Polecatty Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Poor ferret! Very very lucky that you managed to save her. Footrot/sarcoptic mange is a horrible disease...very painful but so easily treated. Two doses of Ivermectin will clear it right up. I've never heard of using diesel oil but have heard of people using it to treat mites on chooks, so I guess that's a similar idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 footrot is caused by a mite, similar mechanism to scaley let in chickens. Soak them in diesel oil and it smothers the mite hence clearing up the infection. OH used to use sulphur I think, that was years ago. We dont have that problem because we keep their feet dry. we have very horny ferrets. I think our little Caramel is preggers hopefully Widget and Oog will follow her wonderful example. Ahhh OH will be such a proud grandfather polecatty here is a question for you, OH used to have a problem where his kits would start walking about eyes open etc and then he would find them dead the next day. He thinks his parents used to go in there for a touch when he wasnt looking (they do that ... the exact opposite of what you tell them ) and either made them sick or the mum rejected them and booted them out. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polecatty Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Yes good husbandry will usually keep footrot at bay, but the mites also live in the soil and can be picked up when out ferreting- usually because of foxes hanging around the rabbit warrens. The first jill I ever got had terrible footrot and I was stuffed around by a vet who insisted it was completely normal! Unbelievable. We did get it sorted eventually [another vet took one look, prescribed Ivermectin and that was it] but her claws were never quite right. If their eyes were open and they were moving around it is unlikely they would have been rejected by the jill, and even if she stopped feeding them they should have been capable of starting on solids by that stage. I'm inclined to think either an illness or genetic issue, but as to the specifics it is very hard to say without knowing more. Would the whole litter die off at once and did they exhibit any signs of 'fading' or failure to thrive prior to death? Very strange. Hope your jills produce more good workers for you . Do you breed poleys or albinos? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polecatty Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Another pic...here you can see a rabbit hitting the end of the net with one of my hobs close behind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 apparently they didnt fade just died overnight I'm thinking something may have been hanging around like a big rat, or that there was a genetic problem I asked OH about food and such but everything sounded up to scratch except for them dying at that age, very bizarre. I do most of the vetwork I can here, I've been a vet nurse for years and many vets know little about ferrets especially footrot (some think it's a fungus!) No we have polecats ;) The one albino is just a big lumbering pet (who we think is shooting blanks anyway) he was found on the side of a major road and no one came foreward to his owner (even to council or vet clinics) OH isnt fond of albinos as workers he never found them to be good. Saying that I have heard a lot of people like them as they're easier to see. These are our polecats when we first got them ... fat and lazy they had no arch and just slinked about with big fat bellies. The brother and sister from another breeder are much darker then this lot and out hunting The one with his tongue out is Spaz ... whenever we go out he sits there panting until he gets to go down the hole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 bahaha love the photo ... then the look on the ferrets face like 'hey where's the rabbit gone! I'm sure I had my nose up his bum 2 seconds ago" thats usually when I stumble, trip over trying to get the rabbit then sit there in a tangled mess while dispatching one angry rabbit I went out with a bad cruciate once, last thing OH heard was 'RABBIT!!!!' as I made a semi dive and disappeared into the grass when I clipped a rabbit hole with my bad leg ... who says ferreting isnt exciting eh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Just gorgeous, Nek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polecatty Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Very like polecats you have there I particularly like the look of the fellow with his tongue out...funny creatures. The sandy coloured ferret in the middle of the last photo is a nice looking one also. This is my main weasel...he's a hot shot and he knows it, and yes I do like that he is easy to see. And success- this one was going nowhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polecatty Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 bahaha love the photo ... then the look on the ferrets face like 'hey where's the rabbit gone! I'm sure I had my nose up his bum 2 seconds ago" thats usually when I stumble, trip over trying to get the rabbit then sit there in a tangled mess while dispatching one angry rabbit ;) I went out with a bad cruciate once, last thing OH heard was 'RABBIT!!!!' as I made a semi dive and disappeared into the grass when I clipped a rabbit hole with my bad leg ... who says ferreting isnt exciting eh Thanks for that, nearly spilled tea on my keyboard. ;) Ever been extracting a bunny from a net only to have another one come charging out close behind? Gets hairy fast, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Oh man that albino is really beautiful. Excuse the travel wank but I saw some when mountaineering in Nepal that were black and gold. Really stunning little creatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 that sandy one has darkened up, thats Widget, probably the hardest working out of the whole lot she's a great ferret and will stay down until the whole warrens empty then is ready for round 2. If she latches onto a rabbit that bolts back down the hole there is no chance shes letting it get away. We have a little caramel coloured jill that is extremely tiny and she dragged a rabbit out backwards we retired her as she was just way too small and one good kick from a rabbit would have hurt her too much so she's for breeding, she's full sister to Widget. Your big boy looks like my Winston, except I can imagine if yours gets a piece of rabbit he doesnt lick the fur then stick his head in the cavity and go to sleep *oh the shame* I use him for puppy classes, he never bites and teaches dogs to get along with ferrets. Winstons paws are so big he walks like a bear I call him my teacup polar bear when he's out on his leash your pole cats are so long in the face compared to ours, if you ever have a couple of working ones you want to sell give me a bell I'd love to get some more also where do you get your big nets from? We can get purse no worries but those long ones are hard to find down here, I've used some bird netting in the interim to catch the babies that slip my nets but the holes are not big