Plank

Hello, I have been bequeathed a single shot Pedretti 410 with a Hushpower moderator. I am not very experienced with shotguns but I have been trying to clean it. Unfortunately to get all the rust off the action I have damaged the blueing around the action so it looks like I will need to re-blue it. I am thinking of using the Birchwood Casey Perma blue kit. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Also although the barrel looks clean inside I have got some bits down it from when I was cleaning the rust from around the breech. So I tried to use an oily rag as a pull through. Rather than dra

Hello all, I am off to the parrot show and "help birdkeepers" sale at Stafford tomorrow. Anyone know what time the doors open? Also I am thinking about getting a few canaries for my bird room and aviary while I am there. What types would people recommend? My Dad used to have Border canaries but I have read they have been over-bred and do not breed so easily these days. I have heard that Fifes are supposed to be easy to breed. What about lizard canaries or Glosters? Or any other suggestions? Thanks,

I have a particular location in mind which limits the options. A bunch of poultry houses surrounded on three sides by a lane. A quiet lane but still public access. I have snared one or two foxes in the past on other areas of ground but cannot see how to do it here without being obvious that a fox was caught. I am cautious about using a firearm as there is no suitable backdrop. If small traps are viable I could tuck one away inside one of the coups.

It looks very inventive. I notice the fox traps sold locally all seem to have shrunk, the used to be about six or seven feet long, three or four feet high and the same wide. Now they are only about four or five feet long, about two feet wide and three feet high. My first instinct is they are a bit pokey for rural foxes. Am I wrong?

Well, if you are going to give them personal attention... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0E1KDqnS3U

I have had a go at making a Olsen & Thompson style fly trap (chapter 9 "More trap making step by step" John Bryan). In case anyone is intrested I used a large clear plastic beaker, with a mesh side vent, as the catch chamber. The wire mesh I got by cutting up a wire sieve - okay in the end but tricky to make a funnel out of as oddly elastic. Anyway, I think it sorta works as it seems to be able to catch lots of tiny fruit flies. Even if they can eventually squirm through the mesh vent. The problem is I was hoping for house flies, there are always some in the kitchen. I have been using

Hello, Does anyone know where to buy make your own incubator kits? Thanks.

This is the most entertaining thing I have seen all day.

I had not realised that there was no requirement to check a break back trap set for rats daily. That does sound like the best solution. Excuse what maybe a silly question, but would a unbaited run through set for mice work? (Using a mouse trap and smaller access holes).

Thanks for the baitless break back tip. It is a pretty cool idea. What tempts me about the monarch is that it is checkable at a glance even from a distance, so easy and quick to do as part of the routine of working in the area. I understand that dispatch in a cage trap is a job that would need doing for her in a timely way, but they are only precautionary traps. I am not expecting to use them to catch all the time. Out of interest, do the springs of break backs, Fenns etc. fatigue if left set for very long periods without firing?

Hello all. I want to set a couple of rat traps on a precautionary basis. It would make life easier if a younger teenager could check them sometimes. I have some Fenns but I do not want her messing about with spring traps just yet. I am currently considering getting a Monarch rat trap. Are they a reliable trap or a bit gimmicky? Any tips on using them? Thanks.

Thanks Plank, This is exactly the type of post I look forward to reading on here, informative without just showing off, no real use to cowboys and adding something (in this case the 24 hour exclusion) to my own knowledge. No problem. In practice a lot of farmers do not bother too much unless there is a specific reason, for example they have older ewes during late pregnancy from breeds which are more susceptible.

For every human cell in your body there are ten times as many microbes. http://tinyurl.com/cjpae4b What's this? R2 factoids lol It is no good asking me about R2 - I am under 35.

I do not think you need a defence. As I see it the point of this website is to share best practice between trappers. That is why there are so many trapping tips in the archives, including all the ones you mentioned. Also why it hosts trapping articles on various subjects. To me a bunch of lads congratuating themselves on not telling anyone anything, other than how great they are, is one of the most boring things I can imagine.

Mr Muddy: "Also are you suggesting that the soil from the molehills should be removed from the site if there are livestock or horses present?" Most of the harmful bacteria in mole hills are anaerobic bacteria. Which means they normally live without oxygen present. Speaking as a farmer, it is considered good practice to keep livestock away from chain harrowed molehills for 24 hours. The theory is that when the soil is scattered and the bacteria are exposed to oxygen, most of the harmful ones slowly die off. If mole hills get included in silage they are then stored in anaerobic condi