ferrets.

[scouser4life]

Well i am looking to get a couple of ferrets for rabbiting.
Should i get one or two?
Am i best getting them nueated?
How old will i wait till they are old enough to take hunting?
Males, females or one of each?
Should i keep them together?
Will they be warm enough in a rabbit hutch inside a shed packed with straw, hey, saw dust and such in british wethers? (upto -6 ish)
Any color best for use?
Ias hunting natural or will i need to teach them?
Any links to good information on hunting with ferrets?

Thanks John

 

[Thrym]

Id get 2 as they are quite social animals and will prefer having company all the time. They can be quite a handfull but make great pets ive never rabbited with them though so i cant help you there.

 

[faff]

get 2 females are best but you would have 2 get them nueated or also get a hoblet (vasectomised male) to bring them out of season. any couler, I like polecats but white is easier to spot in the feild.hunting I would say 2-3 months old it does come naturally but to some a little more than others.they would be fine together in the hutch

 

[swyn]

Hi scouser4life.
Several options on ferrets. A pair of neutered males are a good start. Get them as kits and handle them well and they will be gentle creatures. Another option is a vascetomised hob and a gill. This is not a cheap option as the 'op' costs about £70. This will keep the gill in good order during the mating season and she will come out of oestrus without offspring. This is important as if not mated she will remain in season all summer and this results in a very short lifespan.
The benefits of keeping both sexes are when working them the hob will do big warrens as he has more stamina and the gill will do short runs. The gill is always busy busy and is enjoyable to watch.
If you are netting colour is not so important and the polecat colours are very handsome. If you are shooting with a 410 or 28 bore colour is more important as many dark ferrets have been mistaken for rabbits in the excitement and consequently shot which is a shame. I would recommend a white or albino if you intend to shoot a lot.
They are clean creatures and will happily run round the house. They will do their poos in one corner and this covered with newspaper is easy to clean up. They always want to be 'the other side' of any door and will destroy the carpet with their digging to get under this obstruction!
They like an 'upstairs' in their house and this should be made so it is warm and cozy but easily cleaned similar the downstairs part of the cage.
They are escape artists and will disappear if they can worry the door open.
They hunt naturally and the rabbit flees from the smell and this is another thing....Some people HATE the smell so if you have children beware they can get into difficulties at school if their clothes are ferrety! We recieved a curt letter from one fussy teacher requesting that the children did not come to school smelling like this.
A good book is; A complete guide to ferrets by James McKay.
I hope this helps.
Swyn

 

[pierre girard]

We've had a lot of animals over the years including ducks (don't know how many), geese, (six), turkeys (50), beef cows (five - one at a time) rabbits (150), chickens (hundreds), pigs (20 - including one who lived in the house - until he got too large) deer (three) bear cubs (two) and racoons (five), muskrats (two), along with countless dogs and cats.

Nothing was as much bother and stink as the ferret my middle son just had to have. It took us years to get the stink out of the house.

sorry to be a wet blanket, but I have never hated any animal as much as that ferret.

 

[scouser4life]

would they not be warm enough in a rabbit hutch packed will hey straw etc? I could possible install a heater into the shed too. Then in the day i would play with them and so would the dog(hopfully, see how that turns out in a "controlled" situation) Also, i will just be netting them so colour would not be an issue.

Good advice about the key call, i will definantly use this. Any other tips people?

Also, how many escape route do rabbits have from their burrows ? About

MAny of the ones i have seen are burried deep in bramble bushes (them bushes that has blackberries on i think that what they are called) If i go in with my macette to clear way, wont this just scare them into stay under ground or fleeing before i net them and put the ferrets down?

Aklso how fast can ferrets run?

thanks John

 

[Feygan]

Best place I know of to get info from folk who have had plenty of first hand experience with this is here. http://www.thehuntinglife.com Just register for their forums and check out the ferreting section.

 

[scouser4life]

I have signed up, just waiting to be accepted, any idea how long this will take?

Thanks John

 

[Hunter_zero]

I've owned ferrets for years, so here goes;

Should i get one or two?

Two, ferrets love company.

Am i best getting them nueated?

Not really, however Jill's will die if you don't bring them off season. A vasectomized hob id VERY useful.

How old will i wait till they are old enough to take hunting?

Year old, but it's more to do with them being stable.

Males, females or one of each?

Depends on if you want to breed them. Two Jill's means you got to bring two ferrets off season.

Should i keep them together?

I do.

Will they be warm enough in a rabbit hutch inside a shed packed with straw, hey, saw dust and such in british wethers? (upto -6 ish)

Yes BUT standard rabbit hutches are not up to scratch, you need a ferret proof hutch.

Any color best for use?

Whites are good as you can see them, but matters not apart from that.

Ias hunting natural or will i need to teach them?

Hehehe, I'll train them for £10 each Ferrets do VERY well on their own.

Any links to good information on hunting with ferrets?

Duno, but you can always ask if you need help.

BTW feeding, do not feed slops.

Thanks John

HTH

John

 

[scouser4life]

Thanks hunter, since you offered , two more questions, How do i ferret proof the hutch? Also how do i bring them out of season?

