Foxhole 22 Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 i have always wondered this? you can have a good tame ferret handled by a few strangers well then bites another. i have met some who have said that ferrets just bite them. This happened last year, I have 2 great well tamed workers and have a few mates who can handle her without a nip but one mate who handles her no differently to the others gets bitten 50% of the time. He gave up keeping them as he was convinced the ferrets had put a curse on him...LOL But this is not an isolated case and i have seen it many times.Some handlers just seem to be excepted more than others. Dogs are the same they can just dislike somebody for no apparent reason. I had a dog that would growl at any ethnic minority as in a black person everytime. i even had a hawk that was persistant in coming down and hitting another falconer and only him. That's only ever happened once but it did happen nevertheless. Thoughts? Experiences? 1 Quote Link to post
The one 8,457 Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 I reckon ferrets smell fear 1 Quote Link to post
pie-eater 377 Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 I reckon ferrets smell fear It does seem to be the people who have no confidence with ferrets that get bitten a lot. Quote Link to post
GreyRake 108 Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 Mine will pick on the people who show fear. Quote Link to post
mybrainhurts 23 Posted October 29, 2013 Report Share Posted October 29, 2013 The girl who I got my kits off was working at the time so her fella gave them me , when he handed over the hob he said he's vicious but then had to do a double take cos the hob didn't even bat a eyelid and he said well he always goes for me. I mentioned this to her when I message'd her on facebook and she said to be honest all the ferrets attacked him even her main one who's soft as a brush would hiss and go for him. So maybe there's some truth in what you're saying . My smallest Jill who's tiny compared to the hob and quite a bit smaller than my other Jill is a right bitch always snapping at me and she takes no shit off the others too , she seems to be the angry bossy one in and out the hutch and I was just wondering if she suffers from small man syndrome or should I say small woman syndrome . A proper nowty cow she is Quote Link to post
Foxhole 22 Posted October 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 Sensing emotion is definitely most animals pick up on and when you think about it we do too. On the other hand kits usually bite in play and just nip but others really draw blood and to be honest i can't be done with a ferret or kit that i can't break out of this habit. biting ferrets that draw blood i don't believe what anyone says hurts in that short period of time and rummaging around netting i don't want blood dripping from my fingers. So i don't blame these guys and i still believe it is an odour they give over Quote Link to post
Skittles 3 Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 I got bit by a jill but believe she was just protecting her young. I was told by a wise man that if you handle in confidence it wont bite. If its unsupported and your scared it will bite in fear. Dont know how much id believe in that as there isnt many wise men around these parts Quote Link to post
Ratreeper 441 Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 I would agree it is definitely true and ferrets and dogs pick up on subtle body language and hesitation that we probably miss ourselves (dogs copy you as well, if you don't like minorities your dog will know!). Ferrets need confident handling from day one and I have had exactly the same experiences where ferrets that have always been 100% with me have been quite nasty with other people. Luckily it was my brother that had it worse, with a ferret that I would trust to crawl all over my face if I was so inclined and it ended up running up his body and hanging off his nose, it is still the funniest thing I have ever seen in my whole life Birds of prey are the same btw, I had a redtail hawk that was completely soft with with me and almost never bated from day 1, but just seemed to hate everyone else. She was also fine with my dog and would let him lick blood off her feet but wouldn't go near other dogs even of the same breed. Quote Link to post
TOMO 25,991 Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 Don't know about ferrets,,,,but the scent of some people makes me aggressive .......lol 3 Quote Link to post
Hot Meat 3,109 Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 If my dogs or even my ferrets kept biting somebody I'd take it that the person was a wrong un, if my animals don't like you, then you can bet your skiddy pants that I won't.... 2 Quote Link to post
Tiercel 6,986 Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 Don't know about ferrets,,,,but the scent of some people makes me aggressive .......lol :laugh: Quote Link to post
Foxhole 22 Posted October 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 You welsh are nuts! :) Quote Link to post
ferretfatcamp 21 Posted October 30, 2013 Report Share Posted October 30, 2013 ferrets have a good nose and dont like strong smells like perfume or aftershave best not to put any on when handling ferrets and they do smell fear and dont like quick movement they tend to bite first and think later 1 Quote Link to post
dayle 7 Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 I got bit by a jill but believe she was just protecting her young. I was told by a wise man that if you handle in confidence it wont bite. If its unsupported and your scared it will bite in fear. Dont know how much id believe in that as there isnt many wise men around these parts yes i agree i believe that we give the ferret the confidence and when were not so sure the can be a bit scatty like one day a had a party the night befor and had to clean the ferrets my one jill is very tame never even tried to nip but this one day i am sure it was because a was not on the ball and a wis a bit nervy for some reason but this day she was acting different with me flared tail and hissing at me and bite in me all the time but whent back next day clear headed and she whas fin like her wee self so yes i believe its confidence or the smell of the pub but confidence sounds better Quote Link to post
onthehunt 40 Posted October 31, 2013 Report Share Posted October 31, 2013 i have always wondered this? you can have a good tame ferret handled by a few strangers well then bites another. i have met some who have said that ferrets just bite them. This happened last year, I have 2 great well tamed workers and have a few mates who can handle her without a nip but one mate who handles her no differently to the others gets bitten 50% of the time. He gave up keeping them as he was convinced the ferrets had put a curse on him...LOL But this is not an isolated case and i have seen it many times.Some handlers just seem to be excepted more than others. Dogs are the same they can just dislike somebody for no apparent reason. I had a dog that would growl at any ethnic minority as in a black person everytime. i even had a hawk that was persistant in coming down and hitting another falconer and only him. That's only ever happened once but it did happen nevertheless. Thoughts? Experiences? My mom's dog who she got when she was 7 years old growled and barked viciously at any black person. just one of those things. I am pretty sure the dog wasn't a racist though. she was after all black and tan colour herself... Quote Link to post
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