Good ferrets...

[Mustelid 143]

There have been a few topics recently on small ferrets/big ferrets/black ferrets/fecking dancing ferrets and goodness knows what else! But... has anyone else struggled lately to find GOOD HONEST WORKERS? I've had a few conversations recently about the number of poor quality workers about - I even own a couple unfortunately! The last top class animal I had from Tomo and she sadly died last year at the age of 7. Finding a top quality working bred kit seems to be getting harder... When I started with ferrets 24 years ago nearly every ferret I had did the job. Maybe they were better because I was ferreting every spare minute I had.

PS...if anyone has some quality kits within range of Monmouth please let me know!

[Born Hunter 17,751]

IMO the problem lies with people breeding from ferrets just because they bolt rabbits, they think that that constitutes work. No thought goes into the breeding and standards arnt high enough. Owners remember the few times they have dug to their 'best' ferret hard at a bottled up rabbit and forget all the times that same ferret had a rabbit bottled up and gave up on it. Or the ferrets that are aparantly good workers but never worked alone to prove what they are capable of.

 

I dont care about how fast a ferret can kill a rabbit or wheather it bolted a mink once last year! Just give me a honest determined little worker that wont leave the warren untill its sure its done its job.

 

Ive got 3 ferrets, 2 jills and a hob and one of the jills falls far short of my standards but still has her uses. The other jill is a decent sort but weather shes breeding stock ill have to decide this season. The hob is a stray i found last year and has been one hell of a little warrior over last season but is he worthy of breeding from? We will see... Personally i would rather not breed and buy in new stock, but its too hard to get well bred kits unless your willing to buy in a few and cull accordingly.

[ferretertom 7]

All will work its just to what degree some take to it easyer than others some take alot of trips out before they improve i think years ago when ferrets almost always worked and did the job well first time may of been because they were less domesticated? and theyre wasnt many bred purposely on looks and looks alone by all these pet ferret owners, ive only seen two/3 ferrets do well at first thats out of quite a few some go down once then decide they wont the next time then resurface i brought a ''working jill'' last year took it out wouldnt even enter goes to show it clearly wasnt worked much before.

[Ideation 8,216]

I found some this year.

[Leeview 791]

All will work its just to what degree some take to it easyer than others some take alot of trips out before they improve i think years ago when ferrets almost always worked and did the job well first time may of been because they were less domesticated? and theyre wasnt many bred purposely on looks and looks alone by all these pet ferret owners, ive only seen two/3 ferrets do well at first thats out of quite a few some go down once then decide they wont the next time then resurface i brought a ''working jill'' last year took it out wouldnt even enter goes to show it clearly wasnt worked much before.

You've lost me there ferretertom you start of with "ALL WILL WORK" and then commence to contradict yourself with examples of ferrets which clearly didn't work

Y.I.S Leeview

[The one 8,468]

Thats the unfortunate thing everybody thinks there ferrets the best and a great worker ,but how many folk work theres more than one two days a week and work them in big deep old places where it takes a proper working ferret to push rabbits out constantly??

[Brimmer 220]

IMO the problem lies with people breeding from ferrets just because they bolt rabbits, they think that that constitutes work. No thought goes into the breeding and standards arnt high enough. Owners remember the few times they have dug to their 'best' ferret hard at a bottled up rabbit and forget all the times that same ferret had a rabbit bottled up and gave up on it. Or the ferrets that are aparantly good workers but never worked alone to prove what they are capable of.

 

I dont care about how fast a ferret can kill a rabbit or wheather it bolted a mink once last year! Just give me a honest determined little worker that wont leave the warren untill its sure its done its job.

 

Ive got 3 ferrets, 2 jills and a hob and one of the jills falls far short of my standards but still has her uses. The other jill is a decent sort but weather shes breeding stock ill have to decide this season. The hob is a stray i found last year and has been one hell of a little warrior over last season but is he worthy of breeding from? We will see... Personally i would rather not breed and buy in new stock, but its too hard to get well bred kits unless your willing to buy in a few and cull accordingly.

thats all i can add to that!

[Brimmer 220]

They are in short supply, people breeding anything is to blame.

A large amount of folk would not get out enough, or into enough work to know whether their animals are any good, and up to breeding standard.

[liftboy1 0]

I bought 3 ferrets from a guy today, the breeder runs lurchers also. He gave 3 to me for £25. To be honest the parents work, but the only thing is which bear in mind I am not a believer in "greyhound ferrets" but the 3 are absolutely tiny!! I have owned 16 ferrets over the years, and my stock ran out when I lost my hob last week, so I treated myself, but these are about the size of a siberian hamster. I`l post a pic soon.

[Born Hunter 17,751]

Im going to throw a question to you all now...

 

Do you think the standard of working ferret would be alot higher if more people worked rats with their ferrets? I couldnt give a f**k what people think about weather or not its cruel to use a ferret for ratting, just weather this would improve the quality of working ferrets?

 

When a ferret is entered to rat it really sorts the wheat from the chaff! Ill admit non of mine will work rat other than possibly my hob but he hasnt been given a fair chance to be honest, certainly not seasons of work. I would travel a hell of a distance for a couple of jills from seasoned ratters.

[tullfan 0]

i dont often post in the ferreting section or any section if truth be told,

 

but have i just been lucky? as in years of ferreting i would say ive only had one ferret that wasnt a good worker.

ive always bred my own or got them from good friends and never had any problems,my most recent gill came from a young lad from here,i dont know her line/breeding etc and at just over a year old shes working both small and large burrows (over 100 holes) on large hillsides,if she thinks theres still one in there shes not coming out till she finds it or i let her grab a dead one so we can move on.

 

having read some of the posts/comments on here recently are there really that many duff ferrets out there?

Edited August 2, 2010 by tullfan

[ferret-boy 44]

all ferrets will work its in there blood its just a case of patience atb fb

[Leeview 791]

all ferrets will work its in there blood its just a case of patience atb fb

may of been true 30-40yrs ago but not any more,go back and read the above posts in this topic to see that they dont all work.As for patience not many wild animals would survive if they relied on it

Y.I.S Leeview

[Tiercel 6,986]

Over the last 30 years or so the type of work a ferret is expected to do has changed. To most people now a ferret that kills and moves on is no good, why? Because it does not give them time to dig to the ferret. Where as before the advent of the locator a ferret that either killed and moved on or simply left a rabbit was more desirable.

 

TC

[The one 8,468]

I honestly dont think working them to rats will help the working ability in any way ,how many work till they reach a good old age on rats . I honestly think the problems is we dont have our house in order far to much breeding ,shit being bred to shit because its handy rather than travel for a good working ferret .