ferreting a large set

[stubby 175]

niver used 1 niver will niver dug to a ferret niver will(excludeing when ratting) niver had a lie up and hopefulay niver will

the way i look at it is if you take a locator and a spaid with you are exspceting to dig so you will dig if you dont you wont

 

 

have you ever used a spellchecker though

 

 

so if you carry a spade, it means you'll dig

 

like carrying a condom in your wallet, you'd use it if offered a shag, if you did'nt you'd say NO

[ferret boy charlie 0]

niver used 1 niver will niver dug to a ferret niver will(excludeing when ratting) niver had a lie up and hopefulay niver will

the way i look at it is if you take a locator and a spaid with you are exspceting to dig so you will dig if you dont you wont

 

 

have you ever used a spellchecker though

 

 

so if you carry a spade, it means you'll dig

 

like carrying a condom in your wallet, you'd use it if offered a shag, if you did'nt you'd say NO

:11: well said stubby

Edited November 7, 2008 by ferret boy charlie

[ferret boy charlie 0]

coudnt you get hold of a probe and a line ? also if you are working big sets do them as early as you can and dont do any other buries with the same ferrets

 

p.s start saving for a locater it will help loads

[Yokel Matt 918]

Just noticed this thread... for me ferreting is about having a good day out and having something to show for it at the end of the day in a good bag of clean rabbits. Not waiting around wondering where the hells going on downstairs. A locator means i KNOW where the ferrets are, means i can get to any laid up rabbits and dispatch any dependant young left neccessary. OK.. if push comes to shove and the equipment fails for any unlikely reason i can revert to the old-school and get by but why put yourself in that position in the first place?

 

A mk1 box and collars for £50 is an absolute bargain... can't believe you sold it.

[Brimmer 220]

I agree on the ferret moving on as soon as the rabbit is killed, all mine do, there's more interesting things for them to do than sit around eating and sleeping, once everything is dead or bolted, out they come. (unless blocked in like last weekend, would have been a lost ferret but for the locater.)

If the batteries die then use your own senses and the dogs to put you in the picture, this has happened on collar batteries occasionally, or where they don't have a good contact. Either dropping in another ferret equipped with collar to find the other, or finish the job off and come out. (depending on your warren). The line will work as previously said, but may take a bit of work and a few holes dug.

I think things have evolved a little since the introduction of locaters, once people wanted ferrets that would bolt rabbits and come away from any stubborn ones in a block end. Untill you have used a locater you would not have a clue how many more rabbits can be stopped up the ends, refusing to budge.

These ferrets now I would move on to somebody else, they are no good for my line of work, I want them to stick at it, and clear the lot no matter what, not come away and want putting in there box after a few hard kicks off a big buck. Digging is part of it for me, hopefully not a lot!

I nearly always use hobs, dosen't matter if they are big or small, poley or albino as long as they have the balls to get stuck in, and shift everything, even the big stubborn bucks. One or two jills do the same job, but not with the same sucess rate as the hobs, these jills are treasure, and are the breeders for the next gen.

My ferrets are knackered at the end of the day, and usually need 2 for the morning and 2 for the afternoon, towards the end of the season, some can last all day after they are fit from constant use.

Ferreting has moved on with the use of locaters and given an insight to what is really going on underground, i've ferreted as a kid without one, and done ok, but having seen over the last 20 yrs of using one, what is really going on down there, i'd never be without!

Give them a try if you can, you may just change the way you look at things, and i'm certain you'll catch more.

[will.f11 24]

Would anyone ever go back to not having a locater once they had used one? Wouldn't like to be without ever again myself.

 

 

Id like to see what a few folk that replied on here would do if there batteries packed in and the ferret was on a kill

thats a good reason to invest a fiver for a batterie tester from e bay, tests either the 9volt or the watch ones, then you wont have batteries dying underground

 

 

yer same iv been ferreting on and off for years and iv never used a locator and iv never had a lay up .. i find it best using one ferret at a time because i allways think the 2 ferrets could block a rabbit in a tunel at each end ...

 

Sorry, but i dont understand what you mean" block them in each end"?? The rabbits will be mostly congregated in the "stop end" anyway pal! And theres only one way out. So blocking in them in means nothing. You would realize this if you had used a locator, and followed your ferret underground, and worked out the earth.

 

A "good thin working" ferret will find the stop end, and then flush your rabbits out. If you enter a big dog ferret, you will often find that when he reappears, that he has rabbit fur hanging from his claws, blood around his mouth and so on. This is where he has reached the stop end. A rabbit has sat with its back end pushed against the entrance and refused to move or let him in to bolt them. And many times a big dog ferret is just to big to enter while the rabbits sits there....

Alot of so called working ferrets will bolt rabbits but only ones moving in the tunnels. A proper working ferret will find the stop end, bolt the rabbits, go back there for more, till it has removed them all!

On the same note, some ferrets only work shallow, and even tho the earth goes much deeper, will not proceed.... You will learn all this from a locator, and your missing out on a lot of knowledge and fun....

