ferrets/falconry

[heatherp]

any one know what a ferret is?
I know i have 5

any ones parents do falconry and are on the IFF?

on the IFF my parents are angeljakki and pitbull

anyones parents know them they r going to the festival of falconry!!!

[little-lloyd]

I have two Polecat Jills! Both workers!

[Vixen]

I have 4 ferrets

but ferrets arn't wildlife

[Dan Salter]

This is a very strange thread and initial post?

anyone know my nan?....

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Dan Salter

This is a very strange thread and initial post?

anyone know my nan?....

LOL thought the same, incidentaly i did used to have a ferret.

[cresshead101]

wow,ferrets!bangs head off flor in manic excitement to reply to (extremely weird if i may say so!)post!i love ferrets!yaaaay!havent persuaded parents to let me aquire the beasts yetcan anyone outline the pros/cons of ferret ownership?)do they have a bad bite/those teeth look sharp!beautiful animals,arent they?like furry slinkies with legs!my goal in life is to get a ferret.is it good to keep them in groups?how do you train them to hunt?sadly mine would probably be resigned to being family pets,not bloodthirsty Rabbit killers!heatherp what are yuor ferrets names!(sorry ive kinda hijacked your thread,im just so desperate for a ferret!advice,stories and tips,please!

[little-lloyd]

[quote=cresshead101;140134]bloodthirsty Rabbit killers!QUOTE]

Its not the ferrets job to kill the Rabbit they bolt them out of warrns to nets/guns/dogs/hawks Nets are used mostly and when a Rabbit bolts it it humanely dispatched by the ferreter.

My ferrets are workers to the bone and are the most sweetest little critter you will come across

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by cresshead101

wow,ferrets!bangs head off flor in manic excitement to reply to (extremely weird if i may say so!)post!i love ferrets!yaaaay!havent persuaded parents to let me aquire the beasts yetcan anyone outline the pros/cons of ferret ownership?)do they have a bad bite/those teeth look sharp!beautiful animals,arent they?like furry slinkies with legs!my goal in life is to get a ferret.is it good to keep them in groups?how do you train them to hunt?sadly mine would probably be resigned to being family pets,not bloodthirsty Rabbit killers!heatherp what are yuor ferrets names!(sorry ive kinda hijacked your thread,im just so desperate for a ferret!advice,stories and tips,please!

you might find these forums handy for you ferret fact finding

Ask an Expert about Ferrets
Ferrets Magazine Community / Ferrets Forum / Life With Ferrets

eeyores top tip - dont put them down your trousers - especially if they are hungry

[Vixen]

ferret infomation you need here

Ferrets Forum

and here

Mercia Ferret Welfare -> General

[cresshead101]

thanks,mabye when im a famous ferret handler in the future ill think of you guysstill trying to persuade my parents,though

[jj-harrishawker]

Originally Posted by heatherp

any one know what a ferret is?
I know i have 5

any ones parents do falconry and are on the IFF?

on the IFF my parents are angeljakki and pitbull

anyones parents know them they r going to the festival of falconry!!!

i am a falconer, have 2 albino jills and picking up a silver hob tomorrow

i am a member of the IFF and know of pittbul, are you his daughter who of which owns the buzzard?

[jj-harrishawker]

Originally Posted by cresshead101

wow,ferrets!bangs head off flor in manic excitement to reply to (extremely weird if i may say so!)post!i love ferrets!yaaaay!havent persuaded parents to let me aquire the beasts yetcan anyone outline the pros/cons of ferret ownership?)do they have a bad bite/those teeth look sharp!beautiful animals,arent they?like furry slinkies with legs!my goal in life is to get a ferret.is it good to keep them in groups?how do you train them to hunt?sadly mine would probably be resigned to being family pets,not bloodthirsty Rabbit killers!heatherp what are yuor ferrets names!(sorry ive kinda hijacked your thread,im just so desperate for a ferret!advice,stories and tips,please!

ferrets are simple to maintain put in a hut clean out give them water feed and exercise no different to a pet Rabbit if you dont work them, although they have a strong smell!

its best to have at least 2 so they have company.

to get mine working put them down a warren and they click on after a few trips as its instinctive to them and if handled often they tend not to be and rarley nip.

[Vixen]

[quote=jj-harrishawker;142944]ferrets are simple to maintain put in a hut clean out give them water feed and exercise no different to a pet Rabbit if you dont work them, although they have a strong smell!

QUOTE]

thats rubbish.

Just imagining, people giving there ferrets, Rabbit food, and leaving the poor things down the bottom of the garden, with no inetereation.

and when nuetered the smeel brops by 80%

the 2 site's I posted abouth are the 2 best uk site about ferrets on the net.

[jj-harrishawker]

hows this rubbish mate? you can feed ferrits on dry food, yes or no !? so in your opinion jills hardly smell, you dont know ferrets then mate because they do! and you can build a run onto the hutch and yes leave them there allll day without supervision.

im not concerned about forums on them im speaking from personal experience not repeating info found elsewhere like some

[jj-harrishawker]

i dont no how to edit posts * so you reckon they dont smell when nuetered 80% or not its still a strong smell! *

[cresshead101]

what,do normal vets neuter them?how much does it cost ?oh yeah,and can you give them fresh meat,too?(i'll be on holiday in sunny doneagal for a few weeks tommorow,so dont expect a reply ,sorry!

