ryaldinhio 4,166 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Right fellas after finding out what a ferret court is (previous post) i reckon i fancy a bit of that for my two. I currently have a decent sized hutch kept in my gardening shed which is 8x6. I was thinking about emptying the shed of all gear so its just got the hutch in it, fixing some wood across the door hole on the inside about 2-3 feet high so i can step over but they cant get out, making a ramp up to hutch and leaving bottom door on hutch open amd putting a pile of logs and some 100m pipe laid about in there. Does this sound ok? Also would i need to sawdust the whole shed floor or maybe just put a litter tray in corners because they seem to s**t in the corners of the hutch so assuming they will do the same in the shed? Sawdusting the whole shed seems a bit much. i just feel a bit bad about them bein cooped up all time, because im not working them yet, when i could sort shed out n they could do what they wanted all day. thanks in advance for any advice. Quote Link to post
vanman1 411 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 If you can get them to use litter trays that would work,but personaly ive never had any luck with them. could you not lose the shed floor and mount it on concrete or slabs?Makes cleaning alot easier I would also leave the shed door as it is and build a complete mesh door inside that.Basicaly if its hot you have mesh door shut and normal door open and vise versa depending on weather but you would need a board of some sort to stop them running out! I put a couple of runners either side of door opening and cut a peace of ply that i can just slide in and out,works a treat. If not your probrably gonna have to put some kind of bedding down straw/sawdust etc. On my set up i have shed on concrete, open the doors remove the ply and toys logs etc hose and sweep out door quick,simple and easy which is what you want imo Quote Link to post
GreyRake 108 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) They can be taught to use a litter box but most of them don't make the 100% on target grade. Some old lino would protect the wood from the stray craps and could be moped down when cleaning. Edited January 10, 2014 by GreyRake Quote Link to post
ryaldinhio 4,166 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Grey rake, good idea wi lino for set up i have. Thanks vanman, this is a relatively temporary measure. In the summer i am planning on building a brick built shed. Inside this i am goin to incorporate their hutches linked to an external court with some kind of shutter door system so i can close them in the hutches when i clean court and vice versa. This was just to get me through to summer so i can make a proper ferret mansion! also i have just spent half hour in the shed with them and both my jill and hob jumped back into the hutch went to the loo and jumped back out to carry on playing so hoping they may keep that up. So im thinking dont sawdust and see how they go? Vanman where yours is concrete do u put any sawdust down? Also ive heard concrete or slabs is good for wearing their claws down so i may put a few random slabs in just for that? Edited January 10, 2014 by ryaldinhio Quote Link to post
vanman1 411 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Yes mate mine have hay/wood shavings in ther hut and just concrete in the run pipes tyres logs etc i just chuck the toys out when i clean the run and put em back when iam done.Hose to whole lot out the door straight to a drain happy days. I have a gilotine door that i can operate from outside to lock them i their hutch while iam cleaning etc. I find with mine that they crap far end of there hutch and far end of there run. Your setup would be fine if its temp until you build something more permanent. The reason i like my setup is iam a busy man(own buisness)so time is crucial to me.I can empty there run jet wash out(sometimes especially)summer i use a pet friendly disenfectant and put it all back ten mins tops.I do this once a week,because of there run there hutch doesnt get too bad and 2-3 mins every other day is all it takes to clean that even in summer i get very few flies etc which can be a pain if your feeding carcases. The concrete definatley helps with their claws as do logs etc and i cant remember the last time i had to trim them to be honest. The other advantage of concrete floor is your never likley to have an escape! Edited January 10, 2014 by vanman1 Quote Link to post
ryaldinhio 4,166 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 Vanman i have heard you mention tyres a few times, do u just lay them on the floor or tie them up like a swing? Sorry if that sounds daft. Quote Link to post
vanman1 411 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Vanman i have heard you mention tyres a few times, do u just lay them on the floor or tie them up like a swing? Sorry if that sounds daft. No not daft lol.One of my hobbs will destroy anything shop brought etc so he has a transit tyre to play with lol. I cut some 3inch holes with a hole saw, couple in the side maybe 1 or 2 in the bottom and same for top. I lay the tyre flat and fix 3 lengths of chain from it and then hang this about 4-6 inches from the ground(like a swing)He runs in and out it, runs round it and even sleeps in it when its hot but its the only bloody thing he aint destroyed yet!! You have to be careful alot of tyres have metal strands running through them,which once you have cut your holes can be sharp.I got round this by cutting the holes then fileing the edge then with a blow torch melted another layer of rubberover the cut edge.Never had a problem and a lot bloody cheaper lol Edited January 10, 2014 by vanman1 Quote Link to post
ryaldinhio 4,166 Posted January 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I do have some tyres knocking about actually. This could be my job for tommorow after work. Quote Link to post
vanman1 411 Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 (edited) Mate its free, my ferrets love them, you can hose them off and there bloody indistructable when i get time iam gonna build a tyre tower for em stack of tyres all stuck together strategic holes cut linking em.He will love it.He will think hes got his own helter skelter lol P.s if anyone wants tyres just pop down your local tyre fitter he will give them to you for free! Edited January 10, 2014 by vanman1 Quote Link to post
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