And yes, 25yrs ago, i didnt use a locator, and lost very few ferrets, but didnt understand the earths nowhere near like i did when i started using a locator......

thanks mate for the information i might just have to invest in a locator

sorry mate, i dont agree there, runforyoulife. If a rabbit is jammed up in a stop end IMO it has a very small chance of shifting it, have you ever tried pulling out a fully puffed up rabbit from a stop end!! lmao

yes mate, by using a locator and digging down to it

I know steve, but what i mean is that if a rabbit is fully wedged up a ferret will never budge it. and also, sometimes we all forget, that ferrets are natural hunters and dont go down to bolt rabbits, but to kill them. they arent interested in what goes on above ground runforyourlife

[stealthy1 3,964]

if your using ur jill and she lays up

put a liner on ur hob and it wont cost u more than a few quid for it

tie nots at every foot

then enter ur hob and count how many knots/;foot it has gone down

it wont get you bang on top of ur ferret but it will give you an idea

 

ps i have a mk1 linner for sale

 

Fait enough, liners did work before locators and still do, but since I stopped using a liner I haven't had to dig a whole run to dig out a snagged hob.

[runforyourlife 361]

I agree on the ferret moving on as soon as the rabbit is killed, all mine do, there's more interesting things for them to do than sit around eating and sleeping, once everything is dead or bolted, out they come. (unless blocked in like last weekend, would have been a lost ferret but for the locater.)

If the batteries die then use your own senses and the dogs to put you in the picture, this has happened on collar batteries occasionally, or where they don't have a good contact. Either dropping in another ferret equipped with collar to find the other, or finish the job off and come out. (depending on your warren). The line will work as previously said, but may take a bit of work and a few holes dug.

I think things have evolved a little since the introduction of locaters, once people wanted ferrets that would bolt rabbits and come away from any stubborn ones in a block end. Untill you have used a locater you would not have a clue how many more rabbits can be stopped up the ends, refusing to budge.

These ferrets now I would move on to somebody else, they are no good for my line of work, I want them to stick at it, and clear the lot no matter what, not come away and want putting in there box after a few hard kicks off a big buck. Digging is part of it for me, hopefully not a lot!

I nearly always use hobs, dosen't matter if they are big or small, poley or albino as long as they have the balls to get stuck in, and shift everything, even the big stubborn bucks. One or two jills do the same job, but not with the same sucess rate as the hobs, these jills are treasure, and are the breeders for the next gen.

My ferrets are knackered at the end of the day, and usually need 2 for the morning and 2 for the afternoon, towards the end of the season, some can last all day after they are fit from constant use.

Ferreting has moved on with the use of locaters and given an insight to what is really going on underground, i've ferreted as a kid without one, and done ok, but having seen over the last 20 yrs of using one, what is really going on down there, i'd never be without!

Give them a try if you can, you may just change the way you look at things, and i'm certain you'll catch more.

 

Brimmer, good call well said. The gill in question is one that i have....She is dynamite, moves and flushes everything. Follows every rabbit out, and then returns if there is more. And her speed around the warren is lightening, which when doing 100 holes plus it has to be. Kills and moves on, i have took a feew lads off this site, and they loved watching her work. Add me, and i will be breeding off her if your interested... cheers Pal

[louis123 12]

IF IN DOUBT

BAIL OUT

[Halfinch 51]

Could Will and Run for your life start a new thread about pegs???

 

Anyway back to locators,

I started off without one and for a while all was well but then i lost a ferret, now i have one and wouldn't be without it, i very rarley dig but if i need to i know where to find my ferret.

Sure, ferreting was done without locators in the past, but fields were ploughed without tractors as well.

Just because it CAN be done doesn't mean it HAS to be done that way, if the tecnology is there to make life easier why not use it.

[stealthy1 3,964]

Could Will and Run for your life start a new thread about pegs???

 

Anyway back to locators,

I started off without one and for a while all was well but then i lost a ferret, now i have one and wouldn't be without it, i very rarley dig but if i need to i know where to find my ferret.

Sure, ferreting was done without locators in the past, but fields were ploughed without tractors as well.

Just because it CAN be done doesn't mean it HAS to be done that way, if the tecnology is there to make life easier why not use it.

Agree with that!

[comanche 3,045]

when i say big warrens im not talking loads im looking at 10 holes mayeb 15?

 

er "Big warrens"?, 10 maybe 15 holes ! Don't know your ground but assuming there are no weird underground conditions ,these are tiny,weeny ,baby buries. No problem. Just be sensible ,be quiet, start early in the day so if the worse happens and you have a lay-up you have plenty of daylight to keep watch in and for heaven's sake feed your ferret so its not hungry. You don't have to dig massive trenches if you use a liner if you learn to read the warrens via the line. You will learn a lot more about the multi-levels &twists and turns of rabbit workings by using a line than you will by using a locator. On the other hand a locator will give you peace of mind and make it easier to retrieve missing freds !

But 10,15 holes --nothing scary there .Good luck