[jj-harrishawker]

yes you can get them nuetered by local vets but i dont bother with it.

[Vixen]

Originally Posted by jj-harrishawker

hows this rubbish mate? you can feed ferrits on dry food, yes or no !? so in your opinion jills hardly smell, you dont know ferrets then mate because they do! and you can build a run onto the hutch and yes leave them there allll day without supervision.

im not concerned about forums on them im speaking from personal experience not repeating info found elsewhere like some

sorry I just imagind people goving there ferrets Rabbit food witch is no way good for them, as they need a high protin diet. You can get dry ferret food for them.

as I said oce nuetered ferret don't smell as much, every animal smell to a certain exstent.

I feel sorry for any ferret left on there own all day with out human interaction, there such playful and intelligent animals, they CAN be left all alone but I very much dout you will have a well ajusted animal.

ferret should get fresh meet and yes most vets will treat them, I own 4 male ferrets all nuetered but have own jill in the past as well, and non of them have smelt, and I have no problem getting a vet to treat them.

I take it then if you don't nueter then, I take it you breed your jill every year, adding to the already problem of full rescue's all over the country, or do you just bukect them

one ferret rescue took over 150 kitts last year due to people breeding to many, as they can't be bothered to nueter there animals.

I am also posting from exsperiance, I have own ferret for 5 years, and have been involved with welfare/rescue and PR for that time to, it make me angry when some spend hour educating people on the RIGHTcare for there ferret, and teaching people they are not nasty smelly bitey things, and people come along and desmiss it just because there stuck in the past.

lastly I am not your mate!

[eeyore]

bing bing, round 2

tho it might be better if you both stayed in the neutral corners til you've calmed down

[Vixen]

Originally Posted by eeyore

bing bing, round 2

tho it might be better if you both stayed in the neutral corners til you've calmed down

sorry

but i shore you can understand, how frustating it can be, when you work hard to educate people.

and some just don't want to listen.


I respect some ferreters keep there ferrets differently to pet ferret owners. But at the end of the day it the ferrets health and well being that counts, just as if they where a cat or dog.

[jj-harrishawker]

the mate was trying to keep things friendly.

and yes i agree ferrets should get fresh meat daily as mine get a quality diet however by no meens is this necessary.

ferrets are fine to be left daily on there own whilst people are at work etc i never said anything about this before and apart from feeding them in the last few months whilst they havent being worked i havnt interacted with them and they are fine. they have a large run and other ferrets as companions wheres the problem? there isnt 1! and they remain the same as when handled frequentley.

and no as of yet i havent bred either of the jills they have being to the vets when in season to give them the injection to bring them out of season, however i have purchased a new silver hob in which YES! i will be breeding them with and thats a nice bit of info about the disowned ferrets but how will this include the ferrets bred by me? :S
as they all will be accounted for without trouble and will be used as working ferrets in the world of falconry so how will kits from my ferrets contribute to the problem?

i have owned ferrets for 3 years yet know close friends who have for 25 years wow! what does this prove nothing. does not make you more experienced than anybody else.

if i dont listen to you trying to 'educate'. could you please point out where i have gone wrong and i would amend it

look forward to your response... mate

[colincurry]

When I was a boy - over half a century ago - we used to have ferrets at the bottom of the garden - makes a change from fairies.

They belonged to my father and were used to provide Rabbits for the pot and Rabbit skins for the rag and bone merchant - a shilling a skin. He fed his ferrets on bread and milk. They were quite docile and I often used to have one inside my shirt. He never gave them meat of any kind as this would have made them fierce and difficult to handle.

My father used the ferrets to chase the Rabbits from the bury into nets. He made his own nets using a brass curtain ring to hold one end, and constructed the nets using a fisherman's wooden needle. He used greased twine that he acquired from his place of work.

We used mainly to go rabbiting in the Autumn. Being peasants and living in Kent, we went hop-picking and used to take the Rabbits from those farms. There was also a dairy farm not very far from home that had a bury with about 50 burrows in it; and this was a bit of a lottery as we did not have enough nets to cover every hole.

I was out walking last week near the River Great Ouse when I came across a young Rabbit that looked as if it had myxamatosis. It was eating but very unaware of its surroundings as I was able to walk within 6 inches of it and it took no notice whatsoever.

Colin

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by jj-harrishawker

yes you can get them nuetered by local vets but i dont bother with it.

Id highly advise you do though, female ferrets and other mustelids are induced ovulators the high amounts of oestrogen in the ferret can cause aplastic anaemia, you either mate it with a male can be vasectomised or not, or get it nuetered, your highly risking the lively hood of your ferret if you do not do this. Also if your going to put a run on a ferret pen and leave it (which isnt fair in my eyes) its wise to have more than one ferret.

Sorry jj harrishawker just read you get them injected, which is equally effective but probrably more expensive in the long run

[glsammy]

I'm watching this thread carefully. Any more flaming comments and the thread will go.

[jj-harrishawker]

they are only left for few months of each year occasionaly whilst the hawks are moulting. only if we do not decide not to do any ferreting inbetween and dont worry theres 3 of them at the moment . the rest of the time they are worked at least 4 times a week.

and we have decided to allow them to breed this year and give the kits to upcoming/established falconers or others who will use them as working ferrets as yes the injection comes at a cost.