working bloodlines

[stubby 175]

I too, belive ferrets can get better with time, but trouble is, we aint all got the time or space, looking at it this way, so far I have 17 kitts, plus my original 9, now come ferreting season, we take out maybe 4 to 5 ferts, 2 will be from my proven workers so the 3 youngsters will be entered, and mentally marked on their performance throughout the day, so thats a toal of 6 ferreting trips to check out each youngster just once, some will fair better than others straight away, and these, tend then to be taken out more, the others getting sold on as either pets, or to new comers to the game, those ferrets may only have been taken out once or twice, but because their brothers or sisters excelled on their outing, dosent mean to say, they are any less a worker

 

if that makes sense

 

Of course it makes sense Stubby..of the three Jills I have here only one has been mated...for the very reason you talk about..and I will keep two maybe three Jills from the offspring..and a pal will keep two hobs..the two other Jills as good workers as they are have been in with a vasectomised hob..

 

But that aint really the issue in this debate...and I will ask you a question and I would like an honest answer please..so here goes..God forbid it..but if you arrived home from work tomorrow to find all of your ferrets gone..no trace..where would you look to replace them ??

 

Now bearing in mind it is breeding time and there are plenty of kits to be had from both work and show breeders..and we started off talking about whether to consider having a free gift of kits from a show line...would you opt for a free gift of show stock...or would you look to pals or to other sources for known working lines even if you had to splash a few quid ??? That is the simple choice and matter which started this debate..

 

I am off to bed now..I aint been in long from work..but I will look forward to reading your answer tomorrow evening..

 

all the best

 

good question mate, and an honest answer would be, I'd get in contact with a few people that I sold last years stock too, and try to get some back, or their offspring, I did give a very good hob and jill poley to my eldest son, and would get them back on loan, but have to say in all the time he's had them (1yr) they have never seen a burrow, just "shows"

[hmr 17 0]

sad that your not aloud an of your own veiws on here because theres always someone who think they know better

[Kay 3,709]

date='May 10 2008, 09:45 AM' post='520249']

sad that your not aloud an of your own veiws on here because theres always someone who think they know better

 

Well if people dont want to read what you say they can simply block you , say what you think , i do & if others dont like it tough

[sue 1]

Friedrice...believe it or not..you do not know a great deal about ferrets otherwise you would not make such statements as you have re show / working lines being no different..tell me how many show ferrets you have worked...or seen work..or their offspring..

 

 

hi there.. not to cause a fuss of anything...

 

My ferrets are from good working lines.. and took MORE than their share of ribbons at the shows last year. We attended a show a week from May to September and i dont remember one time coming home with less than 1 first place or best in show.

 

They also work damn well in the winter and we've a freezer full of rabbit to prove it.

 

Working ferrets Can be show ferrets!

 

All ferrets owned by women can multi task

 

 

 

that is so true kay

[Kay 3,709]

Friedrice...believe it or not..you do not know a great deal about ferrets otherwise you would not make such statements as you have re show / working lines being no different..tell me how many show ferrets you have worked...or seen work..or their offspring..

 

 

hi there.. not to cause a fuss of anything...

 

My ferrets are from good working lines.. and took MORE than their share of ribbons at the shows last year. We attended a show a week from May to September and i dont remember one time coming home with less than 1 first place or best in show.

 

They also work damn well in the winter and we've a freezer full of rabbit to prove it.

 

Working ferrets Can be show ferrets!

 

All ferrets owned by women can multi task

 

 

 

that is so true kay

 

Lets face it most blokes cant even do 1 thing at a time let alone several

[Guest friedrice]

[quote name='pritch'

your opinion is worth f**k all because you talk shite. Pritch

yes pritchy i talk shit but i also talk about my own views and opinions, and if that gets up your nose so be it.but why read or reply to them.

to me mate your views stink, but im not going to knock you it's your opinion.

some get wound up easy on here it seems if anyone got different views about things your jumped on .

funny old game ferrets and ferret keepers

[The one 8,463]

the whole subject of working ferrets verses show ferrets is one of the biggest myths

that anyone could read or heard.

ferrets are ferrets. they dont know when they are born if they from show or working lines,if there is sutch a thing.

and please dont tell me that ferrets from working lines are better, the only difference is that the show ferrets are used for showing

by they're owners wishes, and not worked, like workers of other ferrets would not show them, but only work.

ferrets are ferrets, but some times you do get some workers that stand out from the rest. but then again you also get ferrets that

looks better than most.

i hope this in some way makes sence.

ferrets will always be ferrets.

