blacta Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 my ferrets are very good workers, respect and follow me but they are very shy wjen it comes to reappearing from a hole. whe i walk over to them to pick them up they go back down. they do allow me to pick them up after va while. why is this? is it because they know there are rabbits still down in the bury? many thanks for any advice Toby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 If they start to come out and then go back inside the entrance when you approach, make yourself small and crouch down and slowly offer them your hand to smell. Ferrets have notoriously poor eyesight and they have no idea its you, until they recognise your smell. Thats why they are a bit cautious. If they come to the entrance, get their breath back and then go back down, that usually means there is some unfinished business below ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted January 28, 2008 Report Share Posted January 28, 2008 I always spit on my hand after greeting them at the cage/cub/hutch and when I am near the mouth of the burrow I realise that they are coming from near total darkness so any sudden movements are seen in their eyes as just a dark shape in a bright background, so I stay still as possible and offer a spit laden hand to them, this should confirm to the ferret that all is OK and they will be easy to pick up 90% of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larson Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 in my limited experiance i find the more you use them the less this happens. also if when they exit the warren you goto retrive them and shy away yourself ( as i have done ) the ferret will back up.. confidence is needed and the ferret must be grabbed 1st time to stop this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbob Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 Get a bit of pipe and play with your ferret in the garden let it come right out and pick it up slowly pet it and put it down and do it again .The other way a ferret comes to the mouth of a burrow is followng a bolting rabbit out then it will return to find another one to bolt ,or it might have lost a rabbit it was bolting in the burrow and came to the surface to see whats happening .You dont really have a problem if the ferret doesn't want to come out if there still rabbits in the burrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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