What to look for in a ferret?

[Dirtysailor 0]

New here and wondering what to look for in a game ferret, just learning about ferreting and looking for advice.

[turbo28 1]

i use small jills,so not to disturb purse nets other than that,get them young and work them they'll get better with experience and dont forget a locator it'll make life easier.atb

[The one 8,482]

Just go to somebody who works them when you pick your kit and hope you got a good one

[Jamie m 668]

You want a good steady ferret makes life easier you don't. want to be waiting about for half an hour for a ferret to decide when it's ready to go back in the box and get one off someone who has had a line for a while and knows for a fact that they cover a whole warren

[runforyourlife 361]

Sorry, but covering a full warren is down to the individual ferret... Afemale ferret i work(easily the best working ferret i have owned) will work every inch of a warren, wether it be 10ft and a 100 holer, or 35ft and a 3 holer... Her brother however(same litter) will not...Big warrens he will cover every hole there is but depth wise will return after about 12 to 15ft...Obviously his sister turns more rabbits out, as she ventures to every stop end... Reasons for some ferrets not liking deep warrens are the change in temperature, the change in preassure, smell, the air obviously gets thinner. these are some of the thoeroies that people have come up with, and it does make sense...

 

You need to decide wether you want a hob or jill.. Wether you want a big ferret, one which can move the bunnies. Or wether you would like a small one which can cover much more ground fairly quick..

 

Like "one" says, go to a person who has worked ferrets and also someone who has a good working line. It really is trial and error...

 

Feerets only mess around down the hole when they are young and imature, like all young animals they want to play and investigate.. be patient, you will not know over night wether you have a good working ferret. time and plenty of bolting rabbits is the key... A real good worker will even turn away from a dead warren that hasnt been used for some time, as there is no scent... this is when you know you have found a descent line of working fezzers.....

[working ferret 0]

spot on info mate

[Dirtysailor 0]

Thanks for the replies. I will explain my dilema a little. I want the ferret to work in conjunction with a Jagd for barn cleaning and also rabbit bolting. The Jagd is only 6 weeks now and not away from the litter yet and the ferret would be older. So does this seem possible? Again I am asking not saying this will happen, just looking for advice from those more experienced in ferreting. I know Jagd are agressive but they are there to finish the rats not get stuck trying to get them. Let me know your thoughts. Also working ferrets are not real prevalent in the US, so any advice on traits to look for in kits? Don't flog the new guy to hard. LOL

[proper22 5]

Dont just get any ferret trust me they all work but some are a lot better than others. You want to get one from a good working line its best iof you no the mum ferret and have been out ferreting with her and seen what shes like, also i wouldn't go for a small jill you want a well biult medium size one. I also think that personality of the ferret is something that's important (they have to have a harsh side in them that means they wont take shit from a rabbit). however when you pick your young kit you don't know how there gonna turn out personalty wise( marking wise and general body proportions will often be the same as there mum e.g if mother has a particularly small head then the kit will pmost lilley be like it). But you want one from a good wiley mother ferret that stays on the rabbits rather than giving up on them, and just hope she turns out like her mum, if you bring her up with tubes and space/exercise to get her fit and shes from a good line then there no reason what so ever why she wont turn out to be a great worker. Also personally i find that jills are the better workers and best to start of with.

[theferreter 311]

always get kits of ferrets that are working ferrets and its always good to see the conditions there kept in i perefer using jills myself but each till there own theres plenty of ferreters on here that work hobs who im sure would give you good advice if you choose 2 work hobs instead of jills

[mntwister 0]

Where in the us are you from. I dont know anything about this I just like to read on here but it seems like ferreting in the US probobly will be tough to do. for one thing its illeagal in a lot of places. here in minnesota we cant use them on protected game and they define anything with a season as game so no rabbits but we could use them on rats. The other is that since there is no body ferreting there are no working ferrets here. they either come from the pet store or from show breeders and theres not a lot of them.