I have read everywhere "they will need to be brought oyt of season" but nowhere tells you how. If the only was is to let them have a litter, i don't think its worthwhile because i do not want loads of little critters and i don't know too many people who would be willing to take them off my hands

John

 

[Hunter_zero]

Thanks hunter, since you offered , two more questions, How do i ferret proof the hutch? Also how do i bring them out of season?

IJohn

Okay, your standard ply wood hutch with big doors is not "ferret friendly".
You need a good solid hutch, mine is made of oak with lots of little doors (8"x8"). You can build your own out of pine floor boards. Ply would be ok but you would need to cover the base with chicken mesh and use good Avery mesh for the front and doors and NOT chicken mesh.

There are three ways to bring ferrets off season.

a) you can get the jill jab, cost is around £16 per jill, twice or even three times per year.

b) You can use a vasectomized hob (some die-hard ferrets owners do not like this at all!) but it's natural and free. Down side is you will need a vasectomized hob, operations cost around £50.

c) you can have the jill done but will cost around £50++ per jill.

In short, if you hunt with jills (they are smaller than hobs and less likely to kill in or lay up) and you lose a jill then thats cost you £50 +++ food & keep, a lot of money to lose for a few rabbits. If you have a vasectomized hob, then you don't hunt with him thus a lost jill will cost £5 + food & keep. May be this is a cold way to do the sums but never the less true.

Ferrets and ferreting is less common these days. Around here there are a few ferret owners but not many ferreters. Ferrets make excellent pets and excellent tools for hunting but I promise you this, if you let them become pets, you'll not hunt them

John

 

[British Red]

My advice, if you are planning to teach yourself and hunt with hobs?

Buy a ferret finder


And a spade


Red

 

[faff]

My advice, if you are planning to teach yourself and hunt with hobs?

Buy a ferret finder


And a spade


Red

wise with any ferret

 

[scouser4life]

Ok thanks Zero, another question popped into my head, how far do tunnels reach. i.e. how long can the be at maximum and how many enterences/exits do they have.

 

[Hunter_zero]

Ok thanks Zero, another question popped into my head, how far do tunnels reach. i.e. how long can the be at maximum and how many enterences/exits do they have.

Entrances?

Many, sometime more than you know

Tunnels?

That's a question

A bury can be small or VERY big indeed.
Doe rabbits will often dig stops (small holes about 1' deep) to have a litter. This is NOT always the case. Rabbits can dig under roads, buildings and trees!
Often, there are dead end tunnels, sudden drops and flooded tunnels.
Buries are shared by owls, rats, snakes and can even run in to old fox earths and badger dens.

There is no simple answer to your question. The type of soil plays a big part as does the geographical layout of the area.

I once visited an old fall out bunker. The rabbits had made their home right around the edge of the bunker.

Ferret finders are good, cost about £100 these days BUT they are not faultless.
Trouble is that rabbits dig around disturbed earth, you often get prolific numbers around train tracks, or cable runs. Many times I have had trouble using the finder around areas such as these due to electrical interference and of course, digging out near these cables isn't a good idea.

A well feed ferret, that is cared for should not lay up that often. Ferret finders are tools where a collar is placed on the ferret. The collar has a transmitter attached. You have the receiver. The receiver will find a ferret that is 15' below the surface. Now my thoughts are that if your going to TRY and dig 15' down, then either you have never dug a hole or your hunting with a £50 hob

In short, your never going to dig 15' down.

Okay, most lays ups never happen at that depth

I have hunted with collars and with-out. Never had to dig a ferret out, luck may be? duno but I have always had problems when using finders, could be that my ferrets don't normally wear collars, again duno.

I have had to wait three hours for my jill to return, covered in hair, blood and with a fat belly. She was never hunted again. One of my most experienced jills, died recently. she was excellent but at eight years of age, it was inevitable.
She never had a collar and never had a lay-up, luck again I guess.

I don't like hunting hobs, they seem to be lazy, whimsical and prone to going to sleep, could just be my hobs, duno. Jills are by far more quick, sharp if you will and much smaller. They can negotiate the nets, a hob always disturbs them, he's much bigger. I will normally work four ferrets. two a time in the bury. Then swap over, giving the first pair a good drink and rest.
All said and done, the first ferret I ever worked was a hob, Boe and he did very very well.

John

 

[scouser4life]

thanks again zero you seem to know a great deal.

Your going to get fed up with all my questions but heres some more i thought about.

On average, how long should a hunt take?

Do i have to be as quiet as possible when putting the nets over or will they still bolt when the ferrets go down, although they know something much bigger is outside?

You say you put two down at a time, do this go in differnt holes or both down the same?

Between what numbers should i expect to catch per hunt?

How fast do rabbits run?

Alot of the burrows seem to be in bramble bushes, i would need to cut this down if i was to net the rabbits, should i do this the night before and return the follwoing day or just do it that day, or even just look for differnt burrows?

Sorry for all the questions, im just trying to get the best idea possible before i go ahead and get them.

one last question, do ferrets have litters year round or is it just an annual event?

 

[Hunter_zero]

[
On average, how long should a hunt take?

