A Ferrets Value ?

[Guest vin]

59 minutes ago, Aussie Whip said:

I've found ferrets from too close breeding can be bitey and hard to handle.I think its more the work and experience you put in front of them than their breeding from workers,although working line ferrets might have bigger percentage of good workers in the litter and would be quicker too learn the ropes.

Sometimes no matter how much work you give them..they just don't make the grade .... I've had some beauties that look the part, act the part and on paper should be serious grafters. . . But after a couple of good kickings from a big buck bunny,they spit the dummy out...lol.

Ask Tomo about that beautiful big white hob I got him a few seasons ago from Wales. . . . It was a beast !   perfection to look at ! behaved like a proper hob !  we had seriously high hopes for him !

To say it failed miserably would have been an understatement...lol.

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

The true test of a family, a line, or a purpose-bred strain of working ferrets, is their ability to find their quarry in different situations...

Its the same with roustabout curs,..they have to be adaptable,..or like the Dinosaur,..they simply don't make the cut...

 

[Bobtheferret 1,248]

Following from what Phil said about finding quarry in different circumstances I have different ferrets for different circumstances. I have a hob that will refuse to leave a rabbit below ground and is methodical about checking the warren and I have a jill that simply races round at 1000 miles an hour and bolts all the easy ones but will leave to odd one tucked up. You would not want only the hob or only the jill but both are valuable in different ways. If you have to clear a spot for pest control put the hob in and know it may take longer but the warrens clear but if you want to bolt a few quick ones on a Sunday afternoon for the dog then use the jill. Both priceless in their own ways. 

Enjoyed this thread btw, good sensible discussion about hunting without the dick measuring!

[Guest vin]

50 minutes ago, Bobtheferret said:

Following from what Phil said about finding quarry in different circumstances I have different ferrets for different circumstances. I have a hob that will refuse to leave a rabbit below ground and is methodical about checking the warren and I have a jill that simply races round at 1000 miles an hour and bolts all the easy ones but will leave to odd one tucked up. You would not want only the hob or only the jill but both are valuable in different ways. If you have to clear a spot for pest control put the hob in and know it may take longer but the warrens clear but if you want to bolt a few quick ones on a Sunday afternoon for the dog then use the jill. Both priceless in their own ways. 

Enjoyed this thread btw, good sensible discussion about hunting without the dick measuring!

100% right there matey.. its the old "Horses for courses".  

We all work different types of land and different approaches are needed in certain circumstances. There's no point putting a Grinder of a hob down to something that cannot be dug down to.

We also learned that there's no point at all in putting a Micro down anywhere...lol. 

Some folk favor a small lean Jill for the job... But they are no good for the big buck bunnies on the Yorkshire Dales ..they just get dragged about when your trying to dig down to them etc.

The best thing about this section is ... we all learn a bit from each other along the way and learn how others approach the job.

Best team for most days out is a couple of rock hard Jills and a nice strong killer Hob. . . there's not much gets away when that sort of a team is in place.

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Tried the micro Hob once,..it was emotional...

 

 

[The one 8,458]

Got to agree with most of whats been said apart from  keeping different ferrets for different jobs , i normally run  a dozen ferrets and after putting a advert in the paper and or local farming paper got a nice few permissions  using  them for ever job that came up , one farmer after i went to see him commented there's loads of rabbits there  but you wont put a ferret in there was surprised the next day when i turned up with four jills with 15 foot collars on and ferreted the burrows , Next day the same jills where ferreting under  a roads onto the main Perth, Dundee road at a riding school  the only thing i found they  lacked   was ferreting big sandy burrows they got dragged all over the place  when they latched onto a rabbit and couldn't kill it quick enough resulting in the need for more than one hole being dug  . But i agree that the true value of a working ferrets no releasedised and while mine are nothing fancy  i could sell or gift every jill bred but hobs i cant give away . I don't really mind but after smashing my knee and being unable to do much for the last year and a half i've run them down to 7 ferrets and although i don't like it im seriously thinking about breeding a litter to get the 5 replacements i need rather than buying in untested shit as i believe taking a young ferret slow and getting it out often soon sorts the wheat from the chaff . But a good working ferret  is a valuble as your lurcher and unfortunately the price of kitts no way reflects this 

[Flacko 1,740]

So you have real good working ferrets you put a price on them £50-£100 how can you say this is the best strain about & going to be top worker & the buyer who is willing to pay top money for them is genuinely going to be a real good keeper of said stock & not just some 5 minute fad man & will treat it any better than some lads pay £200 for pups to cast them aside at first setback, think you have to breed for yourself & genuine lads who come with a recommendation of someone you trust or if you don’t like the look of them just decline them atb Flacko 

[Guest vin]

5 hours ago, Flacko said:

So you have real good working ferrets you put a price on them £50-£100 how can you say this is the best strain about & going to be top worker & the buyer who is willing to pay top money for them is genuinely going to be a real good keeper of said stock & not just some 5 minute fad man & will treat it any better than some lads pay £200 for pups to cast them aside at first setback, think you have to breed for yourself & genuine lads who come with a recommendation of someone you trust or if you don’t like the look of them just decline them atb Flacko 

Flacko... I never said these ferrets are the best strain around or anything...lol.    I would never be daft enough to think that.

The value is relevant to each and every owner. . . To me, they are priceless and I wouldn't sell my workers for any money... that's my point in this thread...To some people, they are a throwaway commodity to be used and abused for a £5.

Obviously, we breed for ourselves and our mates etc and do a bit of swapping between good workers etc.

