Ferrets that come away froma rabbit

[Sirius 1,358]

So following on from the 'Sleeping starving ferret' and 'lay up's' thread.

 

How do you like your ferrets to work when they layup on a rabbit? Stay scratching away till dug too, like a earth dog if that's possible? Or maybe come away after a short while? Or maybe have a wee 40 winks and move on after a little snackette? (joking)

 

I think the subject as all things hunting, has a few variables and personal views. And I know what mine are.

 

 

Good Hunting Sirius

Edited October 31, 2012 by Sirius

[TOMO 24,890]

To be honest I like both types,,,, if it's 10 foot down in a bank,, I like the type that's comes away.....lol, if it's just a foot or two of easy digging t hen you want a stayer,,,.

 

Of course yousing your head, if your doing a deep old place that you know a kill is likely , then use the non sticker.

 

The problem can be when you have ferrets that kill quik and move on,, you era ly need to follow these fellows with the box,,, then there's the others that can get dragged around , so very time you start a hole , it moves 3 feet further along .

[Ideation 8,216]

As tomo says, its horses for courses for me!

 

If the digging isnt going to be too bad, then a sticker is obviously the one you want, but its handy to have a non sticker, one that will kill and stay for maybe a half hour or something, as you can then put them down under concrete, buildings, roads etc and know that most likely at worst, you will have to wait a bit.

 

My favourites are the eye eaters! The ferrets that rather than trying to kill at first, try to pull their eyes out. . . . . that usually makes them bolt!

 

Edited to add - those that stick for a half hour and come out, usually means that you already have the mark and can drop down to the bunny with the ferret safly boxed up.

 

(p.s i'm talking about leaving kills not leaving them alive bottled up, thats different!)

Edited October 31, 2012 by Ideation

[BRIAN BOROIMHE 11]

i give my ferrets a small feed before a hunt so they tend not to lay up to long , if they have been laid up and came away i've usually already gotten a fix with the locater and if its handy enough digging i'll dig down, ferret there or not

[Country Joe 1,411]

I agree with the above posts, if 15ft down you dont want a Ferret that wont leave,

but you also can have them, that keep moving the rabbit.

This can be annoying, if you are digging down to find the have moved.

Most stop this, when they become adept at killing.

[Malt 379]

My best Jill will move on from a kill after its dead and I give a good feed the night before so she's not tempted to have a snack. Most of my ferreting is in ancient hedges under old trees with twisted roots and digging any sort of depth is a nightmare. The way she is suits me down to the ground.

[fitchet 788]

As already said different situations call for different measures. If im just out to give the dog a few runs then i enter 1 jill and aim for single quick bolts. But if out doing pest control then a dig could add another rabbit or 2 to the bag.

[Sirius 1,358]

It's a fine balance, I work plenty of deep places, and when a ferrets going 10- 15ft down and then not moving for hours, its frankly a pain in the arse, as I don't want to be digging it or hanging round for hours either. But the flip side is, if on a hedgerow or shallow spot, you need them to stay put long enough to get a mark once the other inhabitance have all been cleared.

 

I am no fan of digging unless really needed, so I am happy if my ferrets generally come away after 15-20 minutes. Yes maybe I have to leave the odd one under the sod in deeper spots, but getting on to the next warren quicker, generally leads to better bags and efficient service to the land owner.

I guess its knowing when your ferrets are telling lies and giving up way to easily with a particularly sticky rabbit without really hassling it, and that is pretty hard to prove always.

I makes me smirk when people say" I like a ferret that stays till dug too" like its a terrier, to me that would be a royal pain in the arse and waste of time. And do ferrets really stay till dug too, I have always found eventually they come away especially on a 6ft plus dig, unless stuck.

Just my thoughts.

 

 

Good Hunting, its time to get stuck in and fill your boots.

Edited October 31, 2012 by Sirius

[The one 8,398]

I like a ferret that will stay till dug out , its handy getting the rabbits out if the owners had other folk ferreting his permission and you come along showing that you can get them out dead or alive , but its no so handy when you have to dig seven foot down to get them out , i had that twice in one day the second time my jill was stuck between two dead rabbits so if you wasn't dug out she would have been stuck for god knows how long . Any new permission we get i put fifteen foot collars on the ferrets but im hoping never to dig that depth

[theferreter 311]

my ferrets never lie up there always worked with a bit of grub in them if they get a rabbit they will kill it and move on if they get one well weged in a block end that they can only claw at they will stick with it for a while and move on this gives me time to get a mark and dig it out if it not to deep

[BRIAN BOROIMHE 11]

my ferrets never lie up there always worked with a bit of grub in them if they get a rabbit they will kill it and move on if they get one well weged in a block end that they can only claw at they will stick with it for a while and move on this gives me time to get a mark and dig it out if it not to deep

your a lucky man

[Adam_Chuck 256]

As said if the digging is hard then you want one that will move of the rabbit or kill and move on. If the diggings hard then you dont want 1 that will stick. End up with this

[leec 132]

a ferret that leaves a dead rabbit will leave a live one,

how common is a 6ft dig?

not very round here anyway,

leaveing dead rabbits or assed up ones is bad news

[reddawn 2,173]

i got a jill here that will stay for around 20 mins half hour but i sure if she dont hear me diggin after a while she comes away, her jill kitt from early this year is startin to work similar but a hob from same litter is like a terrier you got to dig him out if he gets on, i always try an keep both types an use them accordingly but sometimes things just go wrong an ye end up way a diggin ferret at 14ft lol

[reddawn 2,173]

i got a jill here that will stay for around 20 mins half hour but i sure if she dont hear me diggin after a while she comes away, her jill kitt from early this year is startin to work similar but a hob from same litter is like a terrier you got to dig him out if he gets on, i always try an keep both types an use them accordingly but sometimes things just go wrong an ye end up way a diggin ferret at 14ft lol