Number of Ferrets

[Rake aboot 4,936]

Most I`ve had here was 17,, cause I wanted to !

 

I have 6 just now, one snipped hob that has an easy life, one retired jill, and 4 workers

[darbo 4,776]

3 for me. only ferret alone.

[reddawn 2,173]

This is my thinking on it, i have eight at present, I could probably make do with four if I had the perfect ferret at the right age every year, four good ferrets could just about outwork me if I was out three days a week.

 

Now the reason behind having a few, different ground, needs a different approach, some of the slopes and lowland are deep warrens, hence a couple of decent jills to move the rabbits, then on the high ground with shallow digs, a couple of decent hobs to get the job done fast with no nets.

 

Then the part that shows up how soft some of us are, my oldest at 6 now is still good, but not up to the work a younger model is, but he will see his last days here, in reality, should have been moved on, and sometimes you are bringing a few young ones through, not there yet, but by the next season they will be.

 

i have 6, 4 jills, 2 teams of 2, can swap a team midday if im hard at em or take a team a day for general ferretin, i also have 2 hobs that have jacked here, they have done well in the past so i cant bring meself to pan them

[derbylad1 293]

I would never kill a ferret if it had retired...after all the years that little stinker has put in for you.....if it was gooden...think of the hours, days, weeks of good hunting it had brought you

[Ryan_b_09 18]

2 hobs do the job for me

[The one 8,503]

I had a dozen ,but due to the death of my old jills ive now got eight and im finding thats plenty got enough work for them all ,My problem will be in a few years as five of them are three years old and ones just turning two .As i found out last year i lost four jills at roughly the same time the oldest was well into double figures but the others where ten and eleven . I dont breed mine but maybe i should and stagger the ages of the kits i keep back .

 

We had a change in what we kept and how many with getting a farm and a estate with big fifty to seventy hole burrows i found i needed six ferrets down to push the rabbits out then i got two hobs as i found out in the bigger burrows the rabbits were sometimes pulling the jills about and i was having to dig more than one hole

[Guest cookiemonsterandmerlin]

15 ferts 10 hobs 5 jills purley numbers some buries 400 plus 2 not a whole of lot use in our areas work them five days so have a good stock for rotation .

 

Its all about how offten you go type of ground warren size etc but if your a hobby ferreter 5 in most case is max two plenty.for most.

 

ATB Cookie

15?! are all the hobs kept together? and what do you feed them all; do you get to sell any rabbits or are they all kept for the ferrets?

 

That was sat bag

Sunday bag

 

This section of a warren is 1/2 mile long all like this so two ferts is as much use as a choclate fireguard roughly 4000 h

 

 

Just got the work for them 200 on bad week or 400to500 on a good wk.

 

We keep all the hobs together always have with little or no trouble until last year we only had two jills always worked hobs over jills .

 

We feed dobson and horrell ferret food as we founb james wellbeloved over oily causing waxing in there coats .

 

ATB Cookie

[Ferret mad Dave 65]

I use 2 jills at the moment but with the ever growing permission I will be needing too get another 2

[Marvin 193]

3 Jills, none of them working yet got them to help ferret proof the dog while he is still young, looking at getting a ferret locator and nets ready for next season where i will be working them in pairs.

[TOMO 26,631]

i keep between 7 and 10 usualy,,, i also do some masive places when its not unusual to have 10+ in the ground

 

the top pic,, there is a 100 yard longnet, at full length allong the bottom of the bank, and 50 yarders disecting the bank,, evry time yoy do this little set we have 30+

 

as for feeding, even when i have 10 or more and kits,,,,,flesh only,, rabbits ,hares, pigeons, phesys ect,, ive never fed a pellet in my life,,, there carnivors , not vegys

 

 

another big bank

 

 

 

i forget now but 70 ish on the day

 

 

 

another bank we did , had 46 in about an hour,,, that was one crazy sweaty hour,, 91 on the day

 

Edited February 1, 2012 by TOMO

[Guest vin]

i'm starting to feel a bit inadequate with only 2 jills.

 

ive still had a fare few so far this year with em.

 

not numbers like Tomo and Cookie.

 

I'm deffo going to increase the team by 2 more for next season.It wont get me more rabbits but will improve on what im working with at the moment.

[max abell 196]

We keep 10 a lot of our permissions are on the south downs where the warrens are massive and 2 ferrets just would never move them they would run 2 ferrets around all week even on occasions when we have had all 10 in a massive warren some rabbits still want to hole hop so it's horses for courses the landowners want all the warrens cleared not just the nice 10 holers that most would choose including me LOL hence why 2 ferrets wouldn't be any good for the type of ferreting we do

Edited February 1, 2012 by max abell

[marshall298 0]

i have 2 jills and 1 hob as i only go out on the weekends. i mainly have the hob for breeding but he gets worked as well. i dont see the point in large number's of ferrets you only need a few good workers

[jimster68 123]

i keep 5 ferrets ,2 hobs 3 jills all work .i mainly use 50yd longnets so i can work large warrens .one or two ferrets wouldnt be nearly enough and some times i wish i had a few ferrets more , but as i only ferret a day or two per week i make do with what ive got ........jim

[Hywel 53]

If ever I have more than four ferrets at one time, it is either for:-

 

1. I have retired ferrets in the cages or

2. I am continuing a breeding line in an older jill