 

I hope your a kid or having a laugh you want to try working a really big place or a really deep place where you need your ferret to go deep to find and work to push out rabbits only a true working ferret will do this and to get that you breed worker to worker .Try getting PAIDED for ferreting and see what ferrets you want to WORK

[The one 8,463]

the whole subject of working ferrets verses show ferrets is one of the biggest myths

that anyone could read or heard.

ferrets are ferrets. they dont know when they are born if they from show or working lines,if there is sutch a thing.

and please dont tell me that ferrets from working lines are better, the only difference is that the show ferrets are used for showing

by they're owners wishes, and not worked, like workers of other ferrets would not show them, but only work.

ferrets are ferrets, but some times you do get some workers that stand out from the rest. but then again you also get ferrets that

looks better than most.

i hope this in some way makes sence.

ferrets will always be ferrets.

 

couldnt agree more a ferrets a ferret

ONLY SOMEBODY THAT DOESN'T WORK THEM COULD COME OUT WITH A REPLY LIKE THAT

[crow wing 0]

the whole subject of working ferrets verses show ferrets is one of the biggest myths

that anyone could read or heard.

ferrets are ferrets. they dont know when they are born if they from show or working lines,if there is sutch a thing.

and please dont tell me that ferrets from working lines are better, the only difference is that the show ferrets are used for showing

by they're owners wishes, and not worked, like workers of other ferrets would not show them, but only work.

ferrets are ferrets, but some times you do get some workers that stand out from the rest. but then again you also get ferrets that

looks better than most.

i hope this in some way makes sence.

ferrets will always be ferrets.

 

Friedrice..you are entitled to your opinion..but if you think that mate you are sadly mistaken...I...and I know of several others who have bought plenty of ferret kits from all sorts of different lines over the years which turned out to be pure outright shite...and I am telling you now and I am 100% certain that working strains of ferret are better than show strains..

 

If you take your sport seriously...and I say this to Steffan to...and if you want to do well at it..get working lines...and even working lines will occasionally breed some not so good offspring..but you are significantly increasing your chances of success at rabbiting with ferrets by getting from current working stock....accept no substitute !!!

 

But then I may be too fussy..my ferrets often need to go deep...and I mean deep and stay deep...well out of locator depth..in pursuit of and to bolt rabbits..not shallow hedgerow and flat field burrows..and I can tell you every ferret is not willing to do this..that is a proven fact..

 

A few years back I let a good line of polecats go...a few years later when trying to get hold of ferrets which suited my ideals took some doing...believe me..a couple of generations of parents not seeing a rabbit burrow has a detrimental effect on workability of offspring produced..yes there will be remnants of a once good line which are bound to surface somewhere..no doubt about that..but in isolation rather than consistently..and in the main the offspring will be....substandard shite !!

 

all the best

hi crow wing, what you say is true mate and i for one wouldent disagree with you. show lines or working lines, all ferrets to me.

but when you say about your plight to find real workers after letting your own line go reminds me of my own, and not only the ferrets but the terriers to.

its hard once youve had your own strain or line for many years,good stuff that never let you down and ive been there mate

its only after they've gone and you see your mates working ,while you slag them off under the cover of your shirt collar, that

you realise what you had was 110% better than any thing you have seen to date.

and i realy take my sport seriously mate but as ive said i also let my own strain go and no ones fault but my own.

but when your only left with some ferrets to work, working lines or show lines you work with the tools you have to hand,no matter where they

come from most will work.

