Hob or Jill?

[Fletcher 0]

Its all in the title, if you could have only one ferret to work and planned no future breeding programme what would you choose, whats the pro's and con's for each?

[COMPO 54]

JILL

 

I get on better with females than male's!

 

I prefer jill ferrets as i feel they are harder working and more adaptable, jill's also in my opinion seem a lot less inclined to lay up with rabbits and are the only option where rats are concerned.

 

That said though if you have an entire jill then you need a vasectomised hob to assist bringing her out of season?

 

thats why i have 4 jills and a vasectomised hob the jills do most of the work (i do occasionally take the hoblet out when my son wants to work him as he is his ferret really) and the hoblet waits until spring to perform his work :whistle:

[Kay 3,709]

Hobs everytime for me,more laid back imo ,not had jills for years untill this stray turned up 5 weeks ago

[gibby 0]

When I had only one ferret I started with a hob, and if I was ever in the situation where I could only keep one ferret it would be a hob. However if I was to only keep two it would be a combination of a hob and a jill, thats what I had all last season and they served me well. Gunna have a few more ferrets this coming season though.

 

A jill will need to either be neutered or brought out of season at least once every year by either mating/ pairing with a vasectomied hob/ jill jab, whereas a hob can remain entire if he is living on his own so one less thing to worry about.

When it comes to working ability I think there is no hard and fast rule but I feel a hob working single handedly will probably be slightly more thorough than a jill working single handed. Also Ive never proven this myself but many people feel that a bigger ferret does not tire as quickly. Also some will disagree but Ive found no correlation between the size of the ferret and the tendency to lay up, if a rabbit doesnt want to bolt then it will pay the price, it doesnt take long for a ferret to work out how to kill a rabbit and once it does then either dig or wait!

 

Anyway thats just my 2 cents worth, whichever you choose Im sure it will be a good companion for you and a good worker, best of luck

 

Gibby

[Fletcher 0]

To be honest I'm fancying a hob, but as stated they may have a tendency to lay up, also how true is it that smell more if they're left entire?

That leaves a jill that would need neutering or brought out of season by a hoblet.

So the easiest option would be a jill and hoblet, then would I feel bad taking the jill out hunting and leaving the hob, at what age does the hob get the snip?

Cheers for answering these basic questions.

Edited June 3, 2007 by Fletcher

[gibby 0]

Cant say about the smell as Ive never had a hob castrated but if you clean them out they dont smell bad anyway. Unless Im immune to it but I can hardly smell them at all!

 

Personally I dont think a hobs any more likely to lay up, as I said above, but everyone has a different opinion on the matter .

 

There would be no reason why if you got both you couldnt work them both together. In fact its a good combination in my opinion!

[highlander 0]

I prefer hobs but the plus of jills is you can keep more than one at a time.

 

Regards highlander

[Kay 3,709]

To be honest i dont think it matters, hob,jill.entire doctored, they either work or they dont , the only reason i havent kept jills is simply because i like hobs, colours not an issue either ,so it comes down to personal preferance

[mooster 1]

I've used both and prefer jills.The reason is that the hob i had was big and was constantly messing up the nets,whereas the jills being smaller seem to pass through them more often than not.

If I was just having one as a pet though I would go for hobbs just 'Cos they look impressive and i can use them to scare away my mother in law!

[Fletcher 0]

So at age should either be neutered?

[Kay 3,709]

I've used both and prefer jills.The reason is that the hob i had was big and was constantly messing up the nets,whereas the jills being smaller seem to pass through them more often than not.

If I was just having one as a pet though I would go for hobbs just 'Cos they look impressive and i can use them to scare away my mother in law!

 

Will you scare my mother in law please

 

 

So at age should either be neutered?

 

Personally that again differs from person to person, in the past i have had them done at around 11 to 12 months old, these two i have not had castrated & there getting on together really well, only down side is they smell a lot stronger even living in clean bedding & they dont look in as good condition coat wise as any i have had castrated

[gnipper 6,546]

I always find hobs get a bit too good at catching the rabbits meself and their strong enough to easily drag them off when you break into the tube. Some i've had have been alright at bolting though, probably depends on the hob or strain though.

[3jackwhite3 2]

i find that i have never dug to my hob but when we take the jills out we dig almost all the time plus i think hobs are more cuddly

 

p.s my jill has just give birth if you live in south wales gwent area they will be ready in 8 weeks

nathan