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when to work ferrets?


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i think going ferreting without a locator is bad form imo. ferrets work the burrows for you, its your job to make sure it gets back home ok. if your not prepared to spend the money to safe guard his return dont put it down to work.

 

 

Locators are for wimps and people with no field craft. Whoops, and pro rabbiters who do not have the time to wait for the ferrret and one that kills consitently cuts down on the time factor, by having a quick dig, after all that is what they are getting paid for. There my friend is the crux of the matter, pest control persons are paid to get results so they have to get them or go out of buisiness.

 

When all you hobby ferreters (of which I am one) keep banging on about locators and you cannot leave home without one and a spade. Make me think, god for Feck sake learn some fieldcraft, then you would not need your locators, spades and any other unnesseccery items that you carry. If you learned all there is to learn about your ferrets before you used them. Then learned a bit about the wind and how it affects rabbits, then perhaps maybe pehaps you would become a halfway decent ferreter. When I see posts about those bloody locators and how you cannot ferret without one, one thought comes to my mind that person should not be ferreting, as he knows feck all about ferreting.

 

I have been ferreting for 45 years and never used one. In that time I have lost one ferret, that fell down a limestone crevis in the Brecon Beacons and even if I could find it it would have taken dynamite to get it out. I will quite happilly enter a single Jill into a 30 hole warren in the knowledge that she will come out even if she kills. It will take a bit of time. 20 to 30 mins on average So what! I am doing it for sport not gain.

 

Or are all the locator gangs trying to keep up with the numbers got by the pro's. Think about it why are they getting paid to clear a piece of land? Because there are a lot of rabbits there!!! Of course they are going to get more rabbits than you. Anyone who cannot see that needs a kick up the arris.

 

To Sterry.

 

Dont let them grind you down mate. You are the true ferreter who has field craft, knows his dog, and can work out which end of the warren to put the ferret in and knows roughly where the rabbits are lying just by looking at your dog. The rest are just sheep who follow the latest trends.

Absolutely correct. travel light, ferrets and nets only. If a ferret dont turn up, carry on with another to the next burrow then go back. ferrets will come back to you, my ginger jill would work a burrow, then look for me and climb my leg to be picked up. She would walk to heel across a field to the next burrow. I took her out about 3 times a week and we had a great understanding of what was expected. Fieldcraft, knowing your ferrets and keeping your eyes and ears open is all whats needed.

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nice one, im not one for knocking experience and one day i hope ive got 45 years ferreting behind me. knowledge is a wonderfull thing but does your field craft also give you x-ray eyes? i think not. so if your ferret kills under ground and gets stuck in a stop end what do you do? you havent got a clue where it is.

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i think going ferreting without a locator is bad form imo. ferrets work the burrows for you, its your job to make sure it gets back home ok. if your not prepared to spend the money to safe guard his return dont put it down to work.

 

 

Locators are for wimps and people with no field craft. Whoops, and pro rabbiters who do not have the time to wait for the ferrret and one that kills consitently cuts down on the time factor, by having a quick dig, after all that is what they are getting paid for. There my friend is the crux of the matter, pest control persons are paid to get results so they have to get them or go out of buisiness.

 

When all you hobby ferreters (of which I am one) keep banging on about locators and you cannot leave home without one and a spade. Make me think, god for Feck sake learn some fieldcraft, then you would not need your locators, spades and any other unnesseccery items that you carry. If you learned all there is to learn about your ferrets before you used them. Then learned a bit about the wind and how it affects rabbits, then perhaps maybe pehaps you would become a halfway decent ferreter. When I see posts about those bloody locators and how you cannot ferret without one, one thought comes to my mind that person should not be ferreting, as he knows feck all about ferreting.

 

I have been ferreting for 45 years and never used one. In that time I have lost one ferret, that fell down a limestone crevis in the Brecon Beacons and even if I could find it it would have taken dynamite to get it out. I will quite happilly enter a single Jill into a 30 hole warren in the knowledge that she will come out even if she kills. It will take a bit of time. 20 to 30 mins on average So what! I am doing it for sport not gain.

 

Or are all the locator gangs trying to keep up with the numbers got by the pro's. Think about it why are they getting paid to clear a piece of land? Because there are a lot of rabbits there!!! Of course they are going to get more rabbits than you. Anyone who cannot see that needs a kick up the arris.

