Ferreting in rocks

[RichardC18 0]

ditchy

are you seriously trying to tell me a ferret thats been fed cant get stuck under ground ?

certain situations are beyond the control of the ferret, example rabbit goes into a stop end followed by the ferret another rabbit comes in behind the ferret, and the ferret is blocked in , this has happened to me on a number of occassions dont make any difference if the ferrets been fed or not it cant get out of the tube, there fore you have a lie up unless the stones can be removed if you have a sticker your better off giving the set a wide berth as said before you can stink the rabbits out by using red diesel soaked rags ect then ferret the rabbits in more accesible places or use other methods to take them out traps or snares its up to you now to make the decision

have to say i agree.

[bullsmilk 2]

i would not knowingly put my ferts into a situation where if they got into trouble i could not help

[COMPO 54]

When ferreting i act professionally and show respect to the landowners that have let me on, they want shut of the rabbits and if you dont do it they will get someone else (also on a few occasions i have been rewarded financially for removing the rabbits) i agree with Ditchshitter

 

I grew up not using locators (we didn't have them and when they were about i couldn't afford them) the way that i worked was to look after the ferrets feed them well, handle them lots, and when approaching the warrens do so as quietly as possible with as little disturbance as possible, net up in silence watching where you step and then slip the ferrets in as quietly as possible.

 

I work the same now and have so few lay ups that i dont consider digging part of ferreting.

 

I use a locator and collars on all my ferrets and i always carry a spade (usually to lean on and to leg the rabbits to) but i consider such items like the seatbelt on the car, you belt up every time you drive but you very very very rarely rely on it to hold you into the seat in a crash!!

 

 

I have ferreted with some people since locators became more widespread and feel that some have lost the essence of ferreting, they talk whilst approaching the warrens, they chat whilst netting up, they dont watch where they step and make other noise that to me is in-excusable, they are very reliant on their locators and after 10 minutes of no rabbits or ferrets are tramping all over the fecking set like a demented baboon swinging the little knocker box left to right over the ground........not me silence and quiet, patience and more patience and most rabbits will bolt, and if one gets kileld below ground as long as the ferret comes out then i aint that bothered, its dead and i aint wasting time digging a 4 feet hole when i could spend that time doing another set.

 

I would ferret the rock pile (i have done before) i would use the above methods and hope for the best.

 

I have very rarely found ferrets get into positions that they cant get out of, i am sure it does happen, but 99% of lay ups are just a bottled up then killed rabbit that the ferrets will eventually leave.

[the fezz 44]

When ferreting i act professionally and show respect to the landowners that have let me on, they want shut of the rabbits and if you dont do it they will get someone else (also on a few occasions i have been rewarded financially for removing the rabbits) i agree with Ditchshitter

 

I grew up not using locators (we didn't have them and when they were about i couldn't afford them) the way that i worked was to look after the ferrets feed them well, handle them lots, and when approaching the warrens do so as quietly as possible with as little disturbance as possible, net up in silence watching where you step and then slip the ferrets in as quietly as possible.

 

I work the same now and have so few lay ups that i dont consider digging part of ferreting.

 

I use a locator and collars on all my ferrets and i always carry a spade (usually to lean on and to leg the rabbits to) but i consider such items like the seatbelt on the car, you belt up every time you drive but you very very very rarely rely on it to hold you into the seat in a crash!!

 

 

I have ferreted with some people since locators became more widespread and feel that some have lost the essence of ferreting, they talk whilst approaching the warrens, they chat whilst netting up, they dont watch where they step and make other noise that to me is in-excusable, they are very reliant on their locators and after 10 minutes of no rabbits or ferrets are tramping all over the fecking set like a demented baboon swinging the little knocker box left to right over the ground........not me silence and quiet, patience and more patience and most rabbits will bolt, and if one gets kileld below ground as long as the ferret comes out then i aint that bothered, its dead and i aint wasting time digging a 4 feet hole when i could spend that time doing another set.

 

I would ferret the rock pile (i have done before) i would use the above methods and hope for the best.

 

I have very rarely found ferrets get into positions that they cant get out of, i am sure it does happen, but 99% of lay ups are just a bottled up then killed rabbit that the ferrets will eventually leave.

spot on mate

[woodga 170]

oh how i wish it was AS EASY AS THAT when i leave a warren i know that all or at least the majority of rabbits in that warren are out or dead ,i dont consider leaving rabbits to rot in a set and allways under take to find them and retreive them if i can i do dig rabbits because if a rabbit has not shown for say ten mins i know its dead i know my ferrets kill quickly and it never stops us from catching big numbers most times we go out i wish i owned a magical ferret that never killed or stayed underground but each to their own oh nearly forgot these ferrets i use see thousands of rabbits over the season locators make the job easy its called modernisation no need to wait for hours for your ferret when you can have it out retreive the rabbits and move on and kill numbers which is what the farmers want

[Hob&Jill 258]

I was under the impression that before locators most folk used liners?

 

I wish I had a magical ferret that never killed

[Guest Frank]

I tend to agree with woodga here.

[micky 3,325]

When ferreting i act professionally and show respect to the landowners that have let me on, they want shut of the rabbits and if you dont do it they will get someone else (also on a few occasions i have been rewarded financially for removing the rabbits) i agree with Ditchshitter

 

I grew up not using locators (we didn't have them and when they were about i couldn't afford them) the way that i worked was to look after the ferrets feed them well, handle them lots, and when approaching the warrens do so as quietly as possible with as little disturbance as possible, net up in silence watching where you step and then slip the ferrets in as quietly as possible.

