Hard Work For Nowt.....

[Rolfe 2]

Just started a 2/3 day Contract to clear rabbits from an area of mature woodland and had an absolute sh*t day. The buries had been cleared of undergrowth a week previously (just some, not all of them) and everything looked set for a very high catch rate. The buries were extremely well used, with fresh droppings and they had that "lived in" look about them. Most buries were 20/30 holes.........So it was simple to purse net and to encircle with the 75yd Quick-Set. Ferrets were entered.......2 really experienced Jills.........and NOTHING.......Well 8 rabbits for a days ferreting to be precise.

Every bury only produced the odd bunny........I have never experienced a day like it before and was looking for an explanation. First i thought the brash clearance had disturbed them......but only a few buries had been cleared so it wasn't that. Next, I thought, someone had beaten us to it and had ferreted them before we had got there, but there were no peg holes, and not a footprint in the soft clay, so that wasn't it. Finally.......I think I have found the answer. On one particular bury.......one of the Jills was really agitated and her tail was all fluffed up, and the unmistakable odour of Mink wafted from a hole as i was netting up.........So i have come to the conclusion that a Mink (or more than one) had systemattically worked the buries and cleared them of bunnies overnight.....Well thats all i can come up with as an explanation anyway......there is a stream at the bottom end of the wood so it is highly likely that this was the cause. Fortunately i get paid by the day..........not per head of rabbit........otherwise i would have been even more P*ssed off.

Has anyone had a similar experience to this?

 

Rolfe

[whippeter69 88]

Atleast you got out there and did what you like to do mate

[stealthy1 3,964]

I had a day in a wood the other day, whole wood is surounded by rabbit fencing, good amount of warrens, good signs, footprints, spoil, only bolted one, when I did the recky on it with the gun the week before it was heaving, strange, eight seems to be a good number for most at the moment.

[Brimmer 220]

Could have been thinned out by the baddest of critters like you say.

It's doing your job for you! give the mink a cut!

[The one 8,513]

Pedro and i went to aberdeen a round trip of 330 miles for a bit of ferreting and the guy said there's loads in a mature woodland like your 30/40 holers we struggled to get a bagfull then my son put 5 rabbit skulls on top of the ferret box ,they had had a good doze of myxi during the summer

[Butler 396]

Get yourself a good marking dog would save alot of netting up

[micky 3,325]

Just started a 2/3 day Contract to clear rabbits from an area of mature woodland and had an absolute sh*t day. The buries had been cleared of undergrowth a week previously (just some, not all of them) and everything looked set for a very high catch rate. The buries were extremely well used, with fresh droppings and they had that "lived in" look about them. Most buries were 20/30 holes.........So it was simple to purse net and to encircle with the 75yd Quick-Set. Ferrets were entered.......2 really experienced Jills.........and NOTHING.......Well 8 rabbits for a days ferreting to be precise.

Every bury only produced the odd bunny........I have never experienced a day like it before and was looking for an explanation. First i thought the brash clearance had disturbed them......but only a few buries had been cleared so it wasn't that. Next, I thought, someone had beaten us to it and had ferreted them before we had got there, but there were no peg holes, and not a footprint in the soft clay, so that wasn't it. Finally.......I think I have found the answer. On one particular bury.......one of the Jills was really agitated and her tail was all fluffed up, and the unmistakable odour of Mink wafted from a hole as i was netting up.........So i have come to the conclusion that a Mink (or more than one) had systemattically worked the buries and cleared them of bunnies overnight.....Well thats all i can come up with as an explanation anyway......there is a stream at the bottom end of the wood so it is highly likely that this was the cause. Fortunately i get paid by the day..........not per head of rabbit........otherwise i would have been even more P*ssed off.

Has anyone had a similar experience to this?

 

Rolfe

I have had this happen twice,once at Kettering and again at Boston,both times the circumstances were exactly the same,it was early Febuary,recent snowfall had melted,the sets ,though big were quite shallow ,and we had bolted stoats,both woods were ace spots that we tackled after the shooting finished.I had done these woods for years and allways looked forwards to it,the sets looked perfect ,fresh channels dug in the soil up to the holes,bare ground around the holes covered in fresh shit and flecks of fur,and completely undisturbed,weferreted the woods picking up ones and twos,but nothing life the +s we had,had there in previous years,both times we bolted two seperate pairs of stoats ,the keeper at kettering told us ,he had known stoats often clear areas of rabbits just by there presense aloan ,and i think ,that was what had happened in our case .

[jultaylor1972 2]

I was out a few sundays ago with ferretville on his permission and we only got 8 rabbits that day too after working a huge hedge form one end to the other. Now I know there was mink there as I saw one shoot out of a hole and speed off earlier in the day, and there was a stream a few hundred yards away. Just one of those things I guess.

[csme55ex 2]

lol well done mate im usually pleased if i get 8

[donk 12]

Get yourself a good marking dog would save alot of netting up

 

 

would you say this dog is marking or just pissing about

 

[TOMO 26,963]

It might not have been ferreted rolf , but someone else still may have beeten you to it. longnet, lamp, snared, ect

 

or someone may have ferreted it but not used purse nets, just the dogs. that bat eared dog of mine intersepts almost evrything.

 

did you still get paid thats the important bit should have had a few back up rabbits in ya truck . i have herd of pesters doing that TOMO

[Rolfe 2]

It might not have been ferreted rolf , but someone else still may have beeten you to it. longnet, lamp, snared, ect

 

or someone may have ferreted it but not used purse nets, just the dogs. that bat eared dog of mine intersepts almost evrything.

 

did you still get paid thats the important bit should have had a few back up rabbits in ya truck . i have herd of pesters doing that TOMO

Second day........Another 8 rabbits............still..........They will be an expensive 16 rabbits by the time they get their invoice

Can't see where anyone could lamp or longnet outside the wood as its surrounded by deep ploughing, and not really ideal snaring territory either. Just possible someone could have shot over the ferrets......but not really any signs of activity, cartridges etc. Only other thing is........we have had an awful lot of rain, and the water table is really high alongside the ditchside buries..........so maybe they had been flooded out and moved to higher ground. One of lifes mysterys i suppose.

[Malt 379]

Is there much cover left on the ground there Rolfe? On most of our ground, the b*****ds are still living in the cover rather than the buries.

[taff3915 2]

me and a mate, have tried working a big set on one of our permissions approx 30-50 holes, with 2 ferts nothing even tho we have seen 20 rabbits go too ground, with 4 ferts we have had a few, on speaking to a more experienced person he laughed and sed we would need about 8-10 ferts as the rabbits will give the run around under the ground. bigger sets more ferrets needed to flood it.