Good first day!

[Ideation 8,216]

Well, it's that time of year again! Had a few short walks out with the dogs and ferrets, but this weekend, we decided to try and get back to it properly.

 

Up early doors, loaded three jills, and the dog into the car and picked up johnnyboy, his step daughter Caitlin and his old bitch and the pup. Headed off across the bridge, to meet up with a friend of ours off here, and try to make a start on one of his farms.

 

We met up, and headed off, with it feeling anything but like a days ferreting should. Warm as feck! But it was good to be out with good company, we had a walk about, put up the odd bunny, lost finn in some maize for a bit, and realised most of the hedges were un-ferretable with the cover. Along the way, the dogs put a bunny up in some more maize and Gem nailed it as it made the ditch. Unfortunatly it had some signs of the dreaded mixi! So in the hedge it went.

 

We made a decision on the least brutal looking hedge, and starting at one end, netted up what looked like a warren. The cover was horrible, the hedge being maybe ten foot wide and fairly thick, but we soldiered on, sweating like feck and stung to shit, during this time, the first bunny bolted itself and evaded the dogs, to make the saftey of the maize, lucky bunny! Soon enough we got netted up, and readied ourselves, John and Caitlin and their two on one side, Brian the other, with his two dogs, and me in the middle of the hedge, with finn. Down went the two jills, my old albino, for who today was her first trip out of the season and the younger silver, who has been out a bit already. The slinked off and after a little bit, rabbits started to move down in the depths. Soon enough, the first rabbits were bolting, both sides and middle, the dogs were kept busy and we were doing a fair bit of leaping about. It was good to see the dogs swinging into action, remembering what it was all about and anticipating the bolts. When the action stopped we had a fair pile of rabbits, 12 or 14 in total (it's a debatable point!) and hadn't missed any, which was good considering the cover.

 

We lifted nets and moved up the hedge, the dogs showing interest in the next section, we started putting the nets back down, and then Brian unfortunatly had to go on a bit of a rescue mission, and then to work. So left alone, the welsh team got on with it. Amusingly, another rabbit bolted while we laying up, but this time into a net i had just stuck down, result! With nets down and Caitlin replacing Brian on one side of the hedge, we entered the jills, and soon had our first bolts. We accounted for another eight, with another being lost in the depths, in an undiggable place. Another rabbit skipped the nets and managed to make safety in the next set.

 

We finished up and decided to do the last set in the hedge where the bunny had fled and head off. Nets on and ferrets down, and it all went quiet. Eventually we had a bolt, and a while later one more, with the ferret following. WIth one ferret still missing, we had a scan about and couldnt get closer than 4foot on search Chipping down a bit to try to get a better mark, we realised how brutal the digging was going to be However, the noise must have unsettled the rabbit, who made a bid for freedom, skipped the net and was neatly lifted by Gem as it fled across the field. It was good to see the old girl catch the first and last rabbit of the day on the run. I lifted the ferret, happy to not have to dig. . . .

 

. . . . and then realised the fecking collar had come off. One and a half hour later we managed to chip our way to the bloody thing, with the mark 3 being a twat. The dogs meanwhile enjoyed lying in the sun watching us work

 

All in all a good day, and a decent start, ending on 25 or 27 bunnys, depending if we dropped a couple on the way back or i miss counted Good company, good sport

 

Some fairly crap photos, i'm out of practice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 16, 2012 by Ideation

[Guest vin]

good to see you boys back at it.

 

how's Jonnyboys pup shaping up ? she,s looking great.

[patterdalejoel 669]

kin ell thats a small woodland not a hedge.

[Ideation 8,216]

Aye, i forgot how much i missed it mate

 

The pup is great, full of beans, very confident, lots of drive, agile like a cat, looking forward to seeing her mature.

[Ideation 8,216]

kin ell thats a small woodland not a hedge.

 

They are pretty bad mate, ok when the frost has killed off most of the bramble and nettles as you can just walk about in them, but at this time of year its like a fortress. It's funny being in a hedge, that a man and dog can run about in.

 

I hear you lads don't have hedges?

[sam4530s 37]

great read , love the black dog what a beaut ! . also nice to see the young lass out too , dont often see girls gettin there hands dirty , my daughter is 22 months old cant wait until the day she ask's me to take her out with the stinkers

atb pal

[BS40liam 203]

Nice piks and sounds like you all had a good day. When you say off over the bridge, do you mean my neck of the woods? Would be nice to know considering I only got 1 rabbit today lol and need a new bit of ground

[patterdalejoel 669]

kin ell thats a small woodland not a hedge.

 

They are pretty bad mate, ok when the frost has killed off most of the bramble and nettles as you can just walk about in them, but at this time of year its like a fortress. It's funny being in a hedge, that a man and dog can run about in.

 

I hear you lads don't have hedges?

 

i have maize permission that is surrounded by hedges full of rabbit, but then a couple of miles away a farm with just drystone walls or stock fences. pain in the arse around the railway they dont migrate away from it to hedges or cover and you cant get to them. im less "dales" than others i know who's permission is nearly solid dales with not a hedge in sight. we have arable, pasture, dales/fell and heather etc between us, its like all having different counties in one

[Ideation 8,216]

Sam - the black dog is a whippet, a good dog but a git at times. Caitlin is a good lass, 13 years old. You can throw her a net and she can lay it, and she caught bunnys in nets she layed today, so it's win win haha.

 

Liam - Yep it was england or the 'foreign' land.

[Ideation 8,216]

kin ell thats a small woodland not a hedge.

 

They are pretty bad mate, ok when the frost has killed off most of the bramble and nettles as you can just walk about in them, but at this time of year its like a fortress. It's funny being in a hedge, that a man and dog can run about in.

 

I hear you lads don't have hedges?

 

i have maize permission that is surrounded by hedges full of rabbit, but then a couple of miles away a farm with just drystone walls or stock fences. pain in the arse around the railway they dont migrate away from it to hedges or cover and you cant get to them. im less "dales" than others i know who's permission is nearly solid dales with not a hedge in sight. we have arable, pasture, dales/fell and heather etc between us, its like all having different counties in one

 

Sounds good mate, i didn't see one hedge when i was up, and wasn't complaining

[BS40liam 203]

Foreign land pppffffttt!...lol well if your ever over this way and need an extra pair of hands (and ferrets) then I'm just a P.M away the most I have ever got while ferreting in the past around here is no more than 6! I found if its numbers I want the out with the lamp is the way to go which is a no go for me atm! Atb anyway.

[BS40liam 203]

Foreign land pppffffttt!...lol well if your ever over this way and need an extra pair of hands (and ferrets) then I'm just a P.M away the most I have ever got while ferreting in the past around here is no more than 6! I found if its numbers I want the out with the lamp is the way to go which is a no go for me atm! Atb anyway.

[farmerkev09 105]

Great write up and some good pics

[johnny boy68 11,726]

Great write up as usual Jai, was a good day considering the amount of cover.

 

The dogs done well, Bron did well she got a litle excited at times but thats understandable with it being her first "proper" ferreting trip but all in all I was happy.

[Rake aboot 4,936]

Nice pics Jai

 

That Johnny boy is a rough looking feker eh !??? yeh`d think eh would smarten himself up for a day oot wi the son of God ! but naw!!

 

Cannae wait to get started masell bud,,

 

 

 

Edited to add

 

You`ve surely been buying some new clobber for that keepers job eh!! ?? hahahaha last year yeh were the ferretin hobo, now it`s aw breeks and shirts !! hahahahahahaha