Out and about today

[toolebox 1,558]

This old house was standing when I took on this job over twenty years ago ,was a great place to find a bunny but to today no one was home 

[toolebox 1,558]

Some of the land I worked yesterday 

[toolebox 1,558]

Total was  6 rabbits ,3 adults and 3 sub adults .

[iworkwhippets 12,620]

Some nice land their mate for you to wander over, 

[SheepChaser 8,089]

Im intrigued by the 'job' side of it. Are you getting paid? And if so is it on catches or as a retainer ?

[toolebox 1,558]

32 minutes ago, SheepChaser said:

Im intrigued by the 'job' side of it. Are you getting paid? And if so is it on catches or as a retainer ?

Hi Sheepchaser  its a full time paid  job over 170 farms totaling 100,000 acres .How lucky am I ?Finding the rabbit or rabbits is the biggest challenge,they have been hammered no stop  for a 100 odd years so they are sharp and have staying out of sight down to a fine art.Once found &  flushed its game on !

 

[SheepChaser 8,089]

1 hour ago, toolebox said:

Hi Sheepchaser  its a full time paid  job over 170 farms totaling 100,000 acres .How lucky am I ?Finding the rabbit or rabbits is the biggest challenge,they have been hammered no stop  for a 100 odd years so they are sharp and have staying out of sight down to a fine art.Once found &  flushed its game on !

 

Sounds great. So do they pay you a visit fee, or per rabbit or a yearly retainer? Feel free to PM if you'd rather.

I can't think of anything better than mooching about with my pack all day.

[toolebox 1,558]

Yes ,you get to know the team so well and you become as one ,I'm not a rabbitter, I'm a dog watcher .

[toolebox 1,558]

This old fella was what I term a "reported  rabbit" one that had been seen by the farmer above a thick face of tight rubbish that lay above his duck pond which was ,alongside his newly sown grass paddock. He didn't want holes dug in newly worked ground so this was a  important rabbit to remove.I caught a 1/2 grown one above this track but I doubted it was one I was after.I had checked just about every where till the dogs then worked up along a tree lane that had flax growing along one edge & it was there that the dogs  flushed a big rabbit from some of the flax .The rabbit headed down hill  along the row of trees ,it came down to the pictured fence line  then turned along that to the left with some dogs right behind it,too close for a shot ,it raced into a gully of rushes then sneaked back the way he had come . After the buck had doubled back it shot under the fence a couple of meters from me,then he dropped down into a area of blackberry , gorse & a native climber that has vines that grows over other growth ,most of the dogs followed .They had the rabbit on the move and pushed it around and around then up to some large pieces of concrete  where it shot under one then sneaked along under those and popped behind me on the track raced up a gate way cutting over the hill then back under the fence ànd ran along the track to once again drop into the same very face 150 yards further along .I had seen about half the pack on the chase  ,the others were still under the long grass and concrete checking where he may of hid .I walked to above there the rabbit had entered when a couple of the chases returned ,licking their lips, a sure sight that they had caught bunny,given the distance bunny had run I knew he should of been all out of puff as plan B was to now hide  .I heard a growl or two confirming a couple of dogs were now ragging it .I sent down one of the spring spaniels Roy to fetch it up,and he returned with a old fella that had seen a few years  .A couple more spots were checked with 4  more rabbits added to the bag  one of which was sighted trying to get passed me before sugar the lurcher bitch T boned bunny on a very steep face,in that very act she sailed out into thin air after the pick up and landed in the soft gully bottom 8 feet below .She has a very good strike  & as expected held on to the rabbit .  The day then became too hot for the dogs  & owner so we packed it in for the week.Come Monday we will be found in another new spot,chasing more rabbits  .It simply never gets old for us .

Edited November 14, 2020 by toolebox