Polecats/Dark Ferrets

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

There was a chap at the wiltshire game fair who I spoke to with a loads of ferrets and polecat types on show there, and he pointed out these two very dark coloured polecat types and said exactly the same that they we're timid, very wary, hopless for work as they just stay just in the hole out of reach and when he put his hand in to pick the hob up he was very cautios as he said its an absolute fecker for biting! But once he had got it out eventialy it just hung there silent and without any movement unlike the other ferrets and domestic polecats he had there so maybe there is a difference?

Sounds about right, mind mine never bit me...

 

Saying all that, Ive a mate who has some of the darkest ferrets Ive ever seen, but they are not wild crosses, not even close, just super dark ferrets, and they work and act just like any other domestic working bred ferret. I feel a fair ammount of these are being sold as wild polecats, even though you are buying a genuine domestic ferret, that would behave and work great... for some reason the dark ones are attracting folk like flies round shit? and if a 'breeder' throws in the words 'wild polecat' he can add an extra few ££

 

This is the hunting life... surely all of us on here want a friendly working ferret? What the hell happened to buying in stock from proven working lines, off genuine folk who look after their stock and work them hard?

[kenny14 656]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

Genentially identical... yes.... so are dogs and wolves, but your not going to breed your purpose-bred working dog with a wolf, and hope to improve anything. Its no easy business perfecting a working animal, its an ongoing process just to keep standards decent, why loose it all in an instant??? These are things I found out through trial and error, not off the net lol I made the mistakes myself.

 

As for most lines having pure wild polecat in them, even as close as a few gens back.... not true, not even slightly, Id say the vast majority of lines are tons of generations away from any pure wild blood

 

But totally different behaviour, the wild ones are not the friendly tame nature of a domestic ferret. They may be ok to handle, but never too keen on the idea, quite shy,timid, and always ready to be 'wild' again even if reared and born in captivity. This happened to the whole litter according to the guy who owned the jill (he kept a couple of jill kits, turned out just like the hobs I reared)

 

Good luck Rob, keep us posted, I wish you luck (genuinely)

 

DnN

You're probably right in saying that most go back 'tons' of generations, but these are still genetically identical to truly wild Polecats. Whereas Dogs and Wolves are very different, and are easily seperated through DNA sampling.

 

It's also now readily accepted that most wild Polecats in the UK will probably have at least some domesticated blood in them, from ancestors breeding with escapees. Another hurdle to overcome when genetic testing improves further.

[kenny14 656]

There was a chap at the wiltshire game fair who I spoke to with a loads of ferrets and polecat types on show there, and he pointed out these two very dark coloured polecat types and said exactly the same that they we're timid, very wary, hopless for work as they just stay just in the hole out of reach and when he put his hand in to pick the hob up he was very cautios as he said its an absolute fecker for biting! But once he had got it out eventialy it just hung there silent and without any movement unlike the other ferrets and domestic polecats he had there so maybe there is a difference?

Sounds about right, mind mine never bit me...

 

Saying all that, Ive a mate who has some of the darkest ferrets Ive ever seen, but they are not wild crosses, not even close, just super dark ferrets, and they work and act just like any other domestic working bred ferret. I feel a fair ammount of these are being sold as wild polecats, even though you are buying a genuine domestic ferret, that would behave and work great... for some reason the dark ones are attracting folk like flies round shit? and if a 'breeder' throws in the words 'wild polecat' he can add an extra few ££

 

This is the hunting life... surely all of us on here want a friendly working ferret? What the hell happened to buying in stock from proven working lines, off genuine folk who look after their stock and work them hard?

 

I was just about to write about that when I saw you'd already done so!

 

I've always had ferrets apart from the last few years, then recently got a couple (very dark) and when looking around for some I was amazed at how many were throwing that or similar comment around.

