new ferreter

[popnoodle 4]

im looking into getting ferrets for the loong loong periods that its too windy and wet to take the air rifle out, ive got my eyes on two 3(ish) year old hobs in a local rescue thats really a ferret fan with some hutches in the garden. the lady has done a brilliant job with all the ferrets and only the most stubborn still nip a bit so theyre friendly and playful but also lively and always wanting to explore so thought theyd be worth a shot but ive got a few doubts as im a first timer.

 

my first question is is there a maximum size which is acceptable for working ferrets to ensure they can get down majority of holes?

 

secondly is breeding all that important with ability for ferreting or is there usually a bit of instinct that hones with practice?

[chipper 2]

im looking into getting ferrets for the loong loong periods that its too windy and wet to take the air rifle out, ive got my eyes on two 3(ish) year old hobs in a local rescue thats really a ferret fan with some hutches in the garden. the lady has done a brilliant job with all the ferrets and only the most stubborn still nip a bit so theyre friendly and playful but also lively and always wanting to explore so thought theyd be worth a shot but ive got a few doubts as im a first timer.

 

my first question is is there a maximum size which is acceptable for working ferrets to ensure they can get down majority of holes?

 

secondly is breeding all that important with ability for ferreting or is there usually a bit of instinct that hones with practice?

i prefer small jills you dont seem to get as many kill ins so you dont have to dig as much

[popnoodle 4]

at first i was thinking along the lines of small jills as theyre easier to carry etc but the nice lady pointed out that jills are a bit more of a handfull and 3 years is a good age for a first timer :S

 

forgot my third question lol, is there anyone in or near cardiff who wouldnt mind a helper/observer coming along on a trip or two? im experienced with using shotguns and air rifles so im not exactly a clueless towny, just with the technicals of using animals rather than killing them

[Elmer Fudd 2011 39]

i would go for kits first time but year old hods are ok when they know you .dont worry about size to much yet

[lksopener 105]

First off I would go for a pair of jills they work the nets easier and can get in tighter spots.

 

Jills are no more difficult to handle than hobs so not sure what the woman was on about.

 

Be careful what you believe at rescues they want to get rid of stock they have found it difficult to shift!

[Jamie m 668]

at first i was thinking along the lines of small jills as theyre easier to carry etc but the nice lady pointed out that jills are a bit more of a handfull and 3 years is a good age for a first timer :S

 

forgot my third question lol, is there anyone in or near cardiff who wouldnt mind a helper/observer coming along on a trip or two? im experienced with using shotguns and air rifles so im not exactly a clueless towny, just with the technicals of using animals rather than killing them

Bit more of a handfull ?????? Siunds like she's trying to shift the hobs to me

[Sorley x 32]

There is no real problem with the size of the ferret in terms of getting down rabbit holes. Hobs have the advantage tha they are pgysically stronger than jills and are better able to bully stubborn rabbits and also not get knocked about if the rabbits are up for a dust-up. There is no real difference in jills and hobs killing and lying up. I have a hob that kills and moves on so quickly you can never dig to him, (I would never have worked out exactly what was going on without the dog either). The big advantages of jills in my book are:

 

1) Jills are smaller and so a lot LESS likely to drag your purse nets about when they come in and out of holes.

 

2) Because jills are small you can carry more of them easier, my carry box takes 2 jills per compartment and only 1 hob. Quite often shifting rabbits is down to how many ferrets you have in, not how big/small they are.

 

However, when all is said and done it is down to what you feel comfortable working.

 

As regards to do all ferrets work? No is the simple answer, nearly all will go down a hole but not all will work well. Some will hole hop, some will just hang about the hole you put them in, some wont venture down if the set is a deep one. I've taken in a number of outcrosses hoping for new blood and most have failed to impress me.

 

If you can then get young kits off a reliable working line. Personally I would avoid really stocky hobs; simply because their necks can end up thicker or as thick as their heads and this makes getting a locating collar to stay on, nigh on impossible - and digging to just a collar is VERY frustrating.

 

Anyway good luck with it all, enjoy the airgunning for now and the ferreting come the end of Autumn.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Sorley x

[popnoodle 4]

lol all this is just creating more questions in my head

 

maybe try out a jill and hob team? im sure ive seen somewhere that people work them together.

 

the warrens i have access to arent exactly big, i think the biggest one ive found so far has 7 or 8 holes in the space of 5/10 yards so it wouldnt take a very adventurous ferret to find the far end lol

 

its hard work trying to balance up in my head the risk difference between getting slightly older ferrets of probably unknown experience/lineage to be able to use them this year, or get kits from a good line but more than likely miss out on this season :S

 

plus also around cardiff theres not really that much in the way of a good choice, theres lots of kids up the valleys who breed any two they can get to breed so its not exactly a goldmine of good blood round here from what ive heard :S

 

thanks for the help guys, will always appreciate more if anyone wants to add their opinion lol

[Sorley x 32]

lol all this is just creating more questions in my head

 

maybe try out a jill and hob team? im sure ive seen somewhere that people work them together.

