What You Consider A Good Worker

[Aussie Whip 4,134]

My two best ferrets(both males) have different working styles,ones a very fast worker,rabbits flying out as soon as you drop him in and the other takes longer but gets rabbits out other ferrets have missed,very methodical.I consider both good workers.For a quick run with the dogs I use the quick one,the other for pest control jobs.

[terryd 8,580]

One that just gets on with it and a good finder. My old jill is no nonsense and straight to it and if there is a rabbit in there she will find it

 

[stealthy1 3,964]

I like ferrets that just get on with it, calm to collar, and come out when the warren is empty, couldn't ask for more.

[The one 8,503]

I put a advert in the farming paper and i was dreading the replies because i would have to go see the ground in every reply and ferret it but the ferrets never let me down ,

 

So i look for a ferret that will graft 4/5 days a week one day bolting rabbits from a three holer in a garden to bolting rabbits in a 400/500 warren on a disused railway line

 

So just a good working ferret with no gimmicks

[Micheala Robinson 400]

Similar to Aussie Whip I have two very different workers a Jill that is very fast, slips easily through the nets, flushes them out, very rarely kills and never leaves anything behind and comes out when there's nothing left.

Then I have a big hob who takes his time has a tendency to kill rather than flush them out into the nets.

Both ferrets are ridiculously tame and easy to collar but I prefer to work the Jill as i rarely need the spade and the rabbits are less chewed ?

[mushroom 13,205]

Calm to hand and good at the job...

 

Had one Jill who was a demon worker, only problem was she'd skulk and nail you when working.

[Guest vin]

Mine.

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Ferreting rabbits sure ain't Rocket Science,....but, it ain't all plain sailing,..there are many variables....

Situations, geographic locations and using the ferrets,.. can often differ throughout the UK,....

 

I've been lucky,.. always owned, reasonably competent workers,.... my criteria for what makes a good ferret, is consistency..

Edited June 6, 2017 by Phil Lloyd

[Jax13 251]

Similar to the op, my first Jill is a bit methodical, tends to work the top holes first then after popping up a few times will go down for as long as it takes to bolt whatever is down there.

 

My other decent Jill tends to get a bit within 2 minutes whenever she gets entered and pushes good numbers out in really good time but does tend to take a long time on stubborn bunnies and won't stay on a stop end bunny forever.

 

Because of their different habits I like to chuck both down at the same time and get the best of both worlds with them.

 

Running fresh ferrets through where I've worked them they have never missed anything and the second batch are always empty handed.

[Furrosious ferreter 499]

Ive only had one season ferrting so far.

 

Ive got 2 ferrtes one is a sandy jill that just knows when we are going out and her personality changes into this focused ferret only has eyes on the rabbits. Works really hard and is in until all is out, i think...

But at home she is sweet and well natured and loves playing.

 

The other is a polecat jill, and well, i might aswell take a stuffed one along. I dont think she could even do that properly. Its like using an inflatable dart board or a chocolate teapot...

 

Ive just breed my sandy and she has produced 5 kits 4 jills and a hob. So hopefully they will have there mothers hunting characteristics. If so i feel sorry for the bigger warrens i coundnt do last winter.

 

FF

[rabbit demon 302]

I use smaller albinos for the banks and smaller warrens. I use my bigger silvers for the big to huge warrens on sandy soil. Then I have real small albinos that would struggle more to kill a rabbit for working stone dykes and mesolithic tombs. Less chance of getting stuck in a tight spot. The albinos are slower workers compared to my silvers. The silvers run through the burrows and kill more but they empty warrens quicker and put more bunnies in the bag. Any ferret that gets the head down till the bunnies are shifted or dead and doesnt bite when dug to is a good worker to me.

[Arry 22,346]

Ive only had one season ferrting so far.

 

Ive got 2 ferrtes one is a sandy jill that just knows when we are going out and her personality changes into this focused ferret only has eyes on the rabbits. Works really hard and is in until all is out, i think...

But at home she is sweet and well natured and loves playing.

 

The other is a polecat jill, and well, i might aswell take a stuffed one along. I dont think she could even do that properly. Its like using an inflatable dart board or a chocolate teapot...

 

Ive just breed my sandy and she has produced 5 kits 4 jills and a hob. So hopefully they will have there mothers hunting characteristics. If so i feel sorry for the bigger warrens i coundnt do last winter.

 

FF

I remember about 20 years ago my young lad and myself got a couple of gill kits from the same litter, one switch on straight away as was a brilliant worker the other was useless. This one I called Dippy and wanted to get rid of her at the end off the season, I had tried every trick I new to try and switch her on. Well my lad wanted to keep her so I gave in. Anyway we kept trying her she would go ground okay but would not find or shift anything, then one day about half way though the next season put her to ground and holy hell broke lose, a brace flew out. From that day on she was a great little ferret, changed her name to Zippy.

 

As for good worker its horses for courses and every body to their own really. We run four Gills two quite small we use for old collapse stone wall and tight places a medium gill for bigger places run with the two small ones. A quite large gill she goes in after the others are out or can't shift them, she's the sweeper find every thing really mixes it up often finding a couple more in big deep places.

 

Cheers Arry

[The one 8,503]

I use smaller albinos for the banks and smaller warrens. I use my bigger silvers for the big to huge warrens on sandy soil. Then I have real small albinos that would struggle more to kill a rabbit for working stone dykes and mesolithic tombs. Less chance of getting stuck in a tight spot. The albinos are slower workers compared to my silvers. The silvers run through the burrows and kill more but they empty warrens quicker and put more bunnies in the bag. Any ferret that gets the head down till the bunnies are shifted or dead and doesnt bite when dug to is a good worker to me.

But does that mean your taking three carrying boxes of different ferrets out ? Or picking a ferret for a type burrow ?.

[rabbit demon 302]

I normally only bring two ferrets with me any time I go out. I know what the grounds going to be like beforehand depending where Im going. Some of the permissions Iv got the ground is all boulders and gravel so the warrens only tend to be 1 to 4 holes. The rabbits tend to take shelter in the stone dyke walls and stone tombs also. So a wee tiny ferret is more suited as you wouldnt be long in breaking your shovel trying to dig ferrets out that are catching underground. Other permissions I have its sandy soil and wee ferrets are too slow for my liking as the warrens are deep and can be literally hundreds of holes.