Kye 77 Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 When i was back home in England, me and Royston used to have around 60 ferrets on at a time, although this would dwindle down during the season, once the wheat had been sorted from the chaff, so to speak... It just so happens that a friend of a friend has a Ferret they want to get rid of...the down side is, its one of them 'Pet-Shop' types...NO nuts, NO scent glands, and probably NO fecking work ethic!..lol...But it IS a start!... The state i live in has the highest number of Cottontails (Rabbits) harvested in the USA, the down side is they dont live in Warrens as such, like UK wabbits...they kinda live rough, in brush piles and the like...HOWEVER...this past winter, when it was cold (and feck me was it COLD!) we would go out and see rabbit tracks all over the place in the snow and you could quite easily follow them to holes...we would always say "Man, wish i had a ferret!"..lol. So this lady is gonna give me this ferret for free, with a hutch and everything...im not gonna bother with nets, im just gonna go out with ferret, small spade, and dog... Now the dog is an issue,...i loved the Collie and Beddie Cross' we used in England for rabbit work, both ferreting and lamping...in fact one of the BEST rabbit dogs ive ever seen is Roystons bitch (anyone wanting a rabbit dog, that can and WILL do other stuff, i would get a pup from this bitch now!..I think there some left) I have a few running dogs about the place, but the number one candidate, as my "Lurcher" will be Blister, my 80lb, shade under 30" inch Staghound!..lol..he has caught me SHIT loads of game, and is a very good small game dogs, as well as bigger stuff and toothed game...he is as much at home coursing hares, as lamping rabbits, carrying them back alive...the next night you can take him out and lamp Raccoons and run a Coyote...people say you get one special dog in a life time, this dog could be it for me!..lol. This dog has a real kind, sensitive nature, very non-dog aggresive, and passive around ALL animals (apart from QUARRY, then you see the dark side of him!..lol.) he will lick milk from the corner of our kid goats when they are being bottle fed,..what a gay fecker he is eh?..lol. So, im gonna get an 'ole Deben, and get FR to epoxy it to a smaller collar, and make a little box and off we go!...it could be a disaster, and i wont be out as much as i was back home, but it will be a nice days sport here and there when the weather is good (or BAD!)..LOL. So wish me luck with the non-working ferret, the rabbits that 'aint in the ground, and the dog that wont have a clue why rabbits are running OUT of holes instead of INTO them!..lol. Kye,.. Quote Link to post
borderboy 80 Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 used to have around 60 ferrets on at a time, where the hell did you keep them all? Good luck with your new ferret ... Quote Link to post
Kye 77 Posted June 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 I had a HUGE court...it had three levels, and was about nine foot tall...about 12 feet wide, and about 14 feet long...i loved it..lol...used to hate shitting them out though!...had about six hutches as well that i would use for rearing kits, keeping the hoblets in etc... Kye,.. Quote Link to post
Hob&Jill 258 Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 What were there names? Quote Link to post
Kye 77 Posted June 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 They only had two names..."Keeper" and "Cull"...i had more "Keepers" though... Quote Link to post
Hob&Jill 258 Posted June 2, 2007 Report Share Posted June 2, 2007 Haha :D Seriously, I cant imagine the ammount of shits they must do! Did you breed them all yourself? Quote Link to post
Kye 77 Posted June 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Yeah, all breed buy me and Royston,... Some seasons we bred one litter, other times we bred about 12...most of the Hobs went...the whole mess of the buggars was based on a medium sized albino jill, she was named "Half-Tail"...best ferret i ever had...she lost half her tail, her left eye, and her front right foot to rats...most, if not all my jills where covered buy a very good Hob (a son of half tail) and i went back to half tail wenever i could...she died when she was nine year old...she killed nine rats, in one day...two being Does with nests...this was at Roystons old work place...she also bolted 28 rabbits buy her self in one day of ferreting...no lay-ups. Kye,.. Quote Link to post
COMPO 54 Posted June 3, 2007 Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Yeah, all breed buy me and Royston,... Some seasons we bred one litter, other times we bred about 12...most of the Hobs went...the whole mess of the buggars was based on a medium sized albino jill, she was named "Half-Tail"...best ferret i ever had...she lost half her tail, her left eye, and her front right foot to rats...most, if not all my jills where covered buy a very good Hob (a son of half tail) and i went back to half tail wenever i could...she died when she was nine year old...she killed nine rats, in one day...two being Does with nests...this was at Roystons old work place...she also bolted 28 rabbits buy her self in one day of ferreting...no lay-ups. Kye,.. Good to see that people appreciate a good ferret, they are under valued by some folk (most folk) i have one of those ferrets of a lifetime at the minute an albino jill called Snowball that i took in after she was found in the local supermarket car park ( i think gypsies lost her on the roundabout there which is riddled with rabbits :whistle: ) half tail sounds in a similar vein to my snowball who has bolted over 20 rabbits in a day and several rats from under sheds etc..she never lays up and really is dependable I am sure that your pet ferret wont let you down, she may need more time than the ferts you had back here in england , but i am sure that with a bit of patience and after she has met a rabbit underground it will all gel and you should have some fine sport. If i am right, a lot of working ferrets here are descended from lab ferrets as when myxi struck lots got rid of ferrets and then as rabbits recovered, folk wanted ferts again and got them from whatever source they could i.e. pets and lab animals. Keep us updated on your USA ferreting adventures. Quote Link to post
Kye 77 Posted June 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2007 Good ferrets are just as hard to get as good terriers/lurchers...imo...and deserve the same respect!.. Kye,.. Quote Link to post
Hob&Jill 258 Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Kye, Have you got out with the ferret yet? Just thought I would see hopw it went..... H&J Quote Link to post
lorelei0922 2 Posted August 15, 2007 Report Share Posted August 15, 2007 Being from the States i can attest thats about all you're gonna find... Fixed Descented Petshop sorts... Hell before i moved here to England last year i had never even heard of hunting with them.. bet your friends will be jealous when you get all the bunnies lol Quote Link to post
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