A GOOD DAYS FERRETING

The day started at 4.30am walking the dogs that were staying behind for the day as I would be back too late to walk them in the evening. Then it was time to make my sandwiches and off to pick my friend up for the long journey to Jack’s.
Jack invited oldblueeye (Steve) and myself along for a days ferreting, it would be a good time to try my new whippet bitch (Tess) who was kindly given to me by a member of this site. I was a little nervous, as you always are when you take a new dog out
ferreting for the first time.
We arrived after the 120mile journey at around 8.15am we were welcomed by the largest breakfast I’ve ever seen. As soon as I laid my eyes on it I knew
I wouldn’t be able to eat it all.

After breakfast we got ready and drove to the farm, we arrived just after 9am we let the dogs out whilst we got our gear ready and put the ferret finder collars on the ferrets.

We walked along the hedges we intended to ferret waiting for Jacks ¾ whippet ¼ Bedlington Storm to give us a positive mark.

After about 100yds or so we got a good mark.

We got the purse nets set and entered a one of my ferrets it took quite a while for the ferret to find the first rabbit so we entered my old sandy Jill, After a short while the first rabbit of the day hit the hemp purse net and it pursed perfect. Steve dispatched it and the ferrets emerged so we picked them and the nets up and proceeded
to find the next warren.


The hedgerow was quite wide with a water filled ditch on one side and a barley field on the other, there was still allot of cover about and the nettles we still really keen Jack complained several times that he was getting fed up of having to net the
hard holes all the time LOL


My whippet Tess was just watching and was more interested in the ferrets and us than the rabbits, the nettles and thistles were taking there toll on her and she was skipping over them like a ballet dancer, it’s her first time out in the field so we didn’t expect miracles, I like to enter a dog to ferreting early as they tend to pick things up allot quicker especially with being out with an experienced dog.

Storm marked another warren only 20yds from the first one we set the nets and entered two of my ferrets the sandy and my polecat, it took a while for them to find the rabbits but they found them and they bolted 2 into the waiting purse nets.

The next warren that Storm marked we entered 3 of my ferrets including a young one which I acquired from Lakey she worked really well for her first time we bolted 2 from this warren and dug one, the young Jill killed a rabbit in a stop end.
Things were getting too much for my whippet Tess and she decided to have a snooze on my Jacket whilst we ferreted the next warren. We missed the first one of the morning in this warren the rabbit threw the net and run straight past Tess she watched it run away but decided to let storm chase it, unfortunately it went down a warren we’d already done so we decided to leave it and continue doing the hedgerow making our way back towards the farm.

We cleaned the 6 rabbits we’d caught and went back to the farm for a little lunch and to give the dogs a drink.
We did a further 2 warrens in the afternoon one being quite big 30+ holes, we entered 4 ferrets in this warren and bolted 4 rabbits.

On the last warren whilst walking down to it Storm caught a mixy rabbit but because she’s really soft mouthed she let it go, and it ran down the hedge Tess decided she wanted to have a run and started to chase it which gave me a little more confidence in her, She handled the day extremely well I never once had to tell her off she was really well behaved.

We ended the day with 12 rabbits it was a great day, good weather, good company and a good craic here are a few end of day pics.

Thanks Jack and Alex for making us welcome and for the Breakfast and Supper , We will most certainly be back if the offer is repeated .

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Mally