Boston Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Whilst out ferreting today it seamed that the wild life were against us. 1st burry we went to and Two-spot bolted a rather mean looking rat, decideding that we did not want her going against rats we picked up our net's and moved on. 2nd burry a stoat and it's baby decided to nip in and out of our nets not 20 foot away from me - sadly not bolting any rabbits for us while they was doing it - could have saved Two-Spot the work but we thought rather than her meet a mother stoat down in a hole we took her out and once again took up our nets and moved on again! But wonderful sight to see!!! Our 3rd Burry gave us the rather nasty sight of a half chewed up adult buck rabbit in one of the holes... but of course we only found that after laying out 18 nets so we decided we would put a ferret down the burry anyway - nothing! So in the end we decided to leave the hedgerows and tried our luck at the bank. Here we netted a youngster and young adult buck and Two-Spot not wanting to let her's (youngster) get away made a kill down the burry but thankfully dragged it back to the surface with her so no digging One bunny for our pot and two more youngsters in the freezer for when our baby ferrets come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Well done. You have good and bad days. FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Well done. You have good and bad days. FM Bad day - may be, not sure. I think this hobby is a joy! Wonder if I will still be saying that come rain and hail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poacher Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Looks like the stoat is busy in that area Anyhow its always good to be out and today was a lovely day for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 Many years ago I use to have a large warren on a bank, right next to a potato dump. The smell wasn't very nice, but the warren was always good for quite a few rabbits. One year I went there and almost all of the old rotting potato heap had been moved away. We netted up (about 50-60 nets) and entered four ferrets, within 2 minutes the first rat ran into a net and was quickly followed by another one. We were there for five hours trying to get the ferrets out. I couldn't guess how many they must have killed underground, but they all came out with red faces. We killed about 20 that were stuck in nets. The rats had been living in the potato dump and when they took it away, they moved in to the warren next door. Rabbits never went back to that warren. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30-6 Posted March 26, 2007 Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 When I used to ferret we once bolted mice, and a fox. Funniest thing in a pigeon pattern was an escaped parrot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Posted March 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2007 The rats had been living in the potato dump and when they took it away, they moved in to the warren next door.Rabbits never went back to that warren. I'm hopeing thats not the case with the hedgerows that we've been working on, but saying that there was no fresh scrapes or droppings in the last burrys we looked at... just rat droppings so we moved away from them. Both me and Matt said at the very start after reading some of the horror stories in the Countrymans Weekly that we would not work a warren with rats. But we were bound to come across them sooner or later though as there is holding pens for game bird just across the field, so no real shock, and a couple of weeks ago we sent one of the Jills down and it looked like she was in a stop or on a nest as she had not moved in a little while, so we dug her out and found ear after ear of corn down the hole. I did think it was odd that rabbits would do that, but now thinking it was the rats maybe that had stored the corn??? But would not have thought that rat and rabbit would live in the same warren surely, but have seen both coming out from the warren?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Rats and rabbits will live in adjoining tunnels, but not generally inh large numbers. Quite a few rats that are bolted from rabbit holes, only ran in there when they heard you coming, that may not have been their home. Mice will also live adjacent to rabbits and its not unusual to find little stores of wheat ears when digging. I'm not sure that mice could have managed those sweetcorn cobs though. I once had a big long warren on a sandy bank, which had foxes and rabbits living next door to each other. We would often get the ferrets walking out of the larger fox earths when we netted it, so the tunnels must have been partly joined up. It seemed to work for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Ive boltd rats and rabbits and stoats and mice out of the same warren aswell. One can usually tell whether rats are using it by the size of the holes etc, i quite often say when out ferreting. "I bet there are rats in this warren"- sure enough there usually is. This is when the .410 comes into its own. Ive also been foxing in rabbit warrens, most fox earths are just converted rabbit warrens anyway. Alex Just adds to the excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Thank you for the eye opener as said, I would not have thought it. Is there any vaccination's that we should be thinking for our ferret with working around rats?... would you vaccinate any way with us working them in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 No there isnt anything really that they need. I havent with all my ferrets and im with the cambridge ferret welfare and rescue society and they all havent with theres either..... and thats 200+ferrets. I think there are a few which can be given, but cant remember what they are called, something that dogs can pass on. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferret Master Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Canine distemper possibly? FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 If your ferrets ever get into a scrap with rats, [which doesn't happen often, as a rat will rarely take on a ferret, unless its a pregnant doe], just make sure any wounds are well cleaned with an antiseptic. These will usually be round the mouth area. I have never had any of my ferrets inoculated against anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferretboy111 Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 (Canine distemper possibly?) Thats the one FM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Thanks, thats good to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Check that out Boston. LB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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