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

Genentially identical... yes.... so are dogs and wolves, but your not going to breed your purpose-bred working dog with a wolf, and hope to improve anything. Its no easy business perfecting a working animal, its an ongoing process just to keep standards decent, why loose it all in an instant??? These are things I found out through trial and error, not off the net lol I made the mistakes myself.

 

As for most lines having pure wild polecat in them, even as close as a few gens back.... not true, not even slightly, Id say the vast majority of lines are tons of generations away from any pure wild blood

 

But totally different behaviour, the wild ones are not the friendly tame nature of a domestic ferret. They may be ok to handle, but never too keen on the idea, quite shy,timid, and always ready to be 'wild' again even if reared and born in captivity. This happened to the whole litter according to the guy who owned the jill (he kept a couple of jill kits, turned out just like the hobs I reared)

 

Good luck Rob, keep us posted, I wish you luck (genuinely)

 

DnN

You're probably right in saying that most go back 'tons' of generations, but these are still genetically identical to truly wild Polecats. Whereas Dogs and Wolves are very different, and are easily seperated through DNA sampling.

 

It's also now readily accepted that most wild Polecats in the UK will probably have at least some domesticated blood in them, from ancestors breeding with escapees. Another hurdle to overcome when genetic testing improves further.

OK understood...

 

The point I was trying to make was why ruin the working ability, tameness, friendly attitude of a working bred ferret by introducing wild blood? It would be like breeding a track greyhound with a wolf.... as in going back to the start all over again.

 

Totally agree, there wont be many 'pure' wild polecats left in this country, due to breeding with feral ferrets, so agreed, depending on your area, the 'wild' blood may be more/less 'wild' depending on dilution from escaped ferrets in the area... this could be a baring on the outcome of litters working ability??

[dogs-n-natives 1,181]

There was a chap at the wiltshire game fair who I spoke to with a loads of ferrets and polecat types on show there, and he pointed out these two very dark coloured polecat types and said exactly the same that they we're timid, very wary, hopless for work as they just stay just in the hole out of reach and when he put his hand in to pick the hob up he was very cautios as he said its an absolute fecker for biting! But once he had got it out eventialy it just hung there silent and without any movement unlike the other ferrets and domestic polecats he had there so maybe there is a difference?

Sounds about right, mind mine never bit me...

 

Saying all that, Ive a mate who has some of the darkest ferrets Ive ever seen, but they are not wild crosses, not even close, just super dark ferrets, and they work and act just like any other domestic working bred ferret. I feel a fair ammount of these are being sold as wild polecats, even though you are buying a genuine domestic ferret, that would behave and work great... for some reason the dark ones are attracting folk like flies round shit? and if a 'breeder' throws in the words 'wild polecat' he can add an extra few ££

 

This is the hunting life... surely all of us on here want a friendly working ferret? What the hell happened to buying in stock from proven working lines, off genuine folk who look after their stock and work them hard?

 

I was just about to write about that when I saw you'd already done so!

 

I've always had ferrets apart from the last few years, then recently got a couple (very dark) and when looking around for some I was amazed at how many were throwing that or similar comment around.

[rob190364 2,593]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

that's not the point of the thread, I'm not arsed what I call it to be honest because to me it's a stinker!

 

the point of the thread was that I've always done what lots of other people have done on here and dismissed them as bog standard ferrets. Every other ferret I've ever had has either been a normal polecat coloured ferret or an albino and bar one or two minor personality differences they've all had exactly the same traits and have acted and looked exactly the same. This is a very dark coloured one that acts completely differently. I'm sure 99% of the people on here (myself included before this weekend) dismiss them as normal ferrets without ever actually seeing one of these 'different ones' in the flesh and witnessed the way they act.

 

Easy rob!

I put that line in to simply emphasise the fact that it could quite easily have a lot of 'true' Polecat blood, but there's no way of telling for sure! ........