when you start looking back into the past and think how deep some of your own would work,and how many rabbits they would bolt out

and more often then not when lesser ferrets would bolt nothing at all it makes you think what went wrong. i wouldent say anything went wrong,

what i would say that the ferrets you had then set a standard that most ferrets cant compare to. the same as all live stock mate you breed the

best to the best only to find you get shit,andyet the breeder of shit to shit often get better than you.

maybe we spend to mutch time trying to breed livestock that would match up to they're parents standards, when in the real world we all

know there is no standards,only the ones we would like to see.

so there you go crow wing, thats my opinion

 

Thanks Friedrice..but you have now pretty much contradicted you initial statement which prompted the debate in the first place..and you follow that up with another equally silly statement..re "in the real world we all no there are no standards, only the ones we would like to see"..Friedrice you f*****g crack me up mate..so lets leave it there..otherwise you will keep moving the goalposts until what you say and then say later when shown the rror of your ways.. finally gathers a semblence of credibility..all the best mate..

[Kay 3,709]

the whole subject of working ferrets verses show ferrets is one of the biggest myths

that anyone could read or heard.

ferrets are ferrets. they dont know when they are born if they from show or working lines,if there is sutch a thing.

and please dont tell me that ferrets from working lines are better, the only difference is that the show ferrets are used for showing

by they're owners wishes, and not worked, like workers of other ferrets would not show them, but only work.

ferrets are ferrets, but some times you do get some workers that stand out from the rest. but then again you also get ferrets that

looks better than most.

i hope this in some way makes sence.

ferrets will always be ferrets.

 

couldnt agree more a ferrets a ferret

ONLY SOMEBODY THAT DOESN'T WORK THEM COULD COME OUT WITH A REPLY LIKE THAT

 

Can you say that a bit louder i didnt quite catch it

[crow wing 0]

I too, belive ferrets can get better with time, but trouble is, we aint all got the time or space, looking at it this way, so far I have 17 kitts, plus my original 9, now come ferreting season, we take out maybe 4 to 5 ferts, 2 will be from my proven workers so the 3 youngsters will be entered, and mentally marked on their performance throughout the day, so thats a toal of 6 ferreting trips to check out each youngster just once, some will fair better than others straight away, and these, tend then to be taken out more, the others getting sold on as either pets, or to new comers to the game, those ferrets may only have been taken out once or twice, but because their brothers or sisters excelled on their outing, dosent mean to say, they are any less a worker

 

if that makes sense

 

Of course it makes sense Stubby..of the three Jills I have here only one has been mated...for the very reason you talk about..and I will keep two maybe three Jills from the offspring..and a pal will keep two hobs..the two other Jills as good workers as they are have been in with a vasectomised hob..

 

But that aint really the issue in this debate...and I will ask you a question and I would like an honest answer please..so here goes..God forbid it..but if you arrived home from work tomorrow to find all of your ferrets gone..no trace..where would you look to replace them ??

 

Now bearing in mind it is breeding time and there are plenty of kits to be had from both work and show breeders..and we started off talking about whether to consider having a free gift of kits from a show line...would you opt for a free gift of show stock...or would you look to pals or to other sources for known working lines even if you had to splash a few quid ??? That is the simple choice and matter which started this debate..

 

I am off to bed now..I aint been in long from work..but I will look forward to reading your answer tomorrow evening..

 

all the best

 

good question mate, and an honest answer would be, I'd get in contact with a few people that I sold last years stock too, and try to get some back, or their offspring, I did give a very good hob and jill poley to my eldest son, and would get them back on loan, but have to say in all the time he's had them (1yr) they have never seen a burrow, just "shows"

 

Ok Stubby thats ok mate..you are sitting on the fence a bit..what you would be retrieving from your son is not show stock per se now is it..it is in effect described by you as being a very good Hob and Jill...which I hardly think within a seasons lay off would turn into bad ferrets..only unfit ones..

 

But..if they were bred and none of there offspring were worked..and the same thing happened with their offsprings and so on for another few generations..do you think you would get offspring (consistently) as good as the initial pair ??..I would say not..and that is the point I am making and in the context of my own definition of what could reasonably be described as show stock..ie lines that have been bred for a few generations for colour or whatever it is that show breeders look for..and that is all I am saying here..

