Tell me about ferrets...

MRT

Member
Livestock Farmer
I miss my ferrets :(
You daughter will love them best pets ever. If you handle them enough from when they are kits they are just like dogs and will play with you like a dog will believe it or not. Great fun little things. Why the hell anyone would want to have a fudgeing rabbit in a hutch as a pet is beyond me when you can have something you can actually play with. Been having this debate with my wife about a pet for our daughter but it's been decided that she is too young. What we really mean is we've reached a stalemate so we aren't having either :rolleyes:
Used to use mine on rats in bales and stuff with my sheepdogs and terrier. That was so much fun it's probably illegal :D
Ferreting rabbits is a bit tame after you've done that.
Its not unheard of to just find ferrets that people have lost that need to be taken in and looked after. Especially if I call you first to let you know I am about to lose one just outside your house
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
The best ferret I ever owned was picked up on the high street of the local town. I reported the find to the police but no one came forward to claim it. It would work a bury and when it had bolted all the rabbits, it would come and find me. Some are excellent at homing. I had one what specialised in rats. She seemed to have a knack of dealing with them. The only named ferret I have ever owned - Esmeralda. But even the tamest can and do bite, so they should never be taken fore granted, but that's just my opinion.
 

hendrebc

Member
Livestock Farmer
The best ferret I ever owned was picked up on the high street of the local town. I reported the find to the police but no one came forward to claim it. It would work a bury and when it had bolted all the rabbits, it would come and find me. Some are excellent at homing. I had one what specialised in rats. She seemed to have a knack of dealing with them. The only named ferret I have ever owned - Esmeralda. But even the tamest can and do bite, so they should never be taken fore granted, but that's just my opinion.
One of mine went missing after he escaped from his hutch and turned up outside the chemist in town over 2 miles away.
He would come and find me as well usually when he was working. He only bit me once and that was when he had hold of a rabbit in a net and I tried to take it from him. My fault. His reaction when he did was like he was sorry. He went from being a crazed killer back to being a teddy bear and was rubbing himself against me like a cat does.
 

MRT

Member
Livestock Farmer
One of mine went missing after he escaped from his hutch and turned up outside the chemist in town over 2 miles away.
He would come and find me as well usually when he was working. He only bit me once and that was when he had hold of a rabbit in a net and I tried to take it from him. My fault. His reaction when he did was like he was sorry. He went from being a crazed killer back to being a teddy bear and was rubbing himself against me like a cat does.
They are funny when they are annoyed, half angry cowboy half toilet brush
 

markmccormick

Member
Horticulture
With the subject of ferrets I would recommend that you have at least two. Also keep in mind that, despite being pets, they can show somewhat wild behaviors, so they need a lot of care and dedication. Apart from that, they can be very funny and affectionate, but of course before I recommend that you find out about a professional or ferret breeder, they will be able to comment more on their behavior.
 

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
With the subject of ferrets I would recommend that you have at least two. Also keep in mind that, despite being pets, they can show somewhat wild behaviors, so they need a lot of care and dedication. Apart from that, they can be very funny and affectionate, but of course before I recommend that you find out about a professional or ferret breeder, they will be able to comment more on their behavior.
I've got a few leads through work - the animal dept have some they've rescued and one of the techs knows someone who breeds working ones down Stroud way, I believe.
 

DEADRED

Member
Livestock Farmer
Better than nets. Get a nice Harris hawk or a red tail. Dig your spade into the ground and let the hawk use it as a perch. Awesome watching the bird chase the rabbit down the field! Our harris hawks and my red tail work together as a trio.

You can always take the hawks to catch a few grey menace too! Help out the reds.
 

PeaBee

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
One of mine went missing after he escaped from his hutch and turned up outside the chemist in town over 2 miles away.
He would come and find me as well usually when he was working. He only bit me once and that was when he had hold of a rabbit in a net and I tried to take it from him. My fault. His reaction when he did was like he was sorry. He went from being a crazed killer back to being a teddy bear and was rubbing himself against me like a cat does.
Many years ago 2 of mine escaped. The hob ended up terrorising some old gold in the sheltered bungalows by prancing about wanting to play. The Gill went the opposite way to the high street and in through the open back door of the pet shop. Where she tried desperately to get into the the guinea pigs and bunnies!
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Ferrets are pretty good at homing. My uncle had one he'd leave in the hutch with the door open. It came back when it wanted. I also got given a ferret that was a girl's pet that used to do the same. Both were kept on farms and would go off for days at a time, but always return. I kept the second one for years, until it died of old age.
 
Ferrets are pretty good at homing. My uncle had one he'd leave in the hutch with the door open. It came back when it wanted. I also got given a ferret that was a girl's pet that used to do the same. Both were kept on farms and would go off for days at a time, but always return. I kept the second one for years, until it died of old age.

Did they not go feral?

I put my ferret hutch in the dog run when I got my first terrier, because they were going to work together. She managed to jump up and knock the catch and let the hob out. After a couple of days I spied his head poking out from under a big pile of fencing rails, it took me another couple of days to catch him in a mink/squirrel trap but it was weeks before I could handle him properly again.
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Did they not go feral?

I put my ferret hutch in the dog run when I got my first terrier, because they were going to work together. She managed to jump up and knock the catch and let the hob out. After a couple of days I spied his head poking out from under a big pile of fencing rails, it took me another couple of days to catch him in a mink/squirrel trap but it was weeks before I could handle him properly again.

Obviously not and the one that came to me was perfectly handlable. This may depend on the circumstances. Some species imprinted early and at the correct stage in life will retain their tameness.

Many years ago now, an escped puma was recaptured outside Inverness although no one had reported losing one. The police and SSPCA reckoned it must have been a very recent capture as it was rubbing up against the sides of the cage like a domestic cat when anyone came near it. Billy Smart's Circus was in town and the great man himself visited the animal. He said it could have been free for some time because cats, if imprinted when young, retain their tameness. Perhaps someone with experience of cats could comment. I know nothing about them! :confused:
 

puntabrava

Member
Location
Wiltshire
I had that once with one I went to buy, the owner was busy blowing on its nose as the little darling was clamping on the bone of my index finger, I throttled it.
 
Imitating the squeal of a rabbit will often bring them out, especially if you open up a rabbit at the bury entrance so they can smell the blood. Stamping sometimes works. They think it is a rabbit thumping (alarm signal) and will come up to have a look. Doesn't always work but beats sitting and waiting.
My last resort was to play my mobile phone ringtones at the burrow entrance, very often worked and used to enjoy seeing the shocked looks from those that hadn't seen it done before!
 

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
Better than nets. Get a nice Harris hawk or a red tail. Dig your spade into the ground and let the hawk use it as a perch. Awesome watching the bird chase the rabbit down the field! Our harris hawks and my red tail work together as a trio.

You can always take the hawks to catch a few grey menace too! Help out the reds.

But then, what will the lurcher do? :unsure:
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,294
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top