A fantastic four hours......

It has felt for many months now that I have not taken my ferreting seriously, I think with the warm weather and the excessive work duties it just didn't feel right.
Thankfully this weekend was to change all that, the weather was dry but with a coolish wind. David and myself had planned to visit a farm that for many years has not had the number of rabbits it has been used too, probably because of Myxi and bad weather!
We planned on a small visit, with just four ferrets, 2 of which had only been out once before, just a few purse nets and a long net.....just in case! Like I've said, it wasnt an all out ferreting frenzy, just a chance to get out and share a few hours alone on the hills.

Just looking round the first area we stopped at, the amount of fresh diggings was phenomenal, the rabbits had truly come back with a vengeance.
The farmer asked for them removing and thats what we were here to do.

As I was peering over a wall, a rabbit which had been sat motionless in this backsit in the grass darted off and away.....I wonder if it knew how lucky it had been!

These were the sort of open warrens we were dealing with, very rocky with a sandy earth holding it all together, these rabbits need to have very tough paws to dig in this environment.

A view out over the moors, this is why I enjoy so much being outdoors round these parts!!

It may look cloudy, but the wind was unseasonally warm.

Time to get netted up, a spare net was left for when the rabbits started piling out of what we hoped was there stage exit!!

As you can see, the soil here is very sandy, if it wasnt for the stone it would be a pleasure to dig.

..........and dig we did, not very deep, around 2 feet thats all.

And again, the rabbits didn't want to move,  they were quite content to plug there backs into stop ends

Whenever we open a warren, we are always careful to plug the whole with a stone and then backfill, this prevents a stopend being created, and a possible trap end for the ferret.

A Small Tortoiseshell was sheltering from the wind in one of the rabbit holes, the bright sunshine was lovely and warm when it came out.

we'll give this hole a miss, it would be wrong to disturb such a magnificent but short lived creature.

As can be seen, this warren is big enough to require a longnet or two, with a scattering of pursenets for good measure.......

.........Thankfully the Bunny Bus isn't too far away, walking is such hard work at my age ;-)

David retrieving the first rabbit from the net, the ferret was still attached as it leapt from its hole!

Just a single hole in the middle of the field, but it still produced a rabbit.

David just entering  a ferret into a very shaly set of holes, these were 3 holes that on previous trips hadnt been here. It pays to look around when ferreting.

 I love walling, and collapsed walls always hold a rabbit or two, this one was no exception, we used the longnets down one side.......

........and purse nets above it, the rabbits had burrowed right under the access track, this would need back filling once emptied.

The truck is never far away, its great when farmers allow you to enter their fields with a vehicle, it means you can carry more gear than is usually possible.

A very contented 'Me', 3 rabbits from a stop end, I had to dig a second hole as I couldnt reach far enough in, after this photo was taken, another ferret was entered and another rabbit had pushed its way into the stop end!!

Another single hole in the middle of the field, this time nobody was home.

Its hard work all this fresh air and driving....as can be seen by Daves relaxed approach.........

...........until he spots a rabbit hitting the net, he set off like Daley Thompson.........

.......he was definately faster than a netted rabbit!!

the holes here all ran into each other, it was like a honeycomb

I had to take this picture, Dave doesn't do digging......but boy can he lean on a shovel ha ha

Daves dig resulted in a nice fat rabbit......

......which the ferret wasn't for giving up!!!

A great little catch here, Dave had spotted a hole within the wall, we entered the ferret by the yellow purse net, it went up and across, lots of knocking within the wall, and Daves lucky wall net resulted in a rabbit!!

Well worth another rest mate!!!!

End of day, 18 rabbits in the bag. A very nice result for four hours work.
A very happy farmer, and a freezer full of good wholesome rabbit meat.






Happy Hunting

Too Hot For Ferrets

What a day, the forecast was for hotter weather than we have experienced all week!! We loaded the truck with Purse Nets and Long Nets, a few boxes of Ferrets and lots of drinks for the ferreters and also the ferrets!!