 

And if they're stinkers.........clean the f***ers out more often

No worries, I wasn't being stroppy all I was getting at is I'm not trying to convince myself that it's a polecat so I can call it a polecat...I'm just sharing my experience of what I'm seen in my new addition. It'll be fascinating to see what it's like in the field compared to a normal ferret.

 

Dog n Natives talks about his from the past, but mine differs in that it's not even remotely tense when being held, if anything it's completely the opposite. When you're holding it it's more cat like than ferret like, it just chills out completely and when you stroke its head it looks up at you like a cat does.

 

The way it eats is weird aswell, it sort of grabs food the way a dog would do if it hadn't been fed for about a week.....in a proper aggressive sort of way. I really need to film some of these things I think.

[kenny14 656]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

Genentially identical... yes.... so are dogs and wolves, but your not going to breed your purpose-bred working dog with a wolf, and hope to improve anything. Its no easy business perfecting a working animal, its an ongoing process just to keep standards decent, why loose it all in an instant??? These are things I found out through trial and error, not off the net lol I made the mistakes myself.

 

As for most lines having pure wild polecat in them, even as close as a few gens back.... not true, not even slightly, Id say the vast majority of lines are tons of generations away from any pure wild blood

 

But totally different behaviour, the wild ones are not the friendly tame nature of a domestic ferret. They may be ok to handle, but never too keen on the idea, quite shy,timid, and always ready to be 'wild' again even if reared and born in captivity. This happened to the whole litter according to the guy who owned the jill (he kept a couple of jill kits, turned out just like the hobs I reared)

 

Good luck Rob, keep us posted, I wish you luck (genuinely)

 

DnN

You're probably right in saying that most go back 'tons' of generations, but these are still genetically identical to truly wild Polecats. Whereas Dogs and Wolves are very different, and are easily seperated through DNA sampling.

 

It's also now readily accepted that most wild Polecats in the UK will probably have at least some domesticated blood in them, from ancestors breeding with escapees. Another hurdle to overcome when genetic testing improves further.

OK understood...

 

The point I was trying to make was why ruin the working ability, tameness, friendly attitude of a working bred ferret by introducing wild blood? It would be like breeding a track greyhound with a wolf.... as in going back to the start all over again.

 

Totally agree, there wont be many 'pure' wild polecats left in this country, due to breeding with feral ferrets, so agreed, depending on your area, the 'wild' blood may be more/less 'wild' depending on dilution from escaped ferrets in the area... this could be a baring on the outcome of litters working ability??

 

That makes sense, but not all breeders think along those lines.

 

As I said, I've had ferrets from a very young age, and one time when I was in my early teens I'd been out ferreting and was on my way home when I saw a very dark Polecat Ferret hunting around in a field, about 20 yards from a hedge and ditch. Back then it was quite common to find escaped Ferrets when you were out, especially as there were no locators at the time, and poaching for the odd Rabbit was very common. I carefully got through the hedge with the intention of adding this ferret to my own, but as soon as it saw me it litterally sped into the ditch, much faster and with far more agility than any ferret I'd seen before or since.

I spent about an hour searching the ditch and hedge but never saw the animal again, and because of it's speed and agility I'm still inclined to think that it was a wild Polecat, though there are very few records of them anywhere around that area.

Edited October 2, 2012 by kenny14

[kenny14 656]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

that's not the point of the thread, I'm not arsed what I call it to be honest because to me it's a stinker!

 

the point of the thread was that I've always done what lots of other people have done on here and dismissed them as bog standard ferrets. Every other ferret I've ever had has either been a normal polecat coloured ferret or an albino and bar one or two minor personality differences they've all had exactly the same traits and have acted and looked exactly the same. This is a very dark coloured one that acts completely differently. I'm sure 99% of the people on here (myself included before this weekend) dismiss them as normal ferrets without ever actually seeing one of these 'different ones' in the flesh and witnessed the way they act.

 

Easy rob!

I put that line in to simply emphasise the fact that it could quite easily have a lot of 'true' Polecat blood, but there's no way of telling for sure! ........

