first solo trip

[Westy76 546]

I got a call from my vets friday asking me to call them back as they needed my help with something,pants i thought they'd undercharged me for the dogs shoulder treatment the day before so with a wallet clenching moment i returned the call.

 

Result a lady with a large garden had phoned with a rabbit issue but called the vets to see if they could suggest someone,so the vet who snipped my hob suggested me,so after a quick call to the women i arranged to meet her and her head gardener that afternoon.

After a hectic day at work i found the house,damn it was big and looking round the grounds was told approx 10 acres of ground with it and the rabbits were causing the gardener to go grey as everything she plants is gone by the morning,they had 3 smallish buries but all the fences had gaps underneath with visible runs with buries on all the other sides of the fences so they've got alot of outside help.

The only issue they had was i had to work alone

which was fine by me but as this was my first season ferreting id always gone with a couple of lads on here an used all there gear and there ferts but the small buries would be ideal for trying out my ferts last years kits,so a quick call to blackstaff to see if i could use his locater,collars and 2 of his jills just to make sure the buries would be cleared if mine started mucking around.

 

So saturday morning i met the lady at 7am and

she let me in to start on the first bury whish they'd dug into a rockery next to the swimming pool the only aggro i had was i had no marking dog due to both mine being injured so had to do all buries assuming something was at home which wasnt to bad as the biggest being 10

holes,so i put the collars on the ferrets after turning them on which was a dodle with blackstaffs but mine had only had collars on a couple of times so were a bit of a fiddle but once on they had no problems with them being on.I purse netted all the holes i could see and found a few more under the heather plants and netted them to using nets given to me last year by Rascal and keeps i entered one of the seasoned ferts and she quickly ran through with nothing bolting so i tried my ferret after i boxed the other away and she also ran through happily going to ground with no issues but still nothing bolting,so i put her away and lifted the nets and started on the next one which was only a 3 holer but in amongst thick bushes but looked very active,at this point i now have the house owner and her camera with me so time to deliver!!

I entered blackstaffs pug who has done well this season and rarely gets dug to as i doubt id get

through the roots on these bushes and straight away 1 bolts into a net so i take care of that with my boot down the hole and another net goes on but nothing more but i could hear more running around?? well they were bolting but not on my side of the fence really should of looked over the wall into next doors garden earlier which had 1 hole oh well ill know for next time.

So with 1 in the bag and the lady happy with that i lifted the nets and made my way to the last set which was a 12 holer at the bottom of the garden between the lake and the stream but was the only open bury there so i decided would be perfect to run my 2 untried jills through this and would also be a easier dig than the other 2 sets.

Nets down and ferrets in i didnt have to wait long before the 1st bunny bolted with my jill right up its backside covered in mud clearly having a great time so i dispatched the rabbit and let the ferret play with it but she was keen to get back in and number 2 shot out with the other jill in hot pursuit really pleased with both my jills on there first trip out but nothing more bolted and both decided to come out so i ran the pros

through and still nothing so that was that packed up and went to show the lady my catch which she was really pleased with but said could i come back to get the rest along with the pigeons and the multitude of squirrels if i wanted to..............oh hell yes!!

 

So all in all not a bad couple of hours and the vets have asked if they could forward all pest problems on to me in future

thanks for reading.

 

ps thanks to everyone who's helped me through my first seaon especially blackstaff and Tyla cheers guys

 

Edited February 26, 2012 by Westy76

[max abell 198]

Good read there mate well done have done a few one off jobs in big gardens it's good to keep the owners of big propertys happy cos it normaly leads to other permissions

[Westy76 546]

thanks max i had a great time and a big confidence booster,just a shame the next season is so far away!!

[simonrocco 175]

well done pal spot on for the vets to be getting you some pest control jobs atb

[Stevo ferretboy 20]

Well done mate good read that that was good of the vet to think off you some size garden wish mine was that big atb

[Westy76 546]

Cheers lads,vet is a top fella used to be ferret mad til he became a partner in the practice and his kids came along he's always up for a chat on dogs and ferts

That garden is huge and has an electric deer fence through the middle to stop the small herd that live there eating everything to but the bunnies are doing some damage,she has 2 stocked lakes and the rights on the river that goes through it so naturally I asked if I could clear them of crays and a cheeky fish as the carp are huge instead of payment

[The one 8,592]

Nice going mate we do a couple of big gardens like that and there no shy about giving you some cash at the end of the day .

[Westy76 546]

Nice going mate we do a couple of big gardens like that and there no shy about giving you some cash at the end of the day .

Cheers,she asked if she could call me through out the year so when she asked about payment I just said think about me at Xmas as I'm hoping for more jobs word of mouth around this

area,just pleased my ferts done the biz.

[Stevo ferretboy 20]

Good thinking that mate get to fish the lakes as well on to a winner there nice one some people just get all the luck if it want for bad luck I wouldn't get any luck at all

[blackstaff 488]

Good going bud, well done No worries on the collars and locator, it was only going to sit here and do nothing that day anyhow I bet looking back you learned more for those couple of hours than you realise

[Westy76 546]

Good thinking that mate get to fish the lakes as well on to a winner there nice one some people just get all the luck if it want for bad luck I wouldn't get any luck at all

cheers stevo but with my luck sometimes i could put me hand into a bucket of fannies and pull out my ex wifes!!

this was a touch granted

.

[Westy76 546]

Good going bud, well done No worries on the collars and locator, it was only going to sit here and do nothing that day anyhow I bet looking back you learned more for those couple of hours than you realise

cheers yoda

it was certainly different to start with and having no dog about but enjoyed eating a not dogged rabbit for a change

once i got going i got more confident and i do enjoy using the pursenets but deffo getting those collars and a locator before next season so i can do a few more bits like that,once again thanks for all the help this season mate i appreciate the help

[rabbitcatcher 1 287]

well in there mate thats a stroke ov luck having a vet on your side keep it up lad i enjoy my ferreting/rabbiting LUV IT atb mush rabbitcatcher

[Westy76 546]

well in there mate thats a stroke ov luck having a vet on your side keep it up lad i enjoy my ferreting/rabbiting LUV IT atb mush rabbitcatcher

Cheers mate