Depends what you mean by "hunt". Do you mean each bury or multiple buries.
It can take as little as ten minuets or as long as all day, much like shooting I guess.


Do i have to be as quiet as possible when putting the nets over or will they still bolt when the ferrets go down, although they know something much bigger is outside?

It's best to be quite The underground workings act much like an amplifier and will let the rabbits know someone is above them BUT rabbits will still bolt when faced with a ferret (most of the time).


You say you put two down at a time, do this go in differnt holes or both down the same?

I put them in opposite holes if you like. The thing is this is the way 'I' ferret but many others inc. people who have hunted with me do things different.


Between what numbers should i expect to catch per hunt?

Impossible to say, each area and each bury and each rabbit population are different. Weather, time of year, ferrets, myself, the rabbits, the land usage and a whole lot of many other variables make sure you can catch between zero and ten thousand
If you go expecting nothing and enjoy your surroundings then you can never be disappointed.


How fast do rabbits run?

Not sure why this makes a difference. Have you hunted / shot rabbits before?


Alot of the burrows seem to be in bramble bushes, i would need to cut this down if i was to net the rabbits, should i do this the night before and return the follwoing day or just do it that day, or even just look for differnt burrows?

First off, (look at the above question). You haven't much experience hunting rabbits. I would start off with small buries in the open. Hill top sites, stuff like that. Small bush buries and the like. To answer your question, I have done both. Using a brush cutter I have ferreted ten minuets after and have caught a few rabbits. I have left it to another day and have caught a few rabbits. It's more about the fun and enjoyment of the day and not the calculated whole sale of rabbits. If your looking to have guaranteed returns, then your best off doing a deal down the market and breeding rabbits for fur / meat. Hunting is just what it is called. If it were guaranteed, then it wouldn't be hunting at all.

Sorry for all the questions, im just trying to get the best idea possible before i go ahead and get them.

No problem at all but my advice is to consider your expectations of using ferrets to acquire rabbits. Nothing in this life is easy and you never find a free meal. You have to put effort in to it. Ferrets are not the magical and mythical way to get rabbits. They are lovely animals (just got in from playing with mine in the garage). They are like little people, each with their own personalities, weak points and strong points. They are the true 'party' animals of this sad world. Greatly misunderstood, mistreated and suffer great hardships.
If your new to hunting as I suspect, then I would question the wisdom of buying ferrets to hunt an animal you have yet to really understand. Buy a couple of ferrets, and look after them by all means. It the mean time, learn all you can about the rabbit, for he is a greater animal than the ferret.


one last question, do ferrets have litters year round or is it just an annual event?

The most I have ever let my jills have is one.


John
[/QUOTE]

 

[scouser4life]

thanks zero. I asked two question which i don't think i asked properly

I meant how fast do ferrets run? This is just incase one get past the nets and does a runner.

Also, i have shot rabbits with my air rifle, but that is it. So im not too experienced

The other question was about them having litters. What i ment was, are they like birds, rabbits etc and only have a litter in the spring/summer or can they like dog, be anytime throughout the year?

thanks john

 

[Lurch]

Ferret season is photo wassname. i.e. come in season according to length of day, normally late spring from memory. This means you've picked a bad time to want ferrets as the kits aren't usually available until mid to late summer. If someone has adult ferrets to punt on now then you are going to need to ask yourself why this is!
Ferrets can run fast enough to be irksome but not fast enough to out run you, or a bunny.
Ferrets are lovely creatures, but the aroma is not to everyone's taste. There is nowt stinkier than an in season hob, so I'd recommend the nuetering route. A lot of people don't like hobs for workers but if you find a small strain and get their cobblers lopped off you will do alright.
Don't worry too much about the detail of the hunt, the learning process is all part of the fun.

 

[Hunter_zero]

(I did reply to this post yesterday, but it gone missing for some reason )

I meant how fast do ferrets run? This is just incase one get past the nets and does a runner.

It's a little like taking your dog out for a walk, yes the dog can run away and sometimes they do. I guess if you haven't owned ferrets in the past, you'll equate them to rabbits or other rodents. Ferrets (are not rodents) are more like dogs than cats, in as much as they recognise you as an owner for want of a much better explanation.
So they don't really 'run' away. There is a MUCH higher chance of you missing one in the undergrowth, but that's not the ferrets fault, it's just hunting the undergrowth.




Also, i have shot rabbits with my air rifle, but that is it. So im not too experienced

HEY, that's experience and NEVER knock experience!

The other question was about them having litters. What i ment was, are they like birds, rabbits etc and only have a litter in the spring/summer or can they like dog, be anytime throughout the year?

Mine come in to season, around late Feb and early Sept.

IMHO you will make a good ferret owner, you are obviously doing your home work and not simply jumping in, that is good!

If you want my advice, go and sort a hutch out, buy a couple of ferrets and take things one step at a time. HOWEVER ferrets last for years, eight to ten years! That's a big commitment, so if your not prepared for such a commitment, leave well alone. If you are, then that's that. Take hunting one step at a time. If you were closer to me, I would get you started on long nets and shooting over the ferrets and of course the art of netting burrows. We all have our 'own' secret and special ways to set nets

John