how to muzzle a ferret

ferret man

i have kept ferrets for many years and have come to the stage where i cannot dig them out all the time any more and have 2 certain ferrets that just go and kill in the hole i have tried many times to muzzle them but it has just never worked for me could any1 please tell me or better still show me a video of how to do this as i am s**t at it and at the end of my teather and will retire them if i dont get this problem sorted

rowa

what happens if the ferret meets a rat , stoat etc down in the burrow and can't defend itself ? bad idea .

ferret man

i have no need to worry about this as the rat also run unless cornered and my ferrets pay little attention to them and there is no chance of getting a stoat where i have permissions as there hasnt been one there in over 15years. so do you no how to muzzle it or are yoou giving an ill wanted opinion

EPointer=Birdss

Bit harsh of rowa there, valid point...
When you say you've tried it??? Have you made one or 2?
They are so slender it'd be hard to keep one on them.

I had to get a cheap material one for the dog awhile back to stop him chewing a bandage. If you are handy with a needle & thread you could make one that goes over his mouth & ties like a collar behind his ears so it might not slip off. You could train him to wear it by putting it on for awhile before you feed him...

foxshooter243

ferret man wrote: »

i have no need to worry about this as the rat also run unless cornered and my ferrets pay little attention to them and there is no chance of getting a stoat where i have permissions as there hasnt been one there in over 15years. so do you no how to muzzle it or are yoou giving an ill wanted opinion

I was intending to answer this thread , but with an attitude like that why would I bother?..BTW..Rowa had a very valid point!

ferret man

foxshooter243 your answer would be greatly needed and thanked. i have only tried to use the leathe muzzles that you get in the hunting stores never tried to make 1 as i couldnt sow a button on my shirt let alne a muzzle

rowa

you can get canvas ones too , and i think they're not as stiff as leather ones are , can you not get someone to hold the ferret while you put the muzzle on ?
you say you want to retire them , the ferrets i always used to go for were very small females , even if they did get hold of a bunny , they couldn't kill it and the rabbit would bolt anyway , a cousin of mine had a big polecat ferret and it was a pain , it would kill every rabbit it came across leaving you to dig the fat git out .
check out if deben have a website , i used to get stuff off them or buy the countrymans weekly.

foxshooter243

The lads are right, the best muzzles were made from string and tied behind the ferrets neck, anyone who can knit a net should be able to make you one, are you using a pair of hobs together tu ferret because they give the most bother with laying up, a pair of jills is better and keep them in good condition to avoid sticking on the rabbits, an old lad I used to ferret with fed his ferrets directly after a hunt and then nothing till the next day when he hunted them again and had little trouble with them sticking.

ivanthehunter

Do any of you older chaps;) remember a metal spring which had two prongs that had to be caught behind the eye teeth. I had one when i was a chap but it was so difficult to put on that i soon went bareback in to every hole.
Sure its no wonder my ferret days were short lived:D

TBH I thought the contraption was a bit cruel to burden my working pet hob..

I have heard all sorts of stories of light string being used to provide a theater which if caught on a root or rock is easily breakable with a shot quick sharp tug. TBH i never tried it.

rowa

the best thing i ever had was a ferret finder , little electronic box of tricks and a small transmitter collar that went on the ferrets neck , if the ferret did kill you could find it very easily and dig it out , does away with a lot of nonsense with lengths of string etc , just follow the bleeps .

ferret man

have the mk3 finder but had to dig 9ft the last day to get it so thats why i need to muzzle it and it was the female that i was after. sorry for the confusion

EPointer=Birdss

Try & make one. Few bits of canvas, needle & thread & some persaverence. Few finger pricks while in front of the Tv is better than a hand full of welts after digging 9 ft!
Try velcro strip to act as a collar where the muzzle ties behind the head...

foxshooter243

One thing I would be asking myself if they were laying up all the time is "why"...now dont get me wrong but are you feeding properly ?, cos an underfed ferret will lay up the first chance it gets, also if your ferreting young rabbits then sticking is inevitable, a certain amount of lay ups are part of the game, but if its a constant thing then there may be an underlying cause ...feed the ferret in the evening after hunting, feed it on fresh flesh, forget the milk and bread diet used by old timers, give the ferret an odd treat...stay away from holes with young in them and you might reduce the problem...failing that take up golf:D:D

ferret man

i feed them fresh meat an water where possible but when i cant getfresh meat i give them ferret nuts which are dear but full of protein. i use a male and female ferrets to work. the males jut kill kill kill and rabbits rarely get time to bolt males never eat the rabbits but its the poin thati he to dig to get an actual rabbit it was he female that lays up on me

foxshooter243

ferret man wrote: »

i feed them fresh meat an water where possible but when i cant getfresh meat i give them ferret nuts which are dear but full of protein. i use a male and female ferrets to work. the males jut kill kill kill and rabbits rarely get time to bolt males never eat the rabbits but its the poin thati he to dig to get an actual rabbit it was he female that lays up on me

get another jill and leave the hob at home maybe?