 

So I ask myself..why did I not use a polecat on my Jill ??...instead of the horrible (in my opinion) cinammon coloured hob..surely any polecat or ferret would have done ??..a ferret is a ferret after all by the logic which prompted this whole debate in the first place..

 

I used the cinammon hob...because he is one of the best working ferrets I have seen..and although he is x bred...he comes from at least a decade of being bred good worker to good worker...regardless of anything else..and my Jill...also a very good ferret deserves to be mated with a decent hob..

 

We all have our own ways..all the best

[crow wing 0]

I too, belive ferrets can get better with time, but trouble is, we aint all got the time or space, looking at it this way, so far I have 17 kitts, plus my original 9, now come ferreting season, we take out maybe 4 to 5 ferts, 2 will be from my proven workers so the 3 youngsters will be entered, and mentally marked on their performance throughout the day, so thats a toal of 6 ferreting trips to check out each youngster just once, some will fair better than others straight away, and these, tend then to be taken out more, the others getting sold on as either pets, or to new comers to the game, those ferrets may only have been taken out once or twice, but because their brothers or sisters excelled on their outing, dosent mean to say, they are any less a worker

 

if that makes sense

course it makes sense each is an individual matures at different rates you take the ones that show early promise nothing wrong with that,But it doesnt guarantee you kept the the best ferrets how many footballers who are signed in their early teens go on to make the grade 5% but they can all still play just at different levels. I've had top ferrets the ones i've got now are mediocre at best to say a ferret is a ferret at best shows ignorance & at worst down right deception & as the the show fraternity grow the ferret will go the same way as the pedigree terrier bred for coulor lenth of coat & so on for some it stops being a bit of fun & they will tell you owt they think you want to hear because they can get a few quid more for silvers or what av you f**k em, RANT over breed workers, ATB Pritch

 

That sums it up in anutshell pritch mate...re the footballers and how many make the grade...not f*****g many at Sunderland my team...lol..all the best..

[crow wing 0]

Friedrice...believe it or not..you do not know a great deal about ferrets otherwise you would not make such statements as you have re show / working lines being no different..tell me how many show ferrets you have worked...or seen work..or their offspring..

 

 

hi there.. not to cause a fuss of anything...

 

My ferrets are from good working lines.. and took MORE than their share of ribbons at the shows last year. We attended a show a week from May to September and i dont remember one time coming home with less than 1 first place or best in show.

 

They also work damn well in the winter and we've a freezer full of rabbit to prove it.

 

Working ferrets Can be show ferrets!

 

No fuss at all Lorelie...only dont get smitten and start breeding especially for shows...maintain workability and strong working characteristics and let this be your fist consideration when breeding..good luck

[crow wing 0]

Friedrice...believe it or not..you do not know a great deal about ferrets otherwise you would not make such statements as you have re show / working lines being no different..tell me how many show ferrets you have worked...or seen work..or their offspring..

 

 

hi there.. not to cause a fuss of anything...

 

My ferrets are from good working lines.. and took MORE than their share of ribbons at the shows last year. We attended a show a week from May to September and i dont remember one time coming home with less than 1 first place or best in show.

 

They also work damn well in the winter and we've a freezer full of rabbit to prove it.

 

Working ferrets Can be show ferrets!

 

All ferrets owned by women can multi task

 

I bet that only applies to Jills though Kay lol

[crow wing 0]

Friedrice...believe it or not..you do not know a great deal about ferrets otherwise you would not make such statements as you have re show / working lines being no different..tell me how many show ferrets you have worked...or seen work..or their offspring..

 

 

hi there.. not to cause a fuss of anything...

 

My ferrets are from good working lines.. and took MORE than their share of ribbons at the shows last year. We attended a show a week from May to September and i dont remember one time coming home with less than 1 first place or best in show.

 

They also work damn well in the winter and we've a freezer full of rabbit to prove it.

 

Working ferrets Can be show ferrets!

 

All ferrets owned by women can multi task

 

 

 

that is so true kay

 

Now now Sue..I get the impression that you ladies are ganging up here lol