 

To Sterry.

 

Dont let them grind you down mate. You are the true ferreter who has field craft, knows his dog, and can work out which end of the warren to put the ferret in and knows roughly where the rabbits are lying just by looking at your dog. The rest are just sheep who follow the latest trends.

 

 

If it works dont knock it. Sorry, couldn't resist. :)

 

We have technology that didnt exist in the good old days, I for one will make full use, with out exception, to protect the wellfare of my animals. Without fear of criticism for lack of fieldcraft or other excuse for not buying a locator.

As i mentioned in my first post, my smallest of Jils has killed in a stop end, it was 10 ft from the entrance and 5 ft down. I suggest that you need a whore of amount of fieldcraft unless you want to wait for your ferret to eat its way out. I never rush to use a locator, its not about the numbers for me. Its about sleeping at night without having drop boxes posted to retrieve a lost animal.

 

The guy that asked the first question is a beginner, so my advice remains the same, get a Locator, learn how to use it..

 

As allways, just my poite opinion. ;)

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nice one, im not one for knocking experience and one day i hope ive got 45 years ferreting behind me. knowledge is a wonderfull thing but does your field craft also give you x-ray eyes? i think not. so if your ferret kills under ground and gets stuck in a stop end what do you do? you havent got a clue where it is.

 

Prey please do tell me how a ferret is going to get "stuck" in a stop end?

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And what happens to the rabbits your ferrets kill under?

Or do they not do that? ;)

 

Actually the Jill I am using now is in her third year and has not killed in once yet. She has however had rabbits in stop ends and the twice this year she has had a rabbit, she has left the rabbit after 15 to 20 minuites.

 

 

I have some videos of ferreting and to be honest without exeption I would never put a ferret down any of the warrens after they had netted up. When they do bolt a rabbit you have three or four people running over the top of the warren like a herd of demented Elephants, just to get a rabbit that is well pursed. Then after one or two bolts it's out with the locator and dig the rest of the rabbits out. Where as with a little care and forethought they could have bolted all the rabbits with out the need to dig.

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have a little think before you post, or do you honestly think a ferret cant get stuck behind a rabbit in a stop end?

 

Well in 45 years it has never happened to me. But you have still not told me how it can happen.

Edited by tiercel
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And what happens to the rabbits your ferrets kill under?

Or do they not do that? ;)

 

Actually the Jill I am using now is in her third year and has not killed in once yet. She has however had rabbits in stop ends and the twice this year she has had a rabbit, she has left the rabbit after 15 to 20 minuites.

 

 

I have some videos of ferreting and to be honest without exeption I would never put a ferret down any of the warrens after they had netted up. When they do bolt a rabbit you have three or four people running over the top of the warren like a herd of demented Elephants, just to get a rabbit that is well pursed. Then after one or two bolts it's out with the locator and dig the rest of the rabbits out. Where as with a little care and forethought they could have bolted all the rabbits with out the need to dig.

 

 

i do agree with you on that point mate, i dont ever run over the warrens to get a rabbit thats well pursed up, we spend the time to net up as quietly as possible so why ruin the plan buy stomping all over the gaff. ive had a gill stuck behind 2 rabbits in a stop end she was on the face of the first rabbit and my hob was on the arse of the last one, im still wondering to this day how this happend and ive still not come to a conclusion. your guess is as good as mine buddy. but we all now ferrets can and do get stuck behind a kill especially guys who like to work hobs. like ive said imo we should be using locators to rescue our ferrets in times of need. the lad who posted first has no experience working ferrets and i think he would be well advised to use one, AFTER hes been out and learned the ropes. :D

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Well Tiercel, if you have never dug to rabbits pal you probably won't see them stuck behind a kill in a stop end that has gone stiff will you?

This is probably where you so called fieldcraft ends, above ground. ;)

The blocking in happens when you have a rabbit with it's arse up, face to the wall of the stop end, the ferret after trying hard gets past to the head end, but is now on the stopend side of the rabbit but making a kill. If this kill stiffens up, in the tube it may take days for the ferret to eat it's way out, thats not if the air supply does not run out, these take some pulling out of the way by a person, never mind a ferret.

