advantages/disadvantages

[Guest ferret feller]

i dont get how a ferret can get tired mine are the second you open the box they out and you struggle getting them back in....

jills and hobs

[stealthy1 3,964]

Most keen ferreters like to take as many rabbits as they can, I think most ferreters have a personal best tally, and its just human nature to want to beat that score, I class myself as a keen ferreter, thats somewere in between pet owner and pest controller, I have to justifiy being granted my permission by reducing the numbers of rabbits and hence the damage they do, or the land owner may just give the work to someone else, believe me mate landowners care about numbers, I've no interest in becoming a full time pest controller, I enjoy the time I spend out in the countryside, not just for the hunting, but the wildlife too, I do shoot and snare, not as good as Moley Tomo or Snareman, but then I have never set out to be, I enjoy what I do, and thats all that matters to me.

[moley 115]

Most keen ferreters like to take as many rabbits as they can, I think most ferreters have a personal best tally, and its just human nature to want to beat that score, I class myself as a keen ferreter, thats somewere in between pet owner and pest controller, I have to justifiy being granted my permission by reducing the numbers of rabbits and hence the damage they do, or the land owner may just give the work to someone else, believe me mate landowners care about numbers, I've no interest in becoming a full time pest controller, I enjoy the time I spend out in the countryside, not just for the hunting, but the wildlife too, I do shoot and snare, not as good as Moley Tomo or Snareman, but then I have never set out to be, I enjoy what I do, and thats all that matters to me.

nice to see theres some common sense comming to the for , its not a big bed of roses being at it full time , we have to produce results , not so much now for me, but when i was self employed it was numbers , pure and simple , now i get paid regardless but i still enjoy doing a good job and getting numbers

[moley 115]

this is why i used hob ferrets , there were 4 hob ferrets used on each day , same farm just a couple of fields apart , 152 and 81

[ferret110 27]

It makes no matter if you use a Hob or a Jill, unless you are rabbiting for a living you are doing it for pleasure / sport. It may be dressed up as pest control but unless you are willing and able to gas the rabbits that you cannot ferret then it will always be sport.

 

One thing puzzles me. Why the obsession with clearing a warren? All the posters that have answered to this thread so far are, as far as I know, sport ferreters.

 

What is the big fascination with numbers? Why does the count mean so much? When I go ferreting I go for sport. Nothing else, I do it purely for my pleasure. Good days, bad days we all have them, and that is an undisputable fact. When someone who is clearly a pleasure / sport ferreter says that if I have to dig out a rabbit, as it will add to the tally at the end of the day. I have to question his motives for ferreting.

 

Unless there is a serious rabbit problem on a farm then all we do is ferret under the guise of pest control. It is not pest control in the truest sense, where a pest control operative will blitz a farm with every option available to him. From snaring through to gassing, his object is to kill as many of the rabbit that he can in the shortest time possible. Moley, Tomo, Snareman to name a few are all full time operatives and as such use every method available to clear the rabbits.

 

On the other hand sport ferreters are IMHO shooting themselves in the foot by trying to clear every rabbit off of their land. If you are ferreting for no payment then the owner cannot reasonably expect every rabbit to be taken. To try and take every rabbit is really quite a foolish action on behalf the ferreters that ferret for no payment.

 

Just think about this scenario. You acquire a bit of land there are quite a few rabbits on it in open warrens. Do you blitz it at the beginning of the season or do you spread it out over the season? Personally I would spread it out over the season, as I ferret for sport not gain. My pleasure comes from being out in the field ferreting not the numbers of rabbits caught. I would suggest that most sport ferreters would be a lot happier if they employed this approach, and not worry about the tally at the end of the day.

 

Tiercel

Well said a sensible sportsmen

[Hob&Jill 258]

It makes no matter if you use a Hob or a Jill, unless you are rabbiting for a living you are doing it for pleasure / sport. It may be dressed up as pest control but unless you are willing and able to gas the rabbits that you cannot ferret then it will always be sport.