It started off with one of the nicest sunrises I've seen in a long time

This was taken just before we picked Joe up, when they said it was going to be warm again......they weren't kidding!!!

When we got the nets set up we rested the ground to let the rabbits get there confidence back, when its warm the rabbits are less likely to bolt and digs would be frequent!

Just looking back at the photos we took reminds me of how gorgeous this land we have really is.

This banking right next to the river shows how the rabbit burrows increase the erosion of the land

And as expected a dig was to be the first rabbit from this set!!

Thankfully Joe had elected himself to nip back to the truck and grab the drinks....that we had all forgotten to bring!!

This shot shows the size of the last warren we did today, it is huge and requires a good few stop nets to avoid the dreaded hole jumpers!

The last thing we need are dead ferrets, so there collars are removed and they are placed at the waters edge, they can take a drink or even go for a swim, whatever, it all helps to cool there body temperature down, which is very important during warmer weather. Ferrets struggle to control there core temperature when its this hot.

On the way back home we stopped off to do a warren that just needed doing.....you know the type I mean, it wasn't planned but enough just isn't enough when it comes to ferreting!!





The end total was 16, sorry no shots of the rabbits, but as we caught them they were stashed away somewhere cool before gutting and loading. I can almost taste the delicious meals I will be making with these this week.

Happy Hunting.

I should have brought flippers!!!

A day out with young Joe and David had been arranged and the weather promised to be wet.....but we are bloody nutters so we decided to go rabbiting anyway!!

As I got the tackle ready a gorgeous rainbow popped up showing the two different types of weather that would follow us round today!

As its still early in the season the vegetation hasn't died back yet, the nettles and thistles were very abundant in the areas we needed to be.

A quick look over the wall and even more rabbits were showing there faces.....check out the black one towards the middle of the picture. Black rabbits have always carried a bad luck omen with them, to catch and kill would bring a death to the family of the catcher, it was said.
It is also said that the Myximatosis flee was dropped from trains on the back of black rabbits to spread the disease.......but who really knows!!

After the first storm passed over we got down to the serious job of catching a few, see how I have created a long net with a very loose bottom (ooerr missus) line, this helps when running out over uneven ground, as long as the top line is tight it will still catch every time.

 The length of this warren can be seen in this photo, in the time it took us to ferret each and every hole we were pounded by two more storms, very heavy and very wet!!!

Never a good place for a dig, but Joe's ferret 'Nutjob' had decided to hold one in a stop end......right underneath one of the tree's main roots.....Happy digging Joe!!

The rabbits were coming thick and fast today, at this point we had about 8 rabbits, just after this photo was taken the sun decided to come out and leed us into a false sense of security!!

Blue skys and my jacket drying in the suns rays, the clouds had totally disappeared and we were left with a very warm and not at all wet day..........but that would all change before we got this warren finished!!

Just a few holes left and Dave was letting last years Kits have a play round, letting them take in the smells and get used to what hopefully will be a very productive first season for them.

End of Day shot and the rain had returned just to wet us through to the skin before we got in the car! The end of day total was 14 rabbits in about 4 hours ferreting between storms.
Wet clothes but very happy faces, farmer will be well pleased, if we can get this number and more each time we visit, his problem will soon be over.





Happy Hunting

A little training for the pup!!

 This week i've decided its time to train my young bitch the arts of bushing and hopefully in an attempt to help me speed up the time spent netting up on rabbitless holes, i will see if I can get her to smell whats home. Well thats the plan anyway, its going to be a long windy road and i'll probably have a lot of swearing that needs to be deleted, but hey ho

First off, for the last 2 weeks she has been playing with and retrieving a rabbits pelt. This is a skin I have wrapped around a small ball, it will help her get the smell I need her to track, it also makes this part of the training fun.

After that I tried her in the field, at this time I am still stock training her, so I will keep her on the lead any time I think she may chase sheep, cows etc.