ferret man

itsthe jil causing the problem she is going down the other side of the set and kilig if she can corner it and lays up th male kills and moves on

Only breed the small hobs, You'l get smaller ferrets and they won't be able to kill as easy. On their first flesh feed bleed the rabbit by the nose so the ferret thinks it gets the most blood from there, When its in the burrow it'l latch onto the rabbits nose and the rabbit'l shoot out..No laying up with the small ferrets.Wouldn't recommend a muzzle as rowa said the ferret is defenseless.

ferret man

i can see your worry about one of these muzzles but i is really my only option at thisstage anyone gota video or photos of how to do this

redla

you can buy ferret muzles on ebay 3 quid each worth a try sorry do not know how to put up link

ferret man

i have them no good gets it off need som diff design

Ferreter

ivanthehunter wrote: »

Do any of you older chaps;) remember a metal spring which had two prongs that had to be caught behind the eye teeth. I had one when i was a chap but it was so difficult to put on that i soon went bareback in to every hole.
Sure its no wonder my ferret days were short lived:D

TBH I thought the contraption was a bit cruel to burden my working pet hob..

I have heard all sorts of stories of light string being used to provide a theater which if caught on a root or rock is easily breakable with a shot quick sharp tug. TBH i never tried it.

They were called "Copes" and your right, quite nasty devices, but better that the ferret having its teeth removed, or its lips sewed with wire thread...Both of which I have seen ferrets with it done.

Ferreter

Ferret Man,

If rabbits arent bolting, the ground might be getting a lot of ferreting? Do you ferret alone? Because if theres a few of you, noise above ground is certain to stop them bolting.

The only advice I can offer you as an alterntive to muzzling is to feed your ferrets well the night before, and the morning before you hunt, give them some meat in the carry box to chew on the way to your ground, a chicken fillet or some cheap beef from the butchers if you have no rabbit, I find with ferrets that are prone to kill, it seems to kerb them a little, then gut your first rabbit and give them the liver...This is just what works for me.

Failing that, if you cannot stop the ferret killing, give to someone as a pet.

Ferreter

Deleted User wrote: »

Only breed the small hobs, You'l get smaller ferrets and they won't be able to kill as easy. On their first flesh feed bleed the rabbit by the nose so the ferret thinks it gets the most blood from there, When its in the burrow it'l latch onto the rabbits nose and the rabbit'l shoot out..No laying up with the small ferrets.Wouldn't recommend a muzzle as rowa said the ferret is defenseless.

Who told you that? They dont do much ferreting anyway!!

thelurcher

ferret man wrote: »

have the mk3 finder but had to dig 9ft the last day to get it so thats why i need to muzzle it and it was the female that i was after. sorry for the confusion

I had ferrets for many years - great craic with them but at the same time I'd never keep one again.
Now we all get caught out from time to time but FFS if I had ferret that I knew had a regular habit of laying up then there's no way I'd enter it into a place that goes more than 2' let alone 9' :eek:
I had a huge old hob that actually didn't kill as often as the jills but if he did you were guaranteed a dig. For that reason I used to only try him in stone walls or other handy places I knew - take a few stones out or a few shovels of earth and job done - you say you've been ferreting for years so you'll obviously know the kind of places.

EastTyrone

my friend has a hob ferret, he hasn't killed yet in the burrows but when he's come out ye can see fur on his claws etc, i know obviously that he will catch the rabbit but do all ferrets do this jus like a collie bitting the heals of sheep to get them turned? also the ferret is only a few months old and not fully grown, what about nutering him so he'll not grow much bigger as he hits ferret form of puberty? will he still lie up \as much as an older hob would?

ferret man

yes a light muzzle is the best job for even a jill can kill rabbits. many of the people on here think its cruel but its actually the best idea for i have the locator also and the fact that ferrets kill and you have to dig will soon make you hate the sport and forget about it

DL-Ferreter

ferret man wrote: »

yes a light muzzle is the best job for even a jill can kill rabbits. many of the people on here think its cruel but its actually the best idea for i have the locator also and the fact that ferrets kill and you have to dig will soon make you hate the sport and forget about it

If you have to muzzle a ferret then you should forget about it.