Which ferret do you prefer, hobs or jills?

Ferreting
EDWARD COOK
I’ve worked both jills and hobs and have to say that I prefer to have a boxful of decent sized hobs on my shoulder when I go rabbiting.

Just now there seems to be an obsession with some rabbiters to use what can only be described as “micro” ferrets.

The thinking here is that if the ferret is too small to hold a rabbit, it will bolt more.

This, of course, is utter nonsense.

I prefer a strong good-sized hob purely because they don’t mess about underground and if a rabbit doesn’t want to bolt they kill it.

In addition, once fit, their size and power helps give them the stamina to graft all day long.

A small jill that gets locked onto an adult rabbit will often get thrown around like a buckaroo and pick up severe bruising.

Too much rough treatment of that sort can’t help but knock her confidence.

If you decide to use jills my advice is to opt for the biggest you can find from working stock and don’t, whatever you do, be tempted to buy one of those miniature ferrets now on the market.

They are nothing but a gimmick and a tick would be more use for clearing a burrow of rabbits!