Working to rats

[green dragon 701]

People have gone mad

 

[13iker 0]

I’ve been trying to get hold of a couple of these angora ferrets but you need to jump through hoops just to be added to a waiting list for them. 

[Guss33 375]

I would be a bit concerned about using my ferrets due to the diseases that they can carry and on how aggressive they can get especially when they have a ferret hanging on to them. 

[longers01 2,373]

When i was a young kid used to ferret a big shit heap next to a slurry pit had a brilliant polecat Jill who loved it for years bolting rats for the terriers then one day seen her backing up at a hole one day next thing she came running out getting chased by a big rat the rat got hold of her and pulled a big chunk out of her shoulder and ran back down hole mad day that atb longers01 

[Lee farrington 211]

I've been asked a few times to do it, up till now I've not really been interested.  Over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about.  May sound a silly question, but  has anyone fed the ferrets the rats 

[Guss33 375]

I have never feed my ferrets rats but from time to time I get mice in my garage so I close all the doors and let the ferrets go for them they love it and do often have a feed. But I am not keen on the rat side of things.  

[Aussie Whip 4,097]

3 hours ago, Lee farrington said:

I've been asked a few times to do it, up till now I've not really been interested.  Over the last couple of weeks I've been thinking about.  May sound a silly question, but  has anyone fed the ferrets the rats 

I throw any caught in live cage traps in with my hobs and they roll them up and kill them almost instantly but they never eat them.

[WHWT 1,866]

Mine fed on them all year through never had any problems we all so supply the local ferret rescue man with them some time he has  to 100 ferrets in  he takes thousands off us and never has any problems .

PUD

[Lee farrington 211]

I know they carry disease, but so do feral pigeons. Mine have feral pigeons on and off all year round.

[chrisbullx 2,541]

I had a polecat jill when i was a kid she was useless on rabbits but pie hot on rats what ever she didn’t bolt she would kill & bring um out so I named her retriever atb cbx

[Aussie Whip 4,097]

On 03/03/2021 at 06:43, green dragon said:

Angora ferret | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire | Pets4Homes

WWW.PETS4HOMES.CO.UK

---

We have made a very hard decision to put Nile up for rehoming we was only going to keep one of elvis...

400 corona tax 

That would look good after 4 hours doing warrens on a creek, lol.

[Andrewreynoldshunting 737]

This sounds like a good crack. I need to keep an eye out for some rat Warren's now. I have a little hob I think he will be perfect for it. 

[gnipper 6,465]

22 hours ago, Lee farrington said:

I know they carry disease, but so do feral pigeons. Mine have feral pigeons on and off all year round.

I'd rather risk a nip off a ferret thats been chewing pigeons than rats.

[eastcoast 4,118]

I used to ferret rats to dogs a lot. Not saying that I ever caught a lot of rats, but like to think that I didn't miss much when using that method, if that makes sense?

Ferrets behave differently when hunting rats than they do with rabbits. Once they know what rats are about. An experienced ferret at an inhabited rat hole entrance will often lash its tail. Not like a happy dog but more like an angry cat. They are up for a fight. By the same token, in my experience and I may have been unlucky, eventually they will not be up for the fight and refuse to enter.

The only one that I had that never eventually gave up was a very long, thin and slightly leggy hob. Possibly the mythical greyhound ferret? Problem was he was bred from normal shaped ferrets and only produced normal shaped ferrets. I never came across another like him but he loved a scrap.

I have never known a ferret be unduly effected temperament or behavioural wise by working rats. All of mine were also used on rabbits, very people tame and friendly with people and good with dogs.

If you are going to work dogs and ferrets together, particularly terriers, bringing the dog up with them from a pup is of the upmost importance. More so than a rabbiting dog in my opinion. A terrier that may ignore or respect a ferret in a controlled situation may behave differently when rats are bolting and other dogs are killing them and then a ferret runs out from underground to join in. I have never let another person work their dogs with my ferrets but unfortunately have witnessed examples of "broken to ferret" is not the same as 100% bombproof.

But put the time and effort into doing it properly and working a ferret and dog together in catching rats is as good as any sport to be had.

[huckelberry 114]

i got my ferrets mainly for ratting.

i breed half micro ferret,s so that they can fit inside the narrow rat burows.

i got about 160liter of self caught frozen rats right now and those are for feeding my ferret pack.

ik got 2 dogs that work well alongside the ferrets.