I bred a litter a few seasons ago... But I had serious problems letting the kits go to strangers who I had no trust in. . . But on the other hand, I'm not one for tapping the spares on the head like some folk.

If I ever breed from my dogs I would be in serious trouble trying to part with the pups...lol. . . . . that's why I have never done so, Even though I would love a pup off either of them.

 

Anyway, Flacko talking of Ferrets... How did you get on this last season with your stock off our Chubby friend ?   . . . .  Please be 100% honest. . . its all in the name of research and education etc.

 

ATB

Vin.

 

Edited April 8, 2018 by vin

[Rabid 1,936]

I've never really paid much for kits, they always come from working stock and folks I know, and who know I will look after them and work them, I think the most I ever paid was a tenner each of a guy I didn't know very well at the time.

i have had some that were priceless and I wouldn't take a few grand for, they are with me till they die, that's how it's always been for me, and how it will always be.

I think they are always undervalued, I've had Jill's that have put thousands in the bag, earnt me a living at times, how can I value one of them, priceless is the answer, but if I have spare kits I would prefer to give them away to a good working home than say £50-100 to a stranger, they will stay with me sooner.

I don't do as much with the stinkers as once upon a time, but I've always got a few about and get them out as much as possible, my personal favourites are bog standard polecat Jill's, none of these micros, and I don't have enough mixed hard ground for a big hob anymore, my girls do me just fine and dandy

 

[The one 8,458]

Ive never put a price on my kits either i just gave them away and a guy came took 2 BEWs  next thing a womans on the phone so and so says you have kits do you have any left ? i should of smelled a rat then but the kits where 12 weeks and i was getting fed up of the moaning for the amount of ferrets in the garden so i let them go , But you will only have good ferrets if you breed a few test them and breed from the best workers repeatedly  but the downside is the amount of arseholes it brings to your door , then Oh you have that do you want to sell it ?. Now im quite happy taking the ferrets to any job that comes up and getting them to bolt rabbits in the different terrains  its a slow day waiting on top and nothing happening 

[Flacko 1,740]

Vin I was quoting you not meant to say you saying yours was the best, just think by putting a higher price on them doesn’t guarantee there future & probably more will be bred by not so honest fellas so as dog dealers we have loads of ferrret dealers & to answer the other question the ones the well built fella let me have have all done well enough for 1st season one being kept by myself the other to lad I ferret with & the third to a keeper pal who I go digging with so I thank him again & I still owe him a favour which will always be offered to him whenever he needs one cheers Flacko 

[The one 8,458]

I think your right a lot of ferrets will be bred by a lot of folk who don't think ahead mating a jill every year is the easiest option rather than getting a hob kit snipped , the jill jab or implants  , but theres a lot of rubbish out there that only get a bit of graft for a couple of hours on a sunday morning once a week how can that test them fully and like everything else it costs the same to feed good stock as it does rubbish 

[Guest vin]

7 hours ago, Flacko said:

Vin I was quoting you not meant to say you saying yours was the best, just think by putting a higher price on them doesn’t guarantee there future & probably more will be bred by not so honest fellas so as dog dealers we have loads of ferrret dealers & to answer the other question the ones the well built fella let me have have all done well enough for 1st season one being kept by myself the other to lad I ferret with & the third to a keeper pal who I go digging with so I thank him again & I still owe him a favour which will always be offered to him whenever he needs one cheers Flacko 

I'm glad you're happy with your kits matey... the Mother to them is no longer with us. I never had any of that particular litter myself, Although I did give the Mother to the big man.I'm not sure which Hob they used out of 2 possible candidates, Both of which I also gave him. (I'll ask if you're interested). There's some old blood in that line matey.

PS. I kept the best uns for myself...lol. 

[Guest vin]

10 hours ago, Rabid said:

I've never really paid much for kits, they always come from working stock and folks I know, and who know I will look after them and work them, I think the most I ever paid was a tenner each of a guy I didn't know very well at the time.

i have had some that were priceless and I wouldn't take a few grand for, they are with me till they die, that's how it's always been for me, and how it will always be.

I think they are always undervalued, I've had Jill's that have put thousands in the bag, earnt me a living at times, how can I value one of them, priceless is the answer, but if I have spare kits I would prefer to give them away to a good working home than say £50-100 to a stranger, they will stay with me sooner.

I don't do as much with the stinkers as once upon a time, but I've always got a few about and get them out as much as possible, my personal favourites are bog standard polecat Jill's, none of these micros, and I don't have enough mixed hard ground for a big hob anymore, my girls do me just fine and dandy

 

Great pics matey.

I've got jills that look just like them of yours and probably the same size, maybe even slightly larger.. . . They have the hearts of lions and courage to tackle anything below ground etc, But they simply just cannot hold down a big fat dales bunny.they bolt plenty and will scratch away all day at a balled up bunny in a stop end... but when you get them in those big warrens, in big tunnels where the bunny can manoeuvre etc... they get dragged about..you get the spade out and end up digging 2 or 3 holes to get the bunny as it keeps moving everytime you get the spade close. I always used jills and still will under certain circumstances and different jobs etc. But Its hobs for me when it comes to shifting lots of bunnies.

atb 

vin

[TOMO 26,005]

the mother to flackos kits was a polcat jill that came from bert griptons son.....the first day on the moors in december....she went streight in and killed...within a few mins on her first ever warren....she was a natural...good strong jil she was....she was like a hob almost....

anyway she was mated to giggles...the sandy coloured son of chuckles....

glad there doing good with you and your mates flacko..