ferret whisperer required

[col g 0]

just accuired a sandy hob today off a good friend of mine.hes been breeding thm for a couple of seasons now and has far too many.ive been looking about for a short while now for either a polecat or a black eyed sandy ready for breeding with my albinos this coming season.i went to see him today and make enquiries about them.after a conversation he told me to go and have a look at one of its brothers that he had given to one of the youngsters around the corner from where i live.on saying that ,i left and went for a look.after speaking to the lads mother she let me in for a look,she said it was bad tempered and very aggressive,i smiled and thought to myself "is she having my life here or what.well little did my mate tell me but these ferrets have had no human contact other than him cleaning them and feeding them,so the challenge was set.i needed to get this ferret out and have a look.the little lad had stepped through his door with a couple of birds he had just shot with his air gun but was scared to open the cage incase the ferret either got out or got hold of him(to say he was scared was an under statement lol)i opened the door on the hutch and let the ferret walk out,little did it realise that it was going to have its first encounter with a human and one that wasnt scared of it.i got the ferret out of the cage and it went totally ballistic,spitting,hissing and trying its best to get its teeth into my flesh,unluckily for it i had it under control with in a couple of seconds and the fert didnt realise what was happening.after giving it a bit of a stroke i put it back in its bed and closed the door.the little lad couldnt beleive his eyes ,i just laughed,says my good byes and left. i went back to my mates to see if he had anothe of these for a new home and sure enough he did.he then proceeded to tell me that the ferrets had never been handled and that he had too many to concentrate with.luckily for me,i had already worked this out lol ,so he showed me to the cages and told me to help myself to what i wanted.three huge dogs came strolling to the front of the cage ,full of agro and looking for a meal.i got the first one that came to hand,it looked quite placid as i dont think it knew what was happening.then all hell broke loose.it,like its brother tried to have a go at my hand,but it too failed miserably.i managet to get it in a box and to my house.next,getting it from box to cage.i opened the lid on the box,got the thick gloves on and it was game on.i seen he ferret looking at me as to say" im gonna have you this time",fortunatley,i managed to get to grips with it before it did me and the fun began again.i got sprayed,another attempt at it biting me and all the rest that goes with it.ive now got it in with my two young albinos that i bred the season gone and its settled in ok.now its down to handling three times a day til i get the ferret put right.i will keep everyone up to date on how i get on with it.

 

col

Edited December 28, 2008 by col g

[Kay 3,709]

Good luck

[col g 0]

to say im going to need it is an understatement kay,lol.luckily ive had ferrets like this before and by the end of it all theyve turned out to be pussy cats,and ive got its youth in my favour,so all should be well........i hope,lol

[Kay 3,709]

to say im going to need it is an understatement kay,lol.luckily ive had ferrets like this before and by the end of it all theyve turned out to be pussy cats,and ive got its youth in my favour,so all should be well........i hope,lol

 

All you can do is try , if they have no handling at all its going to feel very strange to them to be held, but there neither use nore orniment at the min for working so best of luck & lets hope you can work on them & bring them to an aceptable level

[Brimmer 220]

Good on you for trying! One or two on here have worked with them, sure you seem to have the upper hand!

[stealthy1 3,964]

Buy plenty of plasters, its easy, the more they chomp the faster they settle down.

[col g 0]

Buy plenty of plasters, its easy, the more they chomp the faster they settle down.

 

haha,ive put up with our lass for the last thirteen years,this ferret is tame by comparison to say the least.....(shes gonna love me for this....lol)

[The one 8,483]

Good on you for taking it on just feed it up each time befor you handle it

[jas88 0]

i found 2 ferrets advertised for free on the net and when down to pick them up a few weekends ago, when i got them home and put them in there run and tried to pick them up they would try to bite me every time (i dont think they had been treated very well) anyone got and good tips, iv tried using thick gloves but they still get me throught them

[Funfuret 1]

I've used hand feeding in the past to bring ferrets around. Offered them something like a raw chicken wing and then when they are busy chewing, picked them up. It does take a while but that way they start to associate hands with good memories rather than bad ones.

[jas88 0]

I've used hand feeding in the past to bring ferrets around. Offered them something like a raw chicken wing and then when they are busy chewing, picked them up. It does take a while but that way they start to associate hands with good memories rather than bad ones.

