stroller 341 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 A couple of weeks ago i lost a little silver jill then a couple of days later i got her back unharmed and she is in the court now chewing a dead pheasant. before i lost her i noticed she was killing in more and more not staying with the kill but coming out bloodied under chin.She seems to be developing a method of killing quickly. she isnt a fast worker just takes her time but she must flash into life down there. She is 3 /4 year old now and always been a pleasure to work. Im reluctant to take her out now without a collar and ive accepted its time to move with the times, just wondered if anyone noticed this amongst their older ferrets? Quote Link to post
web22 27 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 a friend had a big hob which was doing this from pretty much when he started working at about a year old and he was fairly slow getting through a sett aswell,so i think it's in some ferrets but as for developing this later i'm unsure as i've only known that one ferret to do it(as best i can remember anyway!!)but it wasn't always a bad thing as we never had to dig to him. Quote Link to post
ferretlover 1 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 hi mate i always feed mine up the night before i take the to work in the morning and i dont get any problems with them killing some people i no dont and they get ferrets that layup Quote Link to post
Ideation 8,216 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Yes mate i have, its not to say that an older ferret will always kill in or that it will kill in more than a younger one or that it will even kill more than when it was younger itself. HOWEVER some ferrets that i have had, a long with generally becoming better workers, quicker, more efficient etc, they have also developed the knack of killing quick. I may be wrong but i have always put this down to a familiarity with the rabbit, and the situation and a total lack of being phased by getting stuck in quick. Just like most old fox dogs develop a quick kill method. I have one here that when younger, if she bottled a rabbit up she would scratch at it for an age until it moved etc. Now she will latch her jaws into its leg, side, whatever she can and draw it out far enough to get to its spine/kneck/head. This ferret also has a habit of killing them in the net if she can. We also have one small jill that goes straight for the eyes and whips them out and then herds bunny to the surface blind Wierd things ferrets. Quote Link to post
Mick C. 229 Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 yes i have notiiced this on several occassions over the years The ferret has perfected the art of killing quickley. They are not interested in feeding on the rabbit.Once the thrill of the kill is over they move on looking for another victim. Moreover sometimes they kill that quickley it can become difficult to find them with the locator. I personally dont collar my jills up these days.I enter another ferret collared up if they get laid up. Blood thirsty little beggars ferrets. Quote Link to post
stroller 341 Posted January 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 ferret lover: I never hunt my lot hungry mate i know some people do but it has always defied logic to me, just noticed this little jill doing a lot more killing lately Quote Link to post
whin 463 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 in general if you work them 2 or 3 times a week they soon learn to kill or get kicked to hell and start shying away from reluctant bolters i like a ferret that can boss the rabbit full stop as most are shalo digging localy , and as the season goes on all the easy ones get caut so you need a ferret hat gets stuck in and moves them , Quote Link to post
robbo 832 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 i have two hobs who are expert at it. they have food 24/7 in the cage so are never hungry. i just think they get better at it as they get older. these two are also not interested in the rabbits once they have kiled them. they just move on looking for another. Quote Link to post
gnipper 6,468 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 . We also have one small jill that goes straight for the eyes and whips them out and then herds bunny to the surface blind Wierd things ferrets. I had a sandy jill that used to do that all the time, even my old terrier could catch the bolters that she let out the holes Quote Link to post
The one 8,479 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 After there second season and the amount there out my jills are quite good at it hence the reason every ones collared up and if they dont show after twenty minutes at a burrow you know there on to something and time to check with the box Quote Link to post
Ideation 8,216 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 . We also have one small jill that goes straight for the eyes and whips them out and then herds bunny to the surface blind Wierd things ferrets. I had a sandy jill that used to do that all the time, even my old terrier could catch the bolters that she let out the holes Yes mate it's very handy, there have been a couple of times when the dogs have been busy and one has kicked the net eyeless and i've given it a good course before making a fine strike and retrieving it to hand 1 Quote Link to post
Rory4 267 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Share Posted January 20, 2011 my 2 albino jills which are sisters in there 2nd working season have never stayed with a kill. they come out covered in fur and blood but they have kept bolting them after. one is better worker than the other one, there always on the bunnies ass when bolts and if rabbits decides to try back in after seeing dog the ferret usually kills rabbit in hole entrance which is handy. they always have food in hutch which has got to help. Quote Link to post
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