If your jill had not made a kill in three years i'd be wondering about it, like you say your happy with clearing what will bolt.

Personally I'd lose my permission if the farmer witnessed rabbits running around on the warren I had just done, and for me there is 10 more lads like me who would take my place on my permission.

Edited by Brimmer
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Well Tiercel, if you have never dug to rabbits pal you probably won't see them stuck behind a kill in a stop end that has gone stiff will you?

This is probably where you so called fieldcraft ends, above ground. ;)

The blocking in happens when you have a rabbit with it's arse up, face to the wall of the stop end, the ferret after trying hard gets past to the head end, but is now on the stopend side of the rabbit but making a kill. If this kill stiffens up, in the tube it may take days for the ferret to eat it's way out, thats not if the air supply does not run out, these take some pulling out of the way by a person, never mind a ferret.

If your jill had not made a kill in three years i'd be wondering about it, like you say your happy with clearing what will bolt.

Personally I'd lose my permission if the farmer witnessed rabbits running around on the warren I had just done, and for me there is 10 more lads like me who would take my place on my permission.

 

With all due respect Brimmer I have read many of your posts and I must admit you are pretty effective at what you do. However, that said my take on the way you work and by your own admission, you are there to clear rabbits. No matter how, you need the numbers to keep your permission. Therefor you use methods that are effective, a ferret that will stay with the kill long enough for you to dig to it, a locator to find the said ferret and last but not least a spade to dig to the ferret. If you read my initial post you will see that I stated that professional rabbits use this method as it is so effective. And all but the fact that you do not get paid for what you do you are a professional rabbiter.

 

I only use Jills as experence taught me many years ago that hobs will learn to kill very quickly. I have had Jills in the past who have gone their whole lives and never killed in, others have learnt to do it in a couple of outings. One thing I can tell you though without any fear of contradiction is that when the jill comes out if there are rabbits still left in that warren either of my dogs will know and they will soon let me know. Some times there are rabbits left in warrens I freely admit that. But mostly the warrens are empty when the jill comes out. I do not want to catch every rabbit, I am quite happy with half a dozen rabbits to take home.

 

In my eyes using the locator takes away the sport out of ferreting because you know if you have the right ferret you can dig every rabbit that the ferret encounters, that is not sport simply rabbit clearance.

Edited by tiercel
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Also our dogs will tell us if there is still rabbits left in, usually pinpointing the nearest hole, and yes i'll stay till I get it and have cleared the warren.

I'm 36 now, and was first out at the age of 4 yrs old, back then and for many years after we used to ferret the traditional way, jills to bolt, netting up in silence, standing way back from the holes on the blind downwind side.(They still get the scent when you are netting up though.) quietly picking up bolters in the nets. (Used to get a rollicking if you spoke!)

I'll still do it on the deeper lowland warrens. I have fieldcraft from the old school, and also fieldcraft from the newschool.

Answer me this Tiercel? Have you done any locater work? You can learn a hell of a lot by seeing what is going on underground, understanding what exactly your ferrets are doing, what they have done. I'm not blind to the traditional way, you want to try the modern way! :thumbs:

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just taught I'd have a quick look at this post.

 

You boys is taking the piss ain't you?.

 

tiercel you have been reading to many Plummer books (ferret walking to heel)if your ferret has never killed in 3 years It's crap, get rid.

 

cwmamanroughshooter its a wonder anyone talks to you having to write that lot out.

what they call you for short "Pinocchio" drags the bunnies out and puts them in it's box.

Well my ferret guts them for me and hangs them in a tree to cool.So there.

 

A GOOD LAUGH ANYWAY... bushcraft.... Ha Ha

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just taught I'd have a quick look at this post.

 

You boys is taking the piss ain't you?.

 

tiercel you have been reading to many Plummer books (ferret walking to heel)if your ferret has never killed in 3 years It's crap, get rid.

 

cwmamanroughshooter its a wonder anyone talks to you having to write that lot out.

what they call you for short "Pinocchio" drags the bunnies out and puts them in it's box.

Well my ferret guts them for me and hangs them in a tree to cool.So there.

 

A GOOD LAUGH ANYWAY... bushcraft.... Ha Ha

 

 

:clapper::clapper:

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