The Art of Ferreting
Ferrets have been used to hunt and flush rabbits for hundreds of years, the humble ferret have been domesticated for some 2000 odd years.
Basically the ferrets are used to enter a warren and flush the rabbits from their otherwise secure homes, where they are then dispatched by the hunter.
There are several ways of going about ferreting
- 1. The use of purse nets to catch the fleeing rabbit at the warren entrances
- 2. the use of dogs to catch the fleeing rabbits from the warren
- 3. the use of shotguns to kill the rabbit as it flees it home
- 4. the use of other nets
The use of purse nets requires a few pieces of equipment, basically all you need is the nets themselves which are basically 3-5 foot long nets with a drawcord which runs on the outside of them and through 2 metals rings. As the rabbit hits the net the drawcord pulls tight and creates a bag unto which the rabbit is then caught and you must get to it and then humanely dispatch the rabbit.
The use of dogs basically requires a dog that knows what the score is, one that will “mark” a warren which is basically through body language telling you there is a rabbit at home(eg pointing) is a invaluable trait for a ferreting dog to posses, sure saves you a lot of time ferreting warrens where coney is not home! Obviously you can combine the purse nets with the dogs, any that slip nets can be picked up by the dog, plus they have a better set of ears and eyes, they can hear whats happening underground a lot better then us mere humans ever can.
The use of shotguns is self explanatory, ferrets in, rabbits out. If you are a good shot you should account for a good percentage of rabbits.
The other nets are basically long nets type setup, which don’t seem to be used a great deal here in Australia, I know they are used. Basically they are a long net a bit like a drag net, and what happens is the rabbits hit the net and as the net is baggy they quickly become tangled in the net. You must get to them quickly as they can kick themselves out, or chew through the net leaving holes and ruining the net. This method is handy if you are ferreting a large warren, or know where the rabbits are going to bolt to, you can set the one net rather then 30 or 40 purse nets and sit back and wait. A dog can be used here to, but must be “net smart” and not hit the rabbit in the net, potentially causing it to bounce out or worse damage the dog.
Ferreting is mostly done in the early mornings or later afternoon, however in winter times you can spend longer out in the field as it does not get so hot. Ferrets don’t handle the heat to well here in Australia and over 30 degrees they can die from heatstroke, they basically become very inactive and limp.
Different ferrets have different styles of hunting, you soon pick up the way they work, and with practice the ferrets develop their own way of working a warren. For example my Jill(female ferrets are called this) tends to go into a warren and check each part of it, popping in and out to each entrance, if there is a rabbit home she will stay in until she comes across them, then by scratching the rabbit or biting it try and persuade it to bolt. If they don’t bolt she will kill the rabbit. If there are not rabbits home she will go in, her whole attitude is totally different, she will muck around a bit, I can generally tell if nothing is home in the first one or two sightings of the ferret.
This is where the locating collars are handy, a small transmitter is attached to a collar on the ferret and a locator box used to find the location of the ferret underground. Being somewhat expensive to purchase over here ($450) I would not think too many people are using them. Once the ferret is located and you know it’s not going anywhere you can dig down to them, retrieving the rabbit and the ferret after what is hopefully a quick dig.
I to date have dug 3 times, the first time we found the ferret had moved the rabbit deeper into the warren, right under a big tree, the second time we got about 2 foot down and the ferrets came out and finally the third time after a quick dig I broke through to the ferret scratching the back end of a rabbit, pulled the rabbit out and then caught another mid air as it too bolted from where that rabbit was, I did not get a good grip on it however and it got away, but then got caught in a net in another entrance.
You will know when the ferret is onto a rabbit as you will hear the rumbling underground, they sound like mini trains as the rabbits fly through the warren, then all of a sudden the rabbit comes out of one of the holes at a fast rate, hitting the net and are caught. Not all rabbits are scared of the ferrets, and they sometimes are reluctant to bolt and will give the ferrets the run around. This is why it is important to be quiet when you are setting the nets or whatever so they are not as aware of your presence.
Ferrets are easy to care for, and if handled regularly are not the biting savages most people think they are. They come in over 40 colours, no colour is better then another. The males are generally bigger then the females, weighing up to 2.5 kilos where the females generally are from 500gm to a kilo. The males also have a lot stronger smell about them, and if frightened both have glands that will let go a pungent smell (like a skunk but no where near as bad).
They require a protein based diet with some fat, they do not absorb foods such as vegetables, the best diet is a natural diet supplemented with cat biscuits. You need to provide a decent brand of cat biscuit as the cheaper brands do not contain the digestible meat protein in high enough percentages. I use Iams Kitten biscuits, ferrets up to several years of age need to be given kitten biscuits instead of cat biscuits because they have different nutritional needs. Ferrets are also becoming more popular with people as house pets, in this case they are fed frozen chicks or mice, which is all good an well but personally I like to have the ferrets catch their own food, as they have since time began.
All in all they are a great way to spend a morning, you never stop learning and you and the ferrets are doing something that comes natural.
Happy hunting
Staghound
