hob or jill ???

[scouse 0]

right i'm thinking of a getting my first ferret so would it matter what sex of ferret for a beginner ?whats the pros and cons of either ?? whats the most messing when they come into season ?? cheers .

[Kay 3,709]

well its more important if you have a jill to keep her accomodation nice & clean when she is in season as the swelling can get all nasty , either mate her, run her with a vasectomised hob (prooven) or get her speyed if you deffo dont want to breed

 

Hobs will come into season early next yr if you want 2 ferrets & choose hobs you may have to seperate them when there in full blown season, some people dont have a problem with hobs scrapping , but if you plan getting one of each then just watch for the jill swelling & if you dont want to breed them remove the jill to a single cage , but be mindfull of her being in season and use a method to bring down the swelling as above in first paragraph

[andy s410c 61]

Either sex of fert is ok as Kay says either bring jills out of season or keep a very close eye on her when she is in season.I will be getting my 2 jills the jab to bring them out of season as i dont want the hassle of breeding.Hobs especially large ones can be very hard on rabbits not saying that jills arent either but i prefer to work jills to get more rabbits in the net.Make sure that whatever sex you get to give them clean,comfortable accomadation,access to fresh water24/7 & daily fresh meat rabbit,day old chicks & you will have very happy ferts

[stubby 175]

from reading your post, it seems your set on 1 ferret, rather than a pair, pairs are better as they have the company of each other, but alot of people do still keep a single ferret, if thats the case, get yaself a hob, ok it'll get sexually mature, but its no real problem, no trips to the vets for jill jabs, or time spent searching for a vasectimized hob, then if down the line you want to get more, cos you'll fall in love with that one (or ya missus will) and you can then get a couple of jills, and maybe give your hob the snip,

hobs are slower at working the burrows, but many a time I've ferreted with jills, what looks like an empty warren, only to put down a hob and all hell's broken loose with bolters

[fishfish 17]

personally i prefer jills being smaller than the hobs they dont disturb the nets so much when the crawl through! my old hob was so big he wold pull every net streight!

[R_Oldroyd 17]

Ferrets love to be together, most of the time. You would be better to have a couple. They can keep each other company and warm on a night. They are easy to keep in the winter. They can be a handful during the summer when they go into season so be mindful of which sex to get. And look after them and monitor them during the season, it's only right.

 

Me I like hobs for working even thought they do knock the odd net of the holes. I'm working them alot at the moment so letting them have day off is so important and this can affect the total numbers ferrets to have.

 

I like to get one new ferret each year as replacements, these are usually rescues and the odd silver bought from a northern breeder. I have a vasectimized hob to keep my girl in check.

 

Ferrets only really start to work best at about 2 or 3 years of age in my opinon so you need to look after them though the years in order to get the best out of them.

 

These are some of the reason why so many ferrets end up in rescue and these are great places to go and have a look get advice and pick ferrets of ages you require. Most of the time you can get spayed jills and castrated hobs which for first timers is the way forwards especially if you don't have the right amount of accomidation something that have not been mentioned.

 

All the best Roger.

 

If you are going to use them to catch rabbit go for a 1 vasectimized hob and 2 Jills and you will have a good no problems working team.

Edited December 11, 2007 by R_Oldroyd

[doxhope 2]

Jills for me

[Julia 0]

Jills for me

 

Same here. I prefer jills, I think they have more personality.

[Kay 3,709]

Jills for me

 

[R_Oldroyd 17]

Jills for me

 

Julia

 

Well all yours are girly show ferrets so that says it all

Edited December 11, 2007 by R_Oldroyd

[stork 1]

I always use jill`s but if i get held up or i think theres a stoat or rat i put the old hob in to do his job and yes hobs pull the nets off because they cant get through

[R_Oldroyd 17]

I always use jill`s but if i get held up or i think theres a stoat or rat i put the old hob in to do his job and yes hobs pull the nets off because they cant get through

 

There you go 1 hob to 2 Jill team

[ianrob 2]

right i'm thinking of a getting my first ferret so would it matter what sex of ferret for a beginner ?whats the pros and cons of either ?? whats the most messing when they come into season ?? cheers .

I tend to use hobs for easyness, however I would never keep just one, get two. The best and and coincidentally the best looking ferret I've ever had was a jill from a litter I raised a few years ago. I called her Rosy. A real demon with the rabbits, yet a pussycat with the kids. Good jills are great, but for first timers hobs are easier. Once you get sorted, and get more accomodation sorted out, you can then pick up a jill and raise yourself a litter.

Hobs, as everyone says, tend to knock nets off, but so do jills to a slightly lesser extent. Hobs are much stronger and once they become adept at killing, can catch more than they bolt, however I had one large poley hob, which for reasons only it knew, liked biting bunnies bums. It killed very few, and often a squeal down the hole was follwed by a now tail-less rabbit in the net. It's your choice, but if you get a couple of hobs, it gives you entry level ferreting, with room for expansion. The very best of luck to you.

[stork 1]

I always use jill`s but if i get held up or i think theres a stoat or rat i put the old hob in to do his job and yes hobs pull the nets off because they cant get through

 

There you go 1 hob to 2 Jill team

3 jills 1 hob i just built them a 8ft long by 4 ft wide 7 ft tall run.

Edited December 11, 2007 by stork

[Kay 3,709]

I like hobs best they are more easy going if you ask me