 

 

ok thanks i will give that a go, ummm wonder is dad will miss a chicken?

[col g 0]

been back on with the handling of the sandy today and i was well suprised.i went in kitted out with a thick pair of gloves on expeting the worst.i didnt need the gloves after all.the two albinos came straight to hand,i removed them from the cage and put them in the spare that i have.then i thought to myself is it gonna have a go or not.well.....it didnt.as i was holding it loosely in my hand i removed the gloves.it was looking about to see what was going on but never once turned to nip me.i put it in the spare cage with the other two and cleaned the cage out.on doing so i put the food in the cleaned out cage and went to get the ferts out of the spare.i removed the two albinos and got them back in first,then i went and got the sandy.it walked straight out and came straight to me,i picked it up loosely again,gave it a bit of a pet and put it back in its cage.i am utterly shocked at how quick it has changed.i dont know wether it has sensed that i have no fear of it or if it knows i mean it no harm.i will continue with the handling for another few weeks til i get it up to a standard i am happy with and that i know i could let my son go in and handle it without the risk of him getting bit.my son is in and out of the shed handling the older pair ive got as he knows he can do anything with them and they wont bat an eye lid.i will keep posting with updates on how it goes and hopefully get some pictures up of them

 

regards

col

 

the new ferret

and one of the old girl doing a bit (had to sneak that one on lol)

Edited December 30, 2008 by col g

[doddsy1970 9]

been back on with the handling of the sandy today and i was well suprised.i went in kitted out with a thick pair of gloves on expeting the worst.i didnt need the gloves after all.the two albinos came straight to hand,i removed them from the cage and put them in the spare that i have.then i thought to myself is it gonna have a go or not.well.....it didnt.as i was holding it loosely in my hand i removed the gloves.it was looking about to see what was going on but never once turned to nip me.i put it in the spare cage with the other two and cleaned the cage out.on doing so i put the food in the cleaned out cage and went to get the ferts out of the spare.i removed the two albinos and got them back in first,then i went and got the sandy.it walked straight out and came straight to me,i picked it up loosely again,gave it a bit of a pet and put it back in its cage.i am utterly shocked at how quick it has changed.i dont know wether it has sensed that i have no fear of it or if it knows i mean it no harm.i will continue with the handling for another few weeks til i get it up to a standard i am happy with and that i know i could let my son go in and handle it without the risk of him getting bit.my son is in and out of the shed handling the older pair ive got as he knows he can do anything with them and they wont bat an eye lid.i will keep posting with updates on how it goes and hopefully get some pictures up of them

 

regards

col

 

I keep my ferretes in a large court, in August this year the wife and I went away for a week. When we left we had 30 happy ferrets which would all come up to you for a stroke. When we came back after a week they had turned aggresive. The reason i believe is that were not haandled at all that week, they were only fed. It took 2 weeks to get them all back to how they were before we went away. Just keep up the handling mate by the sounds of it you are doing a grand job

[Rhodey 96]

Good on you for giving it a go keep it up and keep us informed.

[col g 0]

cheers for the posts everyone.ive been keeping and working ferrets for a good number of years and i like a bit of a challenge every now and then just to keep me on my toes.ive had a few wild cards over the years and a few have been a lot worse than this.i can remember one in particular that i found living under my garden shead at my old house.i dont know how long it had been there,and it was just by chance that i stumbled across it.at the time i had a border terrier.it was used to my ferrets and loved being out with them.on this particular occasion it found a couple of holes around the shead which i presumed were rat holes...the terrier was going mad to get into them.i them blocked holes with brick rubble and stuff and went inside the shed.i got the crow bar and started lifting the floor boards one by one.the terrier was still going mad inside and was trying its hardest to get at what ever it waseventually i unearthed a quite large nest and inside was one of the biggest polecat dogs that i had ever seen.the border was still going mad to get hold of it (i was presuming the dog thought it was a rat.)the poley was going absolutley mad,jumping at me and the dog,spitting at us and it squirted us god knows how many times.i finally managed to get hold of it and git it into a cage.it took me a couple of weeks to gain this poleys trust,but after sheer determination i won it round.that ended up being one of the best workers i had.unfortunatley it got nicked out of the shed along with the other ferrets i had at the time.