stevethefish 80 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 (edited) Well we had another session on Nelstrops farm today, we planned to carry on where we left off the other day on the old sets on a dense hedgerow. It started really bad for us, not only were the rabbits totally reluctant to bolt they were very deep. We had our first dig within 10 minutes of arriving, I know some dont like using locators but the truth of the matter is they are invaluble on sets like these. The average depth of the rabbits was just over 5 foot and with so many holes it needed plenty of ferrets introducing, we opted for 6. The first kill was about 3 and a half foot deep under the hedge, that included roots and large rocks that had been thrown in the hedge over time by the farmers. We managed to retrieve this one to find that there were 2 other kills in the same set, when things go wrong they do BIG style. The second dig was just over 5 foot and it wasn't easy let me tell you but with 4 of us at least we could take it in turns, luckily we had the tools for the job this time. Why these rabbits were reluctant to bolt foils me! the last time we did this lot they nearly all bolted cleanly and it was a breeze, but I suppose we have to take the rough with the smooth. This was one of the easiest bits, we didnt need to crawl on our bellies in the thorns. The digs came thick and fast, but it keeps you warm and fit I suppose, could have done without them though. As we got to the end of this thick hedgerow we were reflecting on our bad luck over a cuppa, its not that we were making a lot of noise but there have been plenty of charlies in the area, this could have had an effect on them. We next moved on to another hedgerow that was much thinner, the indications were the rabbits were much shallower here when we checked the positions with the boxes. This time the rabbits started to bolt well, this was making up for the graft on the earlier bit and we had some really good marks with Tilly the dog, she was really keen. Tilly is awesome at marking, she stops dead on approach has a quick sniff and if there's a rabbit in she pounces into the hole and digs, never once has she let us down. She only has under 2 weeks before she drops the pups but she will not miss the ferreting, she loves it. Well this was more like it, we had 6 out of one set within 10 minutes and once again we were smiling, it was easy going and producing, what more could you ask for, (a call from another keeper) telling me he had some partridges for me and more rabbits to clear, NICE!. All these rabbits were huge and very healthy, in fact they were that big they could drag 3 ferrets along the burrows, sooner them than me. As we got to the end of the target area for the day we were quite satisfied with the bag considering the graft that we had put into it, if it had all been like the last bit we would have had a bumper bag. Its just a joy to be out in the fresh air enjoying yourself in good company and of course doing the farmers a good turn, I just wish everyone could experience the feeling. We wrapped up and returned to the van, counted the nets, fed and watered the ferrets and dog cleaned the rest of the rabbits, had another cuppa and had a pic with the bag, total 32. We will be out again next week for another session, I was going to call it ferreting but should call it digging, what do you reckon? From left to right Tilly, Stevo, Byron, Ray and myself and notice we are trying to smile this time, just for the camera. Front rows 32 Unlucky bunnies, gutted in more than 1 sense of the word. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tVB_PggMdw Edited January 6, 2011 by stevethefish Quote Link to post
nipper81 0 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 good pics pal Quote Link to post
coursing john 1 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Well we had another session on Nelstrops farm today, we planned to carry on where we left off the other day on the old sets on a dense hedgerow. It started really bad for us, not only were the rabbits totally reluctant to bolt they were very deep. We had our first dig within 10 minutes of arriving, I know some dont like using locators but the truth of the matter is they are invaluble on sets like these. The average depth of the rabbits was just over 5 foot and with so many holes it needed plenty of ferrets introducing, we opted for 6. The first kill was about 3 and a half foot deep under the hedge, that included roots and large rocks that had been thrown in the hedge over time by the farmers. We managed to retrieve this one to find that there were 2 other kills in the same set, when things go wrong they do BIG style. The second dig was just over 5 foot and it wasn't easy let me tell you but with 4 of us at least we could take it in turns, luckily we had the tools for the job this time. Why these rabbits were reluctant to bolt foils me! the last time we did this lot they nearly all bolted cleanly and it was a breeze, but I suppose we have to take the rough with the smooth. This was one of the easiest bits, we didnt need to crawl on our bellies in the thorns. The digs came thick and fast, but it keeps you warm and fit I suppose, could have done without them though. As we got to the end of this thick hedgerow we were reflecting on our bad luck over a cuppa, its not that we were making a lot of noise but there have been plenty of charlies in the area, this could have had an effect on them. We next moved on to another hedgerow that was much thinner, the indications were the rabbits were much shallower here when we checked the positions with the boxes. This time the rabbits started to bolt well, this was making up for the graft on the earlier bit and we had some really good marks with Tilly the dog, she was really keen. Tilly is awesome at marking, she stops dead on approach has a quick sniff and if there's a rabbit in she pounces into the hole and digs, never once has she let us down. She only has under 2 weeks before she drops the pups but she will not miss the ferreting, she loves it. Well this was more like it, we had 6 out of one set within 10 minutes and once again we were smiling, it was easy going and producing, what more could you ask for, (a call from another keeper) telling me he had some partridges for me and more rabbits to clear, NICE!. All these rabbits were huge and very healthy, in fact they were that big they could drag 3 ferrets along the burrows, sooner them than me. As we got to the end of the target area for the day we were quite satisfied with the bag considering the graft that we had put into it, if it had all been like the last bit we would have had a bumper bag. Its just a joy to be out in the fresh air enjoying yourself in good company and of course doing the farmers a good turn, I just wish everyone could experience the feeling. We wrapped up and returned to the van, counted the nets, fed and watered the ferrets and dog cleaned the rest of the rabbits, had another cuppa and had a pic with the bag, total 32. We will be out again next week for another session, I was going to call it ferreting but should call it digging, what do you reckon? From left to right Tilly, Stevo, Byron, Ray and myself and notice we are trying to smile this time, just for the camera. Front rows 32 Unlucky bunnies, gutted in more than 1 sense of the word. nice one lads im glad your having a good bit of sport iv had one of the worst seasons ever the best weve had this year is 25 wich is good but its been hard Quote Link to post