 

One thing puzzles me. Why the obsession with clearing a warren? All the posters that have answered to this thread so far are, as far as I know, sport ferreters.

 

What is the big fascination with numbers? Why does the count mean so much? When I go ferreting I go for sport. Nothing else, I do it purely for my pleasure. Good days, bad days we all have them, and that is an undisputable fact. When someone who is clearly a pleasure / sport ferreter says that if I have to dig out a rabbit, as it will add to the tally at the end of the day. I have to question his motives for ferreting.

 

Unless there is a serious rabbit problem on a farm then all we do is ferret under the guise of pest control. It is not pest control in the truest sense, where a pest control operative will blitz a farm with every option available to him. From snaring through to gassing, his object is to kill as many of the rabbit that he can in the shortest time possible. Moley, Tomo, Snareman to name a few are all full time operatives and as such use every method available to clear the rabbits.

 

On the other hand sport ferreters are IMHO shooting themselves in the foot by trying to clear every rabbit off of their land. If you are ferreting for no payment then the owner cannot reasonably expect every rabbit to be taken. To try and take every rabbit is really quite a foolish action on behalf the ferreters that ferret for no payment.

 

Just think about this scenario. You acquire a bit of land there are quite a few rabbits on it in open warrens. Do you blitz it at the beginning of the season or do you spread it out over the season? Personally I would spread it out over the season, as I ferret for sport not gain. My pleasure comes from being out in the field ferreting not the numbers of rabbits caught. I would suggest that most sport ferreters would be a lot happier if they employed this approach, and not worry about the tally at the end of the day.

 

Tiercel

I agree to a point. On some of my permissons the landowners dont really care how many I get they just letting me on to give me some sport etc... when its like that I will take it easy and leave a few holes for the dog etc. Get a few rabbits and call it a day.

 

But the permission I'm on now is a small 80acre estate owned my a very rich woman. Very nice place with proper managed gardens topery ect.. the damage the rabbits is doing is unreal, they cannot plant anything as the rabbits get to them one way or another. This place really is overun with rabbits, Ive landed on my feet with it to be honest But the point is if I told the head gardener I was only going out for a couple of rabbits and abit of sport he would say feck off and get someone else to do a proper job. So although its not always about the numbers, sometimes it has to be if you on permission.

 

Merry crimbo

 

HJ

[Tiercel 6,986]

I agree to a point. On some of my permissons the landowners dont really care how many I get they just letting me on to give me some sport etc... when its like that I will take it easy and leave a few holes for the dog etc. Get a few rabbits and call it a day.

 

But the permission I'm on now is a small 80acre estate owned my a very rich woman. Very nice place with proper managed gardens topery ect.. the damage the rabbits is doing is unreal, they cannot plant anything as the rabbits get to them one way or another. This place really is overun with rabbits, Ive landed on my feet with it to be honest But the point is if I told the head gardener I was only going out for a couple of rabbits and abit of sport he would say feck off and get someone else to do a proper job. So although its not always about the numbers, sometimes it has to be if you on permission.

 

Merry crimbo

 

HJ

 

I can see your point and agree with you whole-heartedly. In that situation I would do the same as you and have done so in the past. But to be honest I have had more pleasure now out of going out and getting half a dozen rabbits and hunting for them, than doing places that were crawling with rabbits and coming away with a van full of rabbits.

 

About 20 years ago I was ferreting, lamping and shooting rabbits over most of west Wales I would get on the average of 2 to 3 phone calls a week off farmers asking me could I help thin out their rabbit problem usually off neighbouring farms to the ones I was controlling the rabbits on. I was then working continental shifts so was able to get out most days or if the weather was right could swap shifts so I worked afternoons and could go lamping.