 

I work the same now and have so few lay ups that i dont consider digging part of ferreting.

 

I use a locator and collars on all my ferrets and i always carry a spade (usually to lean on and to leg the rabbits to) but i consider such items like the seatbelt on the car, you belt up every time you drive but you very very very rarely rely on it to hold you into the seat in a crash!!

 

 

I have ferreted with some people since locators became more widespread and feel that some have lost the essence of ferreting, they talk whilst approaching the warrens, they chat whilst netting up, they dont watch where they step and make other noise that to me is in-excusable, they are very reliant on their locators and after 10 minutes of no rabbits or ferrets are tramping all over the fecking set like a demented baboon swinging the little knocker box left to right over the ground........not me silence and quiet, patience and more patience and most rabbits will bolt, and if one gets kileld below ground as long as the ferret comes out then i aint that bothered, its dead and i aint wasting time digging a 4 feet hole when i could spend that time doing another set.

 

I would ferret the rock pile (i have done before) i would use the above methods and hope for the best.

 

I have very rarely found ferrets get into positions that they cant get out of, i am sure it does happen, but 99% of lay ups are just a bottled up then killed rabbit that the ferrets will eventually leave.

how many rabbits do you catch on an averarge outing ?

[COMPO 54]

how many rabbits do you catch on an averarge outing ?

 

MY AVERAGE IS 15 (that average is taken from last years diary and includes several outings of an hour or so, when i was home before lunch) last two outings this year were 8 (in two hours) and 17 when i ferreted from 9am until 2 pm

 

 

And yes Woodga

 

there is no need to wait hours for a ferret to come out, mine kill and move on to the next live one,

 

I aint saying i never dig, just that its something i try and avoid and I ferret about twice weekly from august until march, and I may only have to resort to digging once or twice a season?

 

My point and the point i believe that Ditchshitter was trying to make is that digging can be lessened or even avoided if you go about things in the correct manner, so i would ferret the rock pile, as i would feel confident enough that the rock pile could be ferreted and emptied of rabbits if you do things the correct way

 

I really hate the over reliance on locators and the way that people resort to them without waiting a little while for the ferrets to work things out.

 

We see 5 holes in the ground, these 5 holes could extend to a hundred metres of tunnels and could take the ferts deep into the earth out of locator depth, give the ferts chance they will find the rabbits if they are there, and when they find the rabbits they will drive them out, if the rabbits bottle themselves up the fert may drive them out (lots of times i have had rabbits bolt with the visible marks that they have been bottled up -rear end hairloss etc.) after climbing over them or some such (we are guessing we dont really know what happens dead in the ground twix fert and rabbit)

 

Either way i dont jump up after 10 minutes and start digging asap, i catch lots of rabbits (not as many as woodga-he is at it 100% of the time being a pro-i am what you would call a serious amateur or semi-pro) and do get paid for some rabbit control and also sell a lot of rabbits making a bit more cash from my hobby

 

whatever works for you is OK in my book, i just agreed with DS as i could see what he was saying about the old ways of working ferts and how they are similar to my opinions and ways of working, i catch enough rabbits to make me, my landowners and my butcher happy

 

if the lad who started this thread doesn't want the stoney/rock laden permission i may be interested as at £1.50 a bunny it may be worth the trip

 

And Millet Dynamite you fecking genius

Edited September 26, 2007 by COMPO

[bullet 125]

if i had permission that had rabbits in rock piles or similar i'd do the same as ditch, i always feed my ferts the night before the mornings ferreting, they all kill and move on, never get a lye up, if i choose to dig i will, as regards them getting stuck, i know if they are stuck, so given time i would do it just the same if i had my terrier to ground, get some tools a few lads and a big flask,

permission is getting harder to gain, so leaving it for some wouldnt be an option!

 

ps the summers over now so stop bitching!

[Neal 1,857]

If only that nice Mr Plummer was still with us, I'm sure if you asked him nicely he'd breed a special strain of retrieving ferrets via a genetically modified Flat Coat Retriever...and you'd get a lovely article in the CW with algebra and all sorts!

[Ludwig 0]

Ditch shitter is spot on as often seems to be the case; I started ferreting a few years back on a grave yard which the rabbits had dug into the graves, I couldn't see any point in buying collars and a locator cause if a ferret didn't come up I couldn't dig (and if I did i would have probably been arrested for grave robbing ), it also seems a bit dumb to put a ferret down with an expensive peice of equipment if you can't dig to it. I have always advocated feeding the ferrets well before going ferreting Unless I am looking to dig in particulaly shallow burys.

 

I should probably start a new topic for this but, I only bought a deben locator for this season and to be honest I can't say I think it has been worth it .does anyone else think that they are overated? I have often heard people say that it is irresponsible to ferret without a locator and collar but I have never had a problem without one and never lost a ferret. To be honest I think the way people advocate these as being the responsible option is not right. I don't dout they have there place but are they just a symptom of how we have no patience? Maybe its me?

 

It probably is me??

[Neal 1,857]

I only have one and a bit seasons of ferreting single handed under my belt so I'm hardly the font of all knowledge but this is what I do, for what it's worth. On my first trip out I didn't fasten the collar well enough and had to dig to retrieve the bloody thing. After that I decided to work the ferrets without a collar but use one on a second ferret if one laid up. Lo and behold, I didn't get a lay up all season which either means I've got great ferrets or else their crap and weren't working hard enough. Anyway, after a few weeks of this, I went back to putting the collar on every time I put them in but as I said I've not needed to rely on them yet (touch wood). I had to wait a good hour a few times but they always came out without needing to dig. Why dig when you can do some bird watching.