ferretman89 68 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 nice post mate and some good pics atb Quote Link to post
dpb82uk 138 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 good goind lads im lucky if i get 2 rabbs in my spots most iv had in 1 bag was 7 rabbs Quote Link to post
stevethefish 80 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Hi John were you from, we have had mixy around here for a few years but they still coming strong and recovered well. Well we had another session on Nelstrops farm today, we planned to carry on where we left off the other day on the old sets on a dense hedgerow. It started really bad for us, not only were the rabbits totally reluctant to bolt they were very deep. We had our first dig within 10 minutes of arriving, I know some dont like using locators but the truth of the matter is they are invaluble on sets like these. The average depth of the rabbits was just over 5 foot and with so many holes it needed plenty of ferrets introducing, we opted for 6. The first kill was about 3 and a half foot deep under the hedge, that included roots and large rocks that had been thrown in the hedge over time by the farmers. We managed to retrieve this one to find that there were 2 other kills in the same set, when things go wrong they do BIG style. The second dig was just over 5 foot and it wasn't easy let me tell you but with 4 of us at least we could take it in turns, luckily we had the tools for the job this time. Why these rabbits were reluctant to bolt foils me! the last time we did this lot they nearly all bolted cleanly and it was a breeze, but I suppose we have to take the rough with the smooth. This was one of the easiest bits, we didnt need to crawl on our bellies in the thorns. The digs came thick and fast, but it keeps you warm and fit I suppose, could have done without them though. As we got to the end of this thick hedgerow we were reflecting on our bad luck over a cuppa, its not that we were making a lot of noise but there have been plenty of charlies in the area, this could have had an effect on them. We next moved on to another hedgerow that was much thinner, the indications were the rabbits were much shallower here when we checked the positions with the boxes. This time the rabbits started to bolt well, this was making up for the graft on the earlier bit and we had some really good marks with Tilly the dog, she was really keen. Tilly is awesome at marking, she stops dead on approach has a quick sniff and if there's a rabbit in she pounces into the hole and digs, never once has she let us down. She only has under 2 weeks before she drops the pups but she will not miss the ferreting, she loves it. Well this was more like it, we had 6 out of one set within 10 minutes and once again we were smiling, it was easy going and producing, what more could you ask for, (a call from another keeper) telling me he had some partridges for me and more rabbits to clear, NICE!. All these rabbits were huge and very healthy, in fact they were that big they could drag 3 ferrets along the burrows, sooner them than me. As we got to the end of the target area for the day we were quite satisfied with the bag considering the graft that we had put into it, if it had all been like the last bit we would have had a bumper bag. Its just a joy to be out in the fresh air enjoying yourself in good company and of course doing the farmers a good turn, I just wish everyone could experience the feeling. We wrapped up and returned to the van, counted the nets, fed and watered the ferrets and dog cleaned the rest of the rabbits, had another cuppa and had a pic with the bag, total 32. We will be out again next week for another session, I was going to call it ferreting but should call it digging, what do you reckon? From left to right Tilly, Stevo, Byron, Ray and myself and notice we are trying to smile this time, just for the camera. Front rows 32 Unlucky bunnies, gutted in more than 1 sense of the word. nice one lads im glad your having a good bit of sport iv had one of the worst seasons ever the best weve had this year is 25 wich is good but its been hard Quote Link to post
stevethefish 80 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Tilly's pups will be available soon Quote Link to post
KittleRox 2,147 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Aye I see you are all smiling this time lol Quote Link to post
stevethefish 80 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Ha ha ! we made an effort this time, we are not miserable really, its a laugh a minute all day with us. Quote Link to post
stevethefish 80 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Tilly enjoys the day out, Stevo will be gutted when she has pups so will we, she works hard for us, well guess she wont be mothering too long. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPDC85eiGM Quote Link to post
John-B 4 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 good on you lads, i read this earlier and only just got round to replying, it's making me want to get out even more, am I the only one who hasn't put a ferret to ground yet this season??? Quote Link to post
Wardyuk 0 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 good goind lads im lucky if i get 2 rabbs in my spots most iv had in 1 bag was 7 rabbs Join the club mate, i get jealous looking at pictures like these! Quote Link to post
stevethefish 80 Posted January 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 We are spoilt around here I guess, its all on my doorstep and crawling with rabbits. The only thing is it can get quite noisy, this one was pretty high today they weren't coming in to land just training. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl8Yzbq4uIA Quote Link to post
KittleRox 2,147 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 good goind lads im lucky if i get 2 rabbs in my spots most iv had in 1 bag was 7 rabbs Join the club mate, i get jealous looking at pictures like these! Aye, he should be banned ,coming on here showing off his permo and his big bags,the smeary bxxxxxd Quote Link to post
MR TEA POT 1,287 Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 At last you lot are smiling with bags like that you should be . Well done lads another fine bag Quote Link to post
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