 

There are only so many rabbits you can sell and I did not have room to keep a load for ferret / dog food. So I ended up dumping rabbits. I then decided to ask the farmers for petrol money, as all the travelling was getting expensive. Bearing in mind that I had been controlling rabbits for some of these farms for over ten years you think they would have been grateful, nope not one of them were willing to part with any cash. That is when I stopped working as a free pest control operative.

 

The last big job I done it was to help a mate out. I think we came away with close to 50 rabbits for the day, but to be honest it left me cold I found no pleasure in it. This place was, as you say crawling with rabbits. They were all under big concrete slabs. So no hunting no dogs just purse netting every hole and entering the ferrets. Netting three slabs as we went we just went from slab to slab just killing rabbits. It was so easy there was just no pleasure in it.

 

Nadolig llawen

 

Tercel

Edited December 25, 2008 by tiercel

[Brimmer 220]

this is why i used hob ferrets , there were 4 hob ferrets used on each day , same farm just a couple of fields apart , 152 and 81

Fierce bags those Moley, how many of you were working the warrens, all 4 of you?

[Brimmer 220]

I agree to a point. On some of my permissons the landowners dont really care how many I get they just letting me on to give me some sport etc... when its like that I will take it easy and leave a few holes for the dog etc. Get a few rabbits and call it a day.

 

But the permission I'm on now is a small 80acre estate owned my a very rich woman. Very nice place with proper managed gardens topery ect.. the damage the rabbits is doing is unreal, they cannot plant anything as the rabbits get to them one way or another. This place really is overun with rabbits, Ive landed on my feet with it to be honest But the point is if I told the head gardener I was only going out for a couple of rabbits and abit of sport he would say feck off and get someone else to do a proper job. So although its not always about the numbers, sometimes it has to be if you on permission.

 

Merry crimbo

 

HJ

 

I can see your point and agree with you whole-heartedly. In that situation I would do the same as you and have done so in the past. But to be honest I have had more pleasure now out of going out and getting half a dozen rabbits and hunting for them, than doing places that were crawling with rabbits and coming away with a van full of rabbits.

 

About 20 years ago I was ferreting, lamping and shooting rabbits over most of west Wales I would get on the average of 2 to 3 phone calls a week off farmers asking me could I help thin out their rabbit problem usually off neighbouring farms to the ones I was controlling the rabbits on. I was then working continental shifts so was able to get out most days or if the weather was right could swap shifts so I worked afternoons and could go lamping.

 

There are only so many rabbits you can sell and I did not have room to keep a load for ferret / dog food. So I ended up dumping rabbits. I then decided to ask the farmers for petrol money, as all the travelling was getting expensive. Bearing in mind that I had been controlling rabbits for some of these farms for over ten years you think they would have been grateful, nope not one of them were willing to part with any cash. That is when I stopped working as a free pest control operative.

 

The last big job I done it was to help a mate out. I think we came away with close to 50 rabbits for the day, but to be honest it left me cold I found no pleasure in it. This place was, as you say crawling with rabbits. They were all under big concrete slabs. So no hunting no dogs just purse netting every hole and entering the ferrets. Netting three slabs as we went we just went from slab to slab just killing rabbits. It was so easy there was just no pleasure in it.

 

Nadolig llawen

 

Tercel

 

Do you think over time people lose the drive to wipe out lots of animals?

I know sometimes I question what I'm doing, and go a little soft.

I'll let rabbits that have recovered from myxi go again if possible, I don't lamp anymore, I used to shoot them, snare them and set drop boxes.

 

I only like to see the animals working nowadays.

 

I don't start till late September and knock off in Feb as soon as we start getting them paired up, and see the tubes in the back end start to swell up in the does.

 

Aside this, I still want to do a good job, and there is a lot of competition from other lads on our land, (and the lads that are on it that shouldn't be.)

 

There are places that are nigh on impossible to wipe out the rabbit here, huge rock crevices in ancient woodland, big rock drains that are used as stronghold's for the rabbits. Even gassing could not be done effectively in these places.

