1. What do you do about ferreting in the summer months? How a keen ferreter makes best use of this ‘downtime’. 2. Will ferreting regularly make my ferrets tame? How are your skills with them? 3. Buying your first ferret. The do’s and don’ts. 4. If a ferret is a bad mum,…
Ferreting questions
Buying your first ferret
Q: I am getting my first ferret. My parents are a bit apprehensive but I have managed to convince them that it is a good idea. I am unsure whether to get a male or a female. A: I would always side towards your parents’ caution when answering this question as I have…
Retiring a lurcher from a ferreting career
It is at this time of year when I scrutinise the strengths and weaknesses of my ferrets and ask myself questions such as which hob do i breed from to improve my stock, which hob and jill will pair up best to reinvigorate the line and what equipment needs replacing, repairing…
Run rabbit run, here comes the lurcher
When I was growing up I used to spend a lot of my school holidays with my grandparents in a small rural village in Kent. Next door lived an old man called Bert, he was a cowman on a local farm, but what he didn’t know about the countryside just simply…
Ferreting with traps
Simon Whitehead punctuates the rising rabbit numbers by using the cage trap and the rabbit drop box, which both work even whilst you sleep!
What do you about ferreting in the summer months?
What do you do to fill your time with when you’re not ferreting during the summer months?
Will ferreting too regularly make my ferrets tame?
An old boy in the village tells me you shouldn’t handle ferrets too regularly because it makes them tame and less likely to work. Is he right?
Is gassing rabbit burrows as good as ferreting them?
Over the years I have given several people permission to go ferreting on my land, but none have ever really got on top of the job.
What causes colour variations in the rabbits I’m ferreting?
I have taken on some new ground just four miles from farms which I’ve been ferreting for several years. Apart from two black rabbits netted in the 15 years I’ve been doing it, all the rest of the bunnies have been of ‘normal’ colour.
If a ferret is a bad mum, should I breed from her again?
Ferreting: Last year my favourite jill had her first litter of kits but then totally ignored them. They all weakened and died through lack of food.
How do you go about ferreting roadside hedgerows?
How do you go about ferreting roadside hedgerows? The one running through our farmer’s land is alive with rabbits and he says he wants them clearing.
What trap can I set overnight to catch a lost ferret?
Can you recommend a make of live cage trap to leave set overnight to catch a lost ferret? How's it best used?
What should I put in my ferrets’ exercise yard?
My son has been ferreting several times with an uncle and now wants ferrets of his own.
Can you work ferrets from two different sources?
My shooting pal wants me to help him clear some really big burrows on his ground with my three ferrets, and his four.
Can you ferret big burrows by yourself?
Is it possible to ferret and work big burrows by yourself or do you recommend taking helpers along?
Do I need written permission to use ferrets on farmland?
Is it necessary to get written permission from a farmer to use ferrets on his land, or is a verbal agreement good enough?
Do ferrets need a drink of water while working?
Do you give ferrets a drink of water while they are working, or is it best to leave it until you get back home?
What could my ferrets be scared of?
The other day I put two ferrets into a rabbit hole but both backed away from it with their backs hunched and fur flared out. What causes that sort of reaction?
How long should I wait before digging out a ferret?
If one of your ferrets lays up, how long do you leave it before you start digging?
Which ferret do you prefer, hobs or jills?
Which type of ferret do you prefer to work – hobs or jills, and why?