Working Ferrets

[paul roberts 88]

how do people value good ferrets

[bugg 84]

always wondered that myself. i know a guy who wanted 100 for a 3 year old jill because he rekoned she was so good........ not from a top breeder and never bolted a rabbit tho i later heard from his sister haha

[dogmad riley 1,337]

Cant really put a price on a top worker. I know my top workers would be priceless and never for sale. Out of all my ferrets their is only 2 which I would not sell If I had to get rid I would give them to someone who I trusted.

[pie-eater 377]

I value a good worker very highly because they seem to be few and far between these days. I bought in 3 jill kits last season and only 1 of them has shown potential so the other 2 are being moved on to a pet home.

[cookiemonsterandmerlin 145]

The humble ferret underated and under used

[Hywel 53]

As important as a good dog on a day out. Without the ferret doing the business below ground, the opportunities up above are drastically reduced.

[leec 132]

serious lack of good ones and definitely would not take a hundred quid for 1 of mine,

10er a kit buy 10 your lucky to get a good one an you gotta wait a couple seasons to see exactly how good it is,

[foxtails 272]

iv got 2 jills and both are ok on small warrens, the one jill is ok ish on big warrens, but iv had pricless ferrets in the past wouldnt sell for any amount of money, a good working ferret is hard to come by, so when people whos had ferrets for years knows they have a good un on theyr hands no way is that ferret going anywhere ! im on the look out for a worker myself !

[mushroom 12,392]

They go for stupid money here in Spain as pets ffs

 

For me when I moved here I gave my entire court to a friend who still has my line, bloody grand workers they are. Always gave kits away to friends or sold them for a fiver only ever sold for more money when I had litter males snipped to order coz my vet would do a discount

[potpoacher 27]

you cant put a price on a good worker. when I start breeding them I intend to give the kits away to the best homes I can possibly find. I might sell one or two to cover the cost of breeding but that isn't much anyway.

[gary.l 61]

I'm having a terrible time with my two ferrets, I've put them down hundreds of holes where I know there's rabbits, they're in and out all over the place and I never get a bolt or a kill I can dig to, its a mystery to me whats going on underground, are they just ignoring rabbits or what? I mean they're ferrets ffs you'd think if they see a rabbit they'd naturally try and kill the fcuking thing. I remember a 7 or 8 month old hob kit I had years ago within an hour of putting him to ground he was murdering rabbits all round him.

 

The fella I got my jill from had the guts of 40 ferrets he was breeding from, I can remember thinking there's no way this lad is working all these ferrets but thought to myself "they're ferrets they'll kill rabbits, its what they do", I wouldn't mind parting with a few pound for a proven worker at this stage, the head is wrecked.

[GreyRake 108]

They go for stupid money here in Spain as pets ffs

Thats where I think the stolen ferrets end up.

[pie-eater 377]

In my area no one apart from me seems to work hobs and I think this is a big part of the problem. People are taking their best jill and breeding it with any random usualy untested hob which could be watering things down. As well as that you've got people breeding for colour rather than working ability.

[rob190364 2,593]

I'm having a terrible time with my two ferrets, I've put them down hundreds of holes where I know there's rabbits, they're in and out all over the place and I never get a bolt or a kill I can dig to, its a mystery to me whats going on underground, are they just ignoring rabbits or what? I mean they're ferrets ffs you'd think if they see a rabbit they'd naturally try and kill the fcuking thing. I remember a 7 or 8 month old hob kit I had years ago within an hour of putting him to ground he was murdering rabbits all round him.

 

The fella I got my jill from had the guts of 40 ferrets he was breeding from, I can remember thinking there's no way this lad is working all these ferrets but thought to myself "they're ferrets they'll kill rabbits, its what they do", I wouldn't mind parting with a few pound for a proven worker at this stage, the head is wrecked.

are you sure there are rabbits there pal? how do you know? sometimes it appears that there are definitely rabbits in the warren and there isn't. Do you use a marking dog?

 

If they are young ferrets you might be throwing them in at the deep end a little if you're trying to work big warrens. My advice would be either get out with someone experienced, use a dog that you know will mark well so you know for a fact the rabbits are there, or if neither of these are available get out there at first light with your ferrets, walk up to the rabbits so you actually see them going to ground and then ferret the warrens while the scent is still fresh and you know for a fact they're home. Seriously, before I got my dog I was out ferreting and I thought my ferrets were just shite, I was seeing warrens with fresh muck and alsorts and yet rarely getting a bolt, I got my dog and it's now apparent that the warrens I thought were occupied simply weren't. A marking dog is absolutely invaluble for ferreting, even if a dog is not fast enough to catch a rabbit, if it shows you if the warren is occupied then it's worth its weight in gold! and don't think that it has to be a lurcher, any dog can mark as long as it has a half decent sense of smell and actually shows an interest in rabbits.

[foxhound45 167]

Are you in sandy ground or large warrens with a large network of burrows.

 

I find that in sandy ground rabbits dig for the sake of digging. I had a field on the shore of Lough Neagh here in N.I. and there were rabbits everywhere but in this field if I ferreted all day and got 1 or two rabbits that was a good day. Many holes even though they were kicked out to high heavens never held rabbits.

 

As for large warrens, I recently did a warren by myself on sheep grazed grass. Laying nets was like onto carpet the grass was so tidy and the warren was at least a decade old, probably a few decades by the looks of things. I was using a cracker wee polecat jill but the rabbits were running like thunder round and round inside the burrow and although this ferret presses hard and would push any rabbit out of its burrow these ones were not for coming out.

 

I was extremely quiet, walked as least as I could, stood away from all the holes and kept the second ferret in the box far away from the burrow. Luckily I got one with the ferret in pursuit but the whole ordeal took two hours. Thankgod I got her as the sun was coming down fast.

 

On a different recent day I did about 15 different burrows and met two different ferreting groups so it goes to show, eveyone is out, even if you think your holes aren't ferreted by anyone I can bet that they are!

 

Blank days are common, I would honestly say change your ground, or do the harder burrows that people wouldn't try. Or even do a bit of preparation and clear bushes a few days before to open up fresh burrows.

 

But as for blank days, it can be the norm if you have other guys ferreting the ground. I find rabbits don't like moving into ferreted burrows for a good few weeks til the smell disappears. Have you ferreted these or know of anyone who has ferreted these in the past. Your ferrets are running the holes so all is good on their part.