enough for the adults. yup rabbits flying out, I learned quickly to keep my foot in the hole and always have a couple of nets slung around my neck. It gets really hairy when the buggers shoot out at hyperspeed and just launch out of the whole with ferret in hot persuit. I lot a couple of rabbits when I started out, I'm sure the ferrets just stared at me like 'you idiot ... I worked so hard and you MISSED IT' with a look of absolute disdain. p.s. you want funny ... me ferreting alone, getting myself caught in a barb wire fence and dangling there like a puppet, swearing my head off and tearing a big hole in the crotch of my jeans, then dive on the first rabbit, dispatch and drain but cover myself in blood. Little jill pops out of the whole all worked up and gives me one smell and proceeds to chase me around the paddock. I couldnt pick her up because I have hands covered in rabbit hair and blood too, no one around to help me... my OH pissed himself laughing when I told him. me 0, ferret 1. I had to let her latch onto the rabbit in my hand, quickly wipe the other one in some mud and grab her no problems. I think she was having me on a bit too ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asal Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 (edited) my two girls were poles apart in colour, cynthia was chocolate n cream, where your polecats are sort of blackish n cream. snowy was STUNNING. she was the one of the untwistable neck.. lucky she was so flexible eh pure white with eyes as black as beads. NO albino in snowy. the boy i bought to keep them company was like snowy with the black eyes too like his mum. his name escapes me at the moment. my other boy was Simon and he was like cynthia. chocolate n cream, n he was the prongiest wardancer in the country.. Ha Frosty tried to be a close second, but simon had the art of doing 5 prongs where there was only room for 4 and thus alwasy crashing either into. over or off something.. didnt seem to mind being laughed at fortunately Edited October 14, 2010 by asal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polecatty Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 that sandy one has darkened up, thats Widget, probably the hardest working out of the whole lot she's a great ferret and will stay down until the whole warrens empty then is ready for round 2. If she latches onto a rabbit that bolts back down the hole there is no chance shes letting it get away. We have a little caramel coloured jill that is extremely tiny and she dragged a rabbit out backwards we retired her as she was just way too small and one good kick from a rabbit would have hurt her too much so she's for breeding, she's full sister to Widget.Your big boy looks like my Winston, except I can imagine if yours gets a piece of rabbit he doesnt lick the fur then stick his head in the cavity and go to sleep *oh the shame* I use him for puppy classes, he never bites and teaches dogs to get along with ferrets. Winstons paws are so big he walks like a bear I call him my teacup polar bear when he's out on his leash your pole cats are so long in the face compared to ours, if you ever have a couple of working ones you want to sell give me a bell I'd love to get some more also where do you get your big nets from? We can get purse no worries but those long ones are hard to find down here, I've used some bird netting in the interim to catch the babies that slip my nets but the holes are not big enough for the adults. yup rabbits flying out, I learned quickly to keep my foot in the hole and always have a couple of nets slung around my neck. It gets really hairy when the buggers shoot out at hyperspeed and just launch out of the whole with ferret in hot persuit. I lot a couple of rabbits when I started out, I'm sure the ferrets just stared at me like 'you idiot ... I worked so hard and you MISSED IT' with a look of absolute disdain. p.s. you want funny ... me ferreting alone, getting myself caught in a barb wire fence and dangling there like a puppet, swearing my head off and tearing a big hole in the crotch of my jeans, then dive on the first rabbit, dispatch and drain but cover myself in blood. Little jill pops out of the whole all worked up and gives me one smell and proceeds to chase me around the paddock. I couldnt pick her up because I have hands covered in rabbit hair and blood too, no one around to help me... my OH pissed himself laughing when I told him. me 0, ferret 1. I had to let her latch onto the rabbit in my hand, quickly wipe the other one in some mud and grab her no problems. I think she was having me on a bit too ... How small is your little one? Amazing the dimorphism between the jills and hobs. Also amazing how a tiny jill can sass and boss the boys around, lol. He definitely wouldn't do that, though on occasion he will take a rabbit to bed with him so he doesn't have to go to the effort of getting up to have something to eat. Some just don't catch on, do they? I had a very nice poley jill like that- she just never 'clicked'. Wouldn't go deep into the warren and often lurked just behind the nets. She was retired after a few years of trying and became just a pet. There will be a litter in the works in two years time if they prove to work to my satisfaction. If you are interested then I will surely keep you in mind and let you know how it works out. The longnet is very handy and I found mine on ebay, but they seem to appear only occasionally. I have a 50 yrd 6z traditional set up and I'm very happy with it. It will span most of the blackberry patches we encounter and is great for those places where pursenets aren't an option. These guys make good quality longnets and have a decent reputation, probably where I'll get my next one from: http://www.thenetloft.net/main/long.html Lmao! Can just see you strung up on the fence, lol. I had a hectic outing last season. We had just finished working a large patch of blackberry with the long net and although we had gotten a decent number out I knew there were some still in there, but hid up well in the thick stuff whilst the ferrets were toiling underground. I figured it would be more time efficient to move onto a small open warren further up the hill than to keep on after the few elusive rabbits still ramaining in the blackberry, so I collected the weasels up and off we went. I decided to leave the longnet set where it wasn't going to be used for the next warrens [which were within sight of the longnetted warren] and it takes a while to pack up properly. Best to pick it up on the way back. The next warren was a 15-20 holer and on very clear open ground- perfect for purse nets. Netted up, slipped the big albino hob in and the action started immediately. Rabbits going everywhere! And as if it wasn't hectic enough, I chanced a quick glance down the hill only to see the longnet shaking- the bunnies we had given up on had decided to make a break for it, only to be pulled up on their way out. Quickly reset the nets and bolted down the hill to retrieve the rabbits before they could chew out of the longnet, and then quickly back up again to sort out the ones that had just hit the purse nets