 

the warrens i have access to arent exactly big, i think the biggest one ive found so far has 7 or 8 holes in the space of 5/10 yards so it wouldnt take a very adventurous ferret to find the far end lol

 

its hard work trying to balance up in my head the risk difference between getting slightly older ferrets of probably unknown experience/lineage to be able to use them this year, or get kits from a good line but more than likely miss out on this season :S

 

plus also around cardiff theres not really that much in the way of a good choice, theres lots of kids up the valleys who breed any two they can get to breed so its not exactly a goldmine of good blood round here from what ive heard :S

 

thanks for the help guys, will always appreciate more if anyone wants to add their opinion lol

 

You are definitely heading down the right track getting more than one to keep, they are social creatures and it makes me sad as hell when I come across a lone ferret. The first one I ever had was such a thing - I was too young to know any different and taking advice from the wrong person. But hey we live a learn. Don't be afraid to ask any questions, it is a cliche but there are no stupid questions just stupid answers.

 

A jill hob pairing can work well, in the theory that you have the best of both worlds. You will still need to watch out that your hob doesn't drag your nets about when he surfaces and goes back in - the first you may know of this is a rabbit scut going off to be classidied as breeding stock lol. The draw back of a hob and a jill is the breeding season. - unless you have the Hob castrated then it will mean keeping them apart for the summer - which is a drag you could do without if you are only having two ferrets. Castrating the hob would be the easiest way of dealing with it and then giving the jill the jab, unless you plan to breed obviously. From the sounds of the buries you have there two ferrets would be ample.

 

If you can find someone to take you out then that is great as you can get the ropes alot easier. but learning on your own is very rewarding though some of the lessoin are tough lol

[popnoodle 4]

i work full time during the week so i dont want to breed them, i was planning on doing the various snips/jabs as needed but something that was pointed out to me is that you should leave it until they are at least 9 months old otherwise it causes problems later and shortens lifespan :S

 

i would like to get someone to take me out to smooth out the process but as ive learnt from using the guns no one usually wants to know as they think youll steal their permissions, or in the case of one or two just dont want to know even though you share a permission on a large farm. if i need to i can get my dad out as he used to go ferreting but its a last resort because i think he caught the ferrets and himself more than rabbits, ive only just convinced him after two years that i know more about using air rifles than he does as he could never work out that the rabbit at 40 yards wont get shot because you clipped a tin at 10

 

looking at the freeads and there are a few kits of working lines available over the next month or two so i do have that option, but as ive said still dont know if i should go with kits or year or two old. i would like to go out with them this autumn because itd be irritating to own ferrets for a year and a half and not be able to use them lol.

 

also do good workers have a tendancy to not be good pets or is that more down to owners not wanting them nip free so dont bother training that much?

[Ideation 8,216]

lol all this is just creating more questions in my head

 

maybe try out a jill and hob team? im sure ive seen somewhere that people work them together.

 

the warrens i have access to arent exactly big, i think the biggest one ive found so far has 7 or 8 holes in the space of 5/10 yards so it wouldnt take a very adventurous ferret to find the far end lol

 

its hard work trying to balance up in my head the risk difference between getting slightly older ferrets of probably unknown experience/lineage to be able to use them this year, or get kits from a good line but more than likely miss out on this season :S

 

plus also around cardiff theres not really that much in the way of a good choice, theres lots of kids up the valleys who breed any two they can get to breed so its not exactly a goldmine of good blood round here from what ive heard :S

 

thanks for the help guys, will always appreciate more if anyone wants to add their opinion lol

 

 

There are also a lot of very good working ferrets in them there valleys boyo

 

And the thing about good workers = bad pets is complete bull, 99% of ferrets worker or not will be soft as kittens if handled plenty

[popnoodle 4]

revelation ive had about working ferrets because of what you guys have said about the ferret lady stretching the truth, how do i know that the working parents arent bloody useless but the owner tried once and wants to make a bit of pocket money by selling kits?

[Ideation 8,216]

Same as you judge anyone mate

[Jamie m 668]

i work full time during the week so i dont want to breed them, i was planning on doing the various snips/jabs as needed but something that was pointed out to me is that you should leave it until they are at least 9 months old otherwise it causes problems later and shortens lifespan :S

 

i would like to get someone to take me out to smooth out the process but as ive learnt from using the guns no one usually wants to know as they think youll steal their permissions, or in the case of one or two just dont want to know even though you share a permission on a large farm. if i need to i can get my dad out as he used to go ferreting but its a last resort because i think he caught the ferrets and himself more than rabbits, ive only just convinced him after two years that i know more about using air rifles than he does as he could never work out that the rabbit at 40 yards wont get shot because you clipped a tin at 10

 

looking at the freeads and there are a few kits of working lines available over the next month or two so i do have that option, but as ive said still dont know if i should go with kits or year or two old. i would like to go out with them this autumn because itd be irritating to own ferrets for a year and a half and not be able to use them lol.

 

also do good workers have a tendancy to not be good pets or is that more down to owners not wanting them nip free so dont bother training that much?

Be wary of freeads and that' people will tell all kinds of lies to shift kits like ? For instance working ? When it's never even seen a drainpipe never mind a rabbit hole or angora throwing silver eyed tumbler ferrets very rare indeed possibly slightley eu pole crap. you get what I mean even on here to mate. all is not what it seems believe brother believe ,

[popnoodle 4]

i guess i could ask to see how beaten up the tracking collars/nets etc are