A quick shine and a mooch.

[Ideation 8,216]

It was dark last night, with a slight wind, blowing across the fields. I spent the day, cleaning the ferrets out, trying to rid my car (temporarily) of the smell of dogs, ferrets and dead rabbits, and hassling a few rabbits in the local woods with the dog, and come night time, i was ready for a bit of a walk with finn.

 

The rabbits local to me are hard to catch on the lamp, very wary hedge huggers, feeding on short clipped, steep, sheep fields, but if you know the ground you can usually get a few runs and have a bit of sport. I headed out down the lane, with the battery on my back and the dog by my side. The first field showed a couple sat right at the far end, shich soon scuttled away to safety. Up the hill and over the gate to the next field, i shone the lamp down the hills far side and spotted a bunny already legging it a long the hills base. Off went the dog, on a long slip and cut the rabbit off, forcing it to take refuge in some reeds, he bushed it back out into the field and after a couple of turns had it. At this point i heard a noise by my feet and shone the lamp down to see a rabbit literally run past me within feet and jump through the fence, what was that i said about wary rabbits . . . bugger! Anyway, a look around the field revealed no more coneys. Onto the next field and two rabbits up by the far fence, off goes dog, and manages to bounce one off the fence and into the field, he goes for a strike, slips and the rabbit makes enough lead to jump through the fence into a warren as the dog rattles off the wire. Across the road and up a hill, and there is not much about. At last two sets of eyes, again, by a far fence. Off goes dog and manages to bounce one away and a long the fence, and on a nice straight run, lifts it. We make our way down toward an old barn which has a warren in the foundations, the rabbits are hard to get the drop on here, but this time i climb through a hedge rather than over the gate and managed to get close enough for a long slip on the couple that are there. The dog does well, cutting one off from saftey and boxing it away from the holes all along the edge of the barn, it turns for the hedge and i think, it's dead, only for the rabbit to slip under a tiny gap under a piece of sheet metal against the hedge. The dog, on it's arse, collides head on with the metal and knocks himself for six. I get over to him and he's ok, apart from a small cut on his face, a nick on his chest, a long scrape down his leg, and a stinking head ache. He looks a bit dazed and so i decide to call it a night, take my two rabbits and give him a look over and a feed.

 

Got up early doors this morning and the dog was good to go, so packed up the car with a couple of jills, a few nets and the dog and headed off to pick up johnnyboy 68, accompanied by Gem and Luna, his two mutts and his wee poley jill. The plan was to have a good mooch about and use the ferrets to bolt anything the dogs worked to ground, but not to really 'go ferreting'.

 

We arrived at the first spot and headed off across the fields, the dogs working away, eventually they started to put up the odd rabbits, but due to the temp the scent was crap and they were losing them in the thick stuff. The farm was very quiet as it has been flooded recently and a lot of the rabbits have been pushed out (or we've killed them). We carried on, soaking up the scenery and having some good banter, watching the three dogs work the ditches and hedges as we went. Eventually we stopped at a set, which we had a half kind of mark on, so stuck a few nets down, and dropped in a ferret. Nothing happened and then the ferret appeared under some thick cover, out of a hole we'd missed. But we hadn't heard anything bolt. We picked up the nets, and whilst we were at it, i noticed finn had dissapeared up the hedge / ditch, to a point where there was a load of braken. He stopped dead still and was staring intently at the cover, a good sign there is a rabbit. I walked up to him and watched him moving his eyes and nostrils trying to locate it's exact position. Suddenly he struck forward like a dart, straight into the middle of the cover. He drew back, rabbit in mouth

 

We continued our walk about but nothing more was doing here, so we went to another farm. On arrival, we had a scout about the farmers wifes garden to find a pesky rabbit that has been eating her plants, but the ninja bunny had dissapeared. We headed out onto the fields, to a rough tree line, with some cover, and let the dogs work. Soon enough they had put one to ground, in a couple of hole set. In went the jill, and soon had it bottled up a couple of inches down, started to dig and it bolted, rabbit number two in the bag, but with a touch of mixy

 

We carried on and the dogs put a rabbit into a mound of brambles over the boundry. I spotted the people on their drive (big house, lawn like a rugby pitch), and went and had a word, securing permission to ferret around their property. So we dropped a couple of jills into the mound and stood back, two rabbits bolted in rabbit succesion, unfortunatly through the cover rather than across the lawn, both dissapeared into the trees behind us with dogs in pursuit. The dogs returned, just as another rabbit was being coursed through the brambles by the ferrets. The little b*****d wouldnt break cover, and face the dogs. Eventually he passed in my sight and i made a superman like leap into the brambles and caught him

 

We picked up the jills and turned around, to see Finn had dissapeared, we found him marking a set in the trees (one of the earlier escapees run to ground). We popped him out and he wa snapped up.

 

We mooched on, letting the dogs work a bracken strip that divides two fields. Soon enough they were on a scent and shortly he was pushed out into the field, to be taken by Luna in a flying pounce.

 

With that, the day was coming to an end, a very pleasant walk, in good company, watching a decent team of dogs work under their own steam. We had a good variety of sport today and the half dozen bunnies were a nice bonus

 

Atb.

 

And i left my camera in the car at half time, so no crap photos from the second half

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1Wally 204]

Good write up mate, looks like a top day out that. Atb Wally

[Ideation 8,216]

O yer and one of the rabbits had no white under belly

[Ideation 8,216]

Just a note, before someone points it out the three pics in the middle, where johnnyboy is wearing different clothes, are from another day on the same land, just to show the kind of cover

[Rake aboot 4,936]

ARghhhhhhhhh Ah need to get hame,, pronto,, this is drivin me daft!! lol

 

Nice one Jai

[iworkwhippets 13,063]

Good write up and pics yet again, and yes, it was dark last night where do you live

[Malt 379]

Thanks for sharing!

 

 

The rabbits local to me are hard to catch on the lamp, very wary hedge huggers, feeding on short clipped, steep, sheep fields, but if you know the ground you can usually get a few runs and have a bit of sport.

 

Sounds like some of the fields round here mate. I find you need a bit of craft with the lamp to catch on those type of places, it's no good just steadily pointing the beam at the quarry.

[mintstick999 485]

A lovely write up mate what is it with these whippet type dogs thinking they can climb bloody trees sounds like you had a nice day out with the dogs.

[Ideation 8,216]

Thanks for sharing!

 

 

The rabbits local to me are hard to catch on the lamp, very wary hedge huggers, feeding on short clipped, steep, sheep fields, but if you know the ground you can usually get a few runs and have a bit of sport.

 

Sounds like some of the fields round here mate. I find you need a bit of craft with the lamp to catch on those type of places, it's no good just steadily pointing the beam at the quarry.

 

Aye mate, you have to be pretty crafty to get the drop on them, and you lucky to get a run in each field.

[robwelsh 354]

nice mate !

[Ideation 8,216]

A lovely write up mate what is it with these whippet type dogs thinking they can climb bloody trees sounds like you had a nice day out with the dogs.

 

Cheers Aye, there must have been a tree rat in a hole up there and he got a good way up

[mintstick999 485]

A lovely write up mate what is it with these whippet type dogs thinking they can climb bloody trees sounds like you had a nice day out with the dogs.

 

Cheers Aye, there must have been a tree rat in a hole up there and he got a good way up

 

Got one here mate, straight out across a branch after tree rats, then splash lucky the bloody tide was in or he'd be dead now....

[Ideation 8,216]

Yer, twats ain't they

[Simoman 110]

Enjoyable read that..........

[Millet 4,497]

Good stuff.. ..but what are you thinking about putting picture's up of 3 dog's running loose together..