, so we loaded up Lena, Cricket (of course, can't go ferreting without Cricket!) and the big black lump Raven. We'd decided to give Lena and Raven turns on the warrens: too many dogs spoiling the picnic etc.

 

First air frost last night, so on with the thermals :laugh: but after half an hour in that sun: off they came, and I wish I'd brought T shirt instead of a fleece!

 

For the first half hour Lena ran up and down the hedges putting out partridge and pheasants whilst we steadily netted up innumerable holes, ran out a couple of stop nets, and hoped to God she wasn't exercising long ears as well. Just as well she hasn't met them yet, and she doesn't know about working an open field where I knew they'd be catching the rays on the high ground a few hundred yards out in the fields. She didn't bugger off as such, but that Airedale nose was working over time on the bird smells wafted to her on the breeze. Thankfully she stuck to the hedgerows. (Don't worry game keepers: this isn't shoot land, but it holds a decent wild population which the farmer takes a pop at now and again: ridiculously laid back birds are these: they fly up and come down again just a couple of hundred yards away and sit watching you working )

 

Lena's not been out with the ferrets before, but she shows them the respect they deserve when she meets them at home. I didn't take her as a pup as she was a total airhead, something I've noticed before with some pups: they just don't have the concentration at an early age: unlike others, notably Schuck, who was really focused from very young.

 

I called Lena back from her bird games, and showed her the ferret being put to ground: from then on everything changed. OK, she had Cricket to show her the ropes, but in no time at all she was gliding from hole to hole, a little too interested at times: that terrier thing again about wanting to crawl into the holes

 

I held her back a bit, and the rabbits started bolting: the first into a stop net, which she didn't crash into with it: but hopped neatly over, and stood there watching while Cricket made sure it couldn't get out ;) We had a few bolt back up the hedges, but having filled most of the holes they had nowhere to go: unfortunately her only retrieve went unrecorded on the camera as I'd hung it up in the hawthorns whilst I got my hands a bit dirty.

 

I said to Andy, "Watch her with the green stop net: she's bound to crash into it," but she didn't even do that: saw it and flew over it each time, despite it being in long dry grass and virtually invisible.

 

As we moved down the hedge she calmed down more and more, and by the time it came for her stint in the van she was marking really well, waiting patiently, and best of all, not diving into the holes nearly so much.

 

It was bloody hot by now, and when the black dog came out for a bit of work, he was sensible enough to stay on the shady side of the hedge: not the right sort of weather for a heavy black beast like Raven. Ground rock hard as well: like dust and concrete. We've still had no rain at all for weeks and weeks.

 

We were also trying out a new type of ferret box that had been given us: it has a really cool drop down hatch along the front side, with metal mesh insert to allow a good air flow into the compartments, which are also divided with the same mesh. Despite being in full sun for over 5 hours, the ferrets stayed cool and were obviously fine: unlike our traditional box which had to be kept in deep shade: under the van.

 

We ended the morning with 18 rabbits (including two young ones) and we saw a few tiny squeakers as well. Fooking weird weather: there were even grasshoppers jumping about in the grass!

 

All in all, I was very pleased with Lena, though she did get a bit whingy when she heard ferrets battling with rabbits underground. We got 4 out of one stop end in an off shoot between two bolt holes: no wonder they didn't want to bolt: when gutted, they were totally obese. Never seen so much fat inside rabbits. But only from that one warren: the others were normal. Obviously a club house for fat rabbits

 

A few pics:

[skycat 6,174]

More pics:

[weasle 1,119]

I like her.

[skycat 6,174]

More pics:

[skycat 6,174]

There were 4 rabbits in a side shoot off the burrow between the two holes where Cricket and Andy were doing their thing: fat rabbits!

Not a bad little morning, despite the heat.

[skycat 6,174]

Thanks Weasle: she is totally different in temperament to her sister: she's more thoughtful, more 'lurchery', a lot more sensitive, and a lot less easy to train. I haven't done half with her what I have with Schuck, but she's one of those pups that needs to learn things in her own time; you can't force her on. But she's every bit as quick in her head if you allow her to work things out for herself: I'd have ruined her if I'd tried to 'make' her do things the way some people might try and train a dog.

[forest of dean redneck 12,021]

nice pup

you can see the redline blood in her head cant you.

[boyo 1,398]

she looks really well penny .lovely coat on her fair play .

[moonlighter 1,165]

Looks like you had a good day. It's an exciting but apprehensive time the first time you take a young dog. I took mine for the first time today and it turned out a good day, after a iffey start.

[Tiny 7 1,694]

She matureing nicely there P, Fine looking bitch too boot,

 

Your right about the weather here in Northants anit had rain for weeks also and grounds still soild, Even seen 3 tennis ball rabbits the other day tiny little things, So..... But had the first frost last nice so heres hopeing too get the cover back and amoung a few......

[alan626 305]

that black dog is a fine animal hows he bred ,, my friend caught a long ear 2 days ago and it was full of young

[Guest vin]

great stuff..like that dog Penny..

[skycat 6,174]

alan626: the black dog is a Picardy Sheepdog cross. Strangely the dogs seem to come out very big and heavy though the bitches are nearly always a lot smaller and lighter: a very marked difference. I know it is a bit like taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut using him for ferreting, but he enjoys it, though he's really a bigger game sort of dog.

[Moll. 1,793]

She really has blossomed into a fine looking dog Penny

[tia.kins 56]

SC, nice to see Lena out. She really is a beauty to look at.....so it's good to read that she settled in well above the warrens.

 

Look forward to seeing more on her as the months pass

 

Smart fert box too!