Are rabbits giving my ferrets the run around?

[coneykenny 98]

It was a large warren around 30 holes with good numbers of rabbits outside .As i approached they all went to ground.

happy days i thought .I entered 5 ferrets and bolted 4 rabbits in 5 mins.For next 2 hrs i bolted 2 more and my ferrets

were coming out as if to say thats your lot .I was baffled as the are good ferrets and have produced the goods before.

[Ideation 8,217]

I would put my money on there being a load of little ones, scutties, running around below ground, and the ferrets were spending most of their time chasing down and killing them.

[gnipper 7,004]

Are the ferrets in season? They seem to lose a bit of interest in the job when they are.

[Guest cookiemonsterandmerlin]

Or another option is that the ferrets are driving the rabbits into stop ends 5 or 6 up a stop and over time the ferret works over the top turns them and bolts it and then returns to next rabbit .

 

This can take several hours if the stop is tight and rabbits stuborn and even some of the best works will fail to get over them to turn .

Then what tends to happen is the ferrets surface the owner picks them up has fag chews the fat for 10 mins then enters a new ferret and in that time the tail end charlie in the stop has turned as no ferret is scrapping its arse and is losse in the warren.

 

Then new ferret bolts the rabbit only for owner to think he got super ferret and the one in box needs a shovel on back of its head.

 

There no real reason sometimes they will just not bolt .

 

ATB Cookie

[Leeview 792]

I would put my money on there being a load of little ones, scutties, running around below ground, and the ferrets were spending most of their time chasing down and killing them.

they would be top notch ferrets to be killing all the young uns underground and not one young un managing to boltIMHO

Y.I.S Leeview

[TOMO 29,856]

what cookie said,,, also depending on the ferret,,, some ferrets wont stick for long on rabbits that are bottled up,, so they mey come up with fur in the claws ,, but cos you have bolted some already ,, you just think its from that,,, somtimes you have to get on the locator quik,,, its all about knowing your individual ferrets working habbits