 

All we do is control them, and if we don't show decent results, then it might be the next lad that get the permission, and us without it. Plenty of lads would kill for ground that we are on.

 

This is probably my reasoning for clearing warrens out properly, I feel like I have done a job correctly and thoroughly, and if any farmer looks on the land I have just been on, he can see a good job has been done. If he were to see bunnies coming out of warrens just done I'm sure he would question what I was doing. And maybee it would be the end of my sport on the land.

 

Thats the best I can explain it, i'm 36 yrs old now, I was first rabbiting at 4 yrs old, I'm not as savage as I was 15 yrs ago. Maybee i've just gone soft! Hope this helps!

[moley 115]

this is why i used hob ferrets , there were 4 hob ferrets used on each day , same farm just a couple of fields apart , 152 and 81

Fierce bags those Moley, how many of you were working the warrens, all 4 of you?

 

6 of us out on the big day , 2 teams of 2 ,plus old john spent all day gathering and gutting as we went,i spent most time taking pics and helping both teams,2 teams of 2 on the other day

[Brimmer 220]

this is why i used hob ferrets , there were 4 hob ferrets used on each day , same farm just a couple of fields apart , 152 and 81

Fierce bags those Moley, how many of you were working the warrens, all 4 of you?

 

6 of us out on the big day , 2 teams of 2 ,plus old john spent all day gathering and gutting as we went,i spent most time taking pics and helping both teams,2 teams of 2 on the other day

If you ever get the chance of a strike force like that again, then give me a shout, i'd like to be part of it.

Our best is 105 with 1 dog and 2 ferrets, me and the old feller. a 150 bag is something else!

[whin 463]

brimmer were i used to ferret with dogs ferrets etc you could do hundred at start of season a day,my best on my own no nets and two good colli crosses was 68 ferreting with three dog ferrets and a couple of large jills still got one jill left of that strain ,and a young dog ferret , money drives me to kill if there a market and i way it up i kill, if its fun i hunt and have a laugh if i didnt have an outlet i would only take what i need or to feed freinds dogs and swap and barter , we supplied to game dealers and edinburgh zoo chinese restraunts with rabbs ,but exhausted our suppliers and realy one roe 4o to 50 quid hare 4 quid so well you no how it goes, but i still love bolting rabbs to dogs ,and would travel to do it still ,,but if someone says your not alowed dogs i, get my mates to do it no other way for me nowadays done lots of paid rabbit jobs private gardens and schooll grounds and golf courses good money at times got pics of me with a subaru pick up full with rabbs one week we got 438 some sport but 75 p a rabb and take your petrol time kind a pissd me off a bit in the long run

[Brimmer 220]

Nice one Whin.

The big bags we had were 7 yrs ago, no mixi and we had our best dog ever on form. (best we have had in recent years is 70's).

Thats the sort of work that shows you dogs that are more like machines than animals.

Our best bags were in Feb, were on land that had not been touched, hit the 105 on the weekend, and the old man went out and hit a 103 on his own 3 days later, with the same dog, an same ferrets. (the dog was the key to this though, allthough the ferrets were good.)

One day I hope to get back up there! Cannot see it being to soon though!

438 would take us a month of hard hunting to get. (unless i got off work a few days!)

[stealthy1 3,964]

Good bag Moley, I don't know how everyone elses land owners/ permissions work, but on the biggist permission I have, the land owner gives me maps with all the hedges woodland and pasture he wants me to make an effort on, some of it is crap some of its good, when there is no maps to do then I do what I want, I do the maps because thats what keeps me on the land, some fields you can shoot, some you can ferret, but where hotspots are near to houses or some other sensitive area I have to snare, I dont pretend to be the worlds best snaresman, but I get buy, but like Moley says, I also prefer to enjoy what I do, the only thing I have nothing to do with is moles, they drive me insane, probably because I'm crap with them.