 This shows Lucy sat back from a hole in a warren that the ferret has been entered into, Lucy is ferret trained and will allow the ferrets to run over her and even bite her without any thought of retaliation.
I wanted her to learn from the other dogs what this game was about.




Once she had seen the dogs catch a rabbit, I let her play with the pelt ball and get the smell in her nose, we then went a short walk to a small warren I know usually contains a few rabbits.

She was shown a warren we have previously ferreted, I know some of the holes are just diggings and are not used by the rabbits.

She searched a few holes but this one took her fancy...........

.............so much so I thought I was going to lose her.







I removed her from the area and tied her to the spade so she could watch, I then entered a ferret and was most pleased when a small female rabbit was quickly dispatched from the hole. We did this only once, and will do it again before the weekend, that way she is not getting to hyper and making yapping noises in excitement, she will realise after a few times out that stealth plays a big part in the catch, she was also rewarded 2 of the rabbits feet as a treat, she loves them.

To Be Continued.............

Rabbit Casserole

Last weeks rabbits were skinned, gutted and boned, so I had a look at a few of my Recipes that I keep in my little black book and found one for Rustic Rabbit Stew.

1 Rabbit (Boned)
4 large Carrots (Chopped)
Small Bag New Potatoes (Halved)
1/2 Bag Frozen Peas
Large Onion (Chopped)
2 Chicken Stock Cubes
Mixed Herbs
Salt and Pepper

I used a fish pan to cook mine, everything in at the same time, top up with water to cover and cook at 120-150°c for around 2 hours or until cooked to your liking.

As easy as that, and heres my finished casserole

As the weeks go by, i'll share a few of my recipes for any game we catch. If your stuck for a recipe for any game, drop me an e-mail/message on here and i'll see what I have.

Happy Eating

The season starts again!

Well I was very lucky to get a phonecall late last night to accompany a mate on a bit of his land, always happy to help I duly accepted. I was out for a curry and ale this evening but it wasnt going to be a late one.......who was I kidding 4am this morning I led my head on my pillow and at 8am my alarm went off (thank god it was a late start) I was still a little worse for wear but I soon woke up after a strong coffee.
9.30am and Brian was at the door and loading the van with ferrets, nets and a shovel.

Once we got there the dogs started marking a few holes, so we net up and entered the ferrets. The dogs were great, well behaved and listening for any movement....we didnt have to wait to long!!

There was a noise like a Jamaican steel band, and when we lifted the corrugated steel we could see why, 2 holes that a rabbit was trying to leave and failing!!

The dogs were marking holes and thankfully each time we entered a ferret, we were duly rewarded with a rabbit.

But as can be seen here, sometimes the little buggers get away..........mainly because both dogs were on the opposite side marking a rabbity rumbling underground!

As ever, a few digs were on the cards, there always seems to be a lot of stop ends when fence line ferreting, thankfully the ferret kept hold till I got to it!














And here he is, still not wanting to let go! Not bad for his first outing.

My favourite tools, I never leave home without them

Heres one of the escapees that never made it, thankfully Brin managed to catch it before it found another hole.

And heres one that Smudge caught, it was Smudge's first day out ferreting, and he did fantastically, it was great to see the dogs and ferrets working as a team, especially when they dont normally work together.

Here was one that the ferret had chased out and the dogs caught out in the field. We left a few holes unnetted so as to give the dogs a chance at a run.

 And heres the end of day shot, 6 rabbits in total with 3 of the blighters escaping to fight another day.
Well done to all 3 dogs today, the Collie cross having left earlier to go and retrieve wood pigeons for its owner..........the lucky bugger!!

My 2 Females, Lightning and Snowy. Snowy was on deaths door just 3 weeks ago, and a visit to the vets and a few doses of Penicilin later and she's back on the mend.
Snowys sister died 2 months ago and I thought this might have been the start of Snowy's demise, but she's proved to be a fighter and did well today.




So hopefully a bit of lamping this week with the dogs and rifles will start this season off with a proper bang.

Happy Hunting