 

And if they're stinkers.........clean the f***ers out more often

No worries, I wasn't being stroppy all I was getting at is I'm not trying to convince myself that it's a polecat so I can call it a polecat...I'm just sharing my experience of what I'm seen in my new addition. It'll be fascinating to see what it's like in the field compared to a normal ferret.

 

Dog n Natives talks about his from the past, but mine differs in that it's not even remotely tense when being held, if anything it's completely the opposite. When you're holding it it's more cat like than ferret like, it just chills out completely and when you stroke its head it looks up at you like a cat does.

 

The way it eats is weird aswell, it sort of grabs food the way a dog would do if it hadn't been fed for about a week.....in a proper aggressive sort of way. I really need to film some of these things I think.

 

My two eat in the way you describe, and put away far more food than I can remember any of my previous Ferrets doing.

[BS40liam 203]

On the trade-it there's also eu polecats being advertised for 15 quid but to me can't be anything other than normal domesticated ferret with polecat blood somewhere in ther breeding

[kenny14 656]

On the trade-it there's also eu polecats being advertised for 15 quid but to me can't be anything other than normal domesticated ferret with polecat blood somewhere in ther breeding

 

As dogs n natives said, it's probably to try up the price.

It'd be interesting to see the faces of some of the breeders if you asked to see the 'eu' passport as proof

[The one 8,398]

last year i helped re home a eu poley hob from a member on here to a mate he was a big quiet hob and i put him in with my jills who thrashed him and he was on the bottom rung in my ferret group . Then i bred a albino to a silver and got a poley jill a silver jill and a albino hob and this polecat jill kit is darker than the hob built like a brick sh*t house and works at a hundred miles a hours .So i think ive seen both types and will stick to my working polecat

[rob190364 2,593]

last year i helped re home a eu poley hob from a member on here to a mate he was a big quiet hob and i put him in with my jills who thrashed him and he was on the bottom rung in my ferret group . Then i bred a albino to a silver and got a poley jill a silver jill and a albino hob and this polecat jill kit is darker than the hob built like a brick sh*t house and works at a hundred miles a hours .So i think ive seen both types and will stick to my working polecat

Might be me being thick but I'm not 100% sure what you're saying to be honest! Do you mean you had a polecat that was crap, and then bred two ferrets and got a polecat coloured jill that was good?

[BS40liam 203]

The bloke I mentioned earlier from the wiltshire game fair also held this dark polecat type up and told me to feel around its back ar, and I must say the muscle and strnght you could feel on it compaired to your average joe's ferret was a hell of a lot different, but saying that I still think a ferret is a ferret no matter what colour shape or form its is and if it works its a bonus

[The one 8,398]

'rob190364' timestamp='1349183921' post='2832314']

The one' timestamp='1349183624' post='2832307']

last year i helped re home a eu poley hob from a member on here to a mate he was a big quiet hob and i put him in with my jills who thrashed him and he was on the bottom rung in my ferret group . Then i bred a albino to a silver and got a poley jill a silver jill and a albino hob and this polecat jill kit is darker than the hob built like a brick sh*t house and works at a hundred miles a hours .So i think ive seen both types and will stick to my working polecat

 

Might be me being thick but I'm not 100% sure what you're saying to be honest! Do you mean you had a polecat that was crap, and then bred two ferrets and got a polecat coloured jill that was good?

 

What im saying is there was nothing wrong with the eu hob but my worker to worker polecat kit could do exactly the same and it wasnt daft money

[gnipper 5,972]

The hob you've described Rob sounds exactly like a Jill kit I was given this year who was out of a stray ferret which was already in kit when found. The kits were all dark and their behaviour is different to normal ferrets. The way she acts I was pretty sure she was gonna be a skulker but she had her first outing this weekend and came out ok, she went straight to ground and she also bolted a couple so looking promising. Her mother also turned out a good worker too.