Had another great day today!

[Ideation 8,216]

Had an invite to head out again with hounddogg today. Unfortunatly my usual partner in crime, JB is layed up, so it was just me and hounddogg for most of the day. although we did have a little help in the morning.

 

Woke up early doors, and defrosted everything, before loading Finn and todays three jills into the car and heading off over the border, Neil Young and a toastie helping me a long.

 

Met up with hounddogg and headed to todays spot, which is the neighbouring property to that which we did last week, despite being very resistant to start, the owners have realised the extent of the rabbit problem and let us on to reduce it. We were meant to be meeting up with the landowner at 9 am, so had a little bit of time to kill.

 

We let the dogs out to have a stretch and empty out, houndogg bringing his two lurchers skye and archie. Soon enough the three dogs were working the hedge row, moving rabbits about, and finn disappeared for a while hunting a different quarry, which unfortunatly he lost in a barn full of bales. Once the dogs were settled, they started marking a long a mound of rough earth and brash, dotted with a couple of small warrens. We netted up as best we could, and were joined by a friend of houndoggs (possibly called calum?), a really nice bloke, and good company. We dropped a jill in the first small set and were rewarded with our day first rabbit. We continued a long the mound, dropping a jill here and there, until all three were to ground working seperate warrens. After a bit of calm, we could hear the bunnies on the move, and we were rewarded with another four bolts, of which we took three, losing one through the cover. Another rabbit went to bolt and turned around, only to be met by my wee silver jill, who sunk her teeth into its head, holding it down the tube, for me to reach in and pull out. Two out of the three ferrets were up and done, and a short dig, and bit of a stretch and rabbit number six was in the bag.

 

At this point the land owner showed up and whisked hounddogg away to show him around the property. On his return, we headed for a likely looking large warren he had spotted on his tour. The warren was strung across a steep bank, dotted with scrub, and up through a hedge, into a field at a higher level. The three of us layed all of the nets we had brought on the day and had covered what we could find, knowing that there would be a couple of holes lurking in the cover. Again we dropped the three jills down and they slunk off to do their thing. Straight away, two rabbits bolted out of a missed hole and ran down the hedge to ground in another set. Then they started hitting the nets. For a good while it was chaos as rabbits bolted everywhere, dogs and people jumping about like loons. By the end of it we had missed a couple, but taken eighteen, mostly netted, with two back netted by the dogs and one caught by each of hounddoggs mutts. At one point i had a rabbit in my hand, hounddogg had one in his, and his mate was running up and down a public road, courising a rabbit himself, while holding another. At that point i looked over my shoulder and skye was behind me in the field, retriving another rabbit, which no one had seen bolt, or run. Chaos, but great fun and successful! One very lucky rabbit bolted out onto an icy field, and i watched finn and skye turn it maybe a half dozen times, skidding meters past it on each turn, unable to get any traction to strike or turn properly. The ground was like fecking greased bell metal.

 

With 24 rabbits in the bag, calum had to shoot off, and we got a call from hounddoggs wonderous wife, who informed us she was on route with a warm home made pasta bake and a cold drink or cuppa! What more could you ask for. A true legend and hounddogg is a very lucky man! As we had a few mins to spare, and skye and finn had now located the first two rabbits that had escaped us on the previous set, we thought it would be rude not to ferret them out! I jumped down into the road, and netted the couple of holes, which looked like two seperate sets. As i was walking a long, i noticed a speck of white in the hedge, with a leap and a grab, i had a bunny in my hands, which had been tucked up in its seat, well hidden under an overhang. With the nets on, i ran a jill through both sets, bolting the first into a net, and the second almost making its escape out of an unetted hole only to be stopped in its tracks by the jill latching on to its arse, for me to reach in and pull it out

 

At this point hounddoggs misses arrived, with their beautiful baby daughter strapped to her. We headed back to the vehicles to drop off the 27 we had and had a bit of a picknick for three quarters of an hour. All done and dusted, and refreshed with excellent hot food and a cold drink AND a cup of tea we were ready for part two

 

Walking across the property, we spotted an area of rough divided by a stream, which finn had been obsessed with when we were there last week. On closer inspection we saw a few small sets strung a long both banks, which the dogs started to mark. In particular finn and skye were very interested with one two holer, which obviously held a bunny just out of reach. With nets on we started working the first set and were rewarded with silence. At this point i went and dropped a jill in the little two holer, and heard an immediate squeel, on reaching my hand in, i realised it was pretty much just a run through, and pulled out bunny with ferret attached. I re-joined hounddogg, and got the disco carrot out. While i began to dig, he went and did another set, getting a few bolts, i think three into nets and one caught by finn. Meanwhile, i was confused, having dropped in, and found ferret, but no rabbits. After picking the jill up i let her go back down and she came to the dig, sniffed the wall and started her own digging. I lifted her, and dug at where she had been scratching and pushed through into a tube, to find two rabbits at on top of each other

 

We lifted nets, and walked around the cornor. The field was covered in mole hills, and then Brian pointed out that the mole hills were in fact rabbits, as forty of the little buggers looked at us and did one into the nearest hedge. Walking a long it's length we realised it was actually several sets of fair size. We started at one end, netted three and then dropped jills in the first, after a moments pause the rabbits started to fly, and i mean fly, i can honestly say i have never seen rabbits bolt so hard, they were flying up in the air in the nets with the force. We moved from set to set, bolting rabbit, with three skipping the nets, one to be caught by finn on a nice run, another by archie and one to escape to run another day. By the end of the three sets we had another seven in the bag.

 

We netted up two more sets, and stood back, entering two of the jills, again the rabbits bolted hard, although they took some moving, we missed one, but netted six, with another being stopped from bolting and held by the jill until i could reach in and get it, and another being caught by finn, with an assist from archie.

 

With the light fading, we were calling it a day, untill a badgered hounddogg into doing just one more, with the suggestion that we may be somewhere around the mid fourties and that it would be nice to hit forty five. With it being hectic i hadn't really been counting. We netted up and dropped the jills in, all three this time to get it done quick, and stood back. In rapid style five rabbits bolted, with one making it's escape into the next set a couple of yards away. It was so hectic for a second that hounddogg took a rabbit out of a net and stuck in ontop of the hedge without killing it. It lay there for a good few mins trying to figure it all out before trying to run along the top of the hedge, luckily hounddogg was on the ball and it didnt get far

 

With the light fading, we denetted and made our way back to the car, picking up various caches of rabbits, untill we were weighd down, with bunnys slung around or necks, hanging bundled up in purse nets over our shoulder and crammed in net bags

 

On getting back to the car and laying them out, we realised we had taken 53, not bag for two men, who had a good lunch hour, and a lot of banter, and fun. I can't really say 'a great day in great company' again. it doesnt sum it up. It was a brilliant day, with beautiful surroundings, top banter and great sport, all in the company of a really sound bloke, some great dogs and ferrets, and even an excellent lunch (thankyou!!!!!). Looking forward to doing it all again next time A massive thanks to hounddogg and his misses

 

Not many photos as we were short staffed, so i was a bit busy

 

Atb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tomano1 80]

Reel good right up mate and fantastic pics well done ATB no1

[johnny boy68 11,726]

Excellent day out mate and great write up and pics.

 

Wish I could've been there to help out.

[Ideation 8,216]

Cheers guys!

 

Aye mate, it was odd not having you there, i reckon with the extra set of hands, we would have had an even bigger bag, we only did that hedge, and the second half was doable in an hour or two, and i reckon you'd have got another 20 or so from it.

 

By the end of the day all three dogs were limping, must be a curse?

[irish stevie 32]

Well done again great result.atb.stevie.

[Jamie m 668]

Well done hounddog and ideation a grand day out you have beet me by one rabbit you stinkers

: ( was out Friday no pics was a tuff day frozen and very hard rabbits and young below a few more bashes with the stinkers till end of month , well done again guys

[malc1 544]

well done lads great bundel of bunneys see you next week

[blackstar 0]

Cracking day there lads. Like the look of the dark brindle lurcher of hound dogs. What way bred is he?

[Ideation 8,216]

Collie/grey to collie/grey over a good few gens He's a good dog, as is the bitch, who is collie/grey x whippet.

[robert michem 314]

good day bin add lads,, the rabbit hair,, his ba/tard to get off yer seats,,lol

[Ideation 8,216]

Cheers jim.

 

And yep, the rabbit hair, rabbit smell, dog smell, mud, blood etc. It's a fecker. Lets just say i dont give folk lifts

[Tyla 3,179]

Your certainly getting about this season, well done mate

[Ideation 8,216]

I am indeed matey! TO be fair, this was only 100 miles either way, childs play really

[takman511 42]

good going lads

[staffyspen 43]

cracking read,

great photo's too mate!!

 

smashing bag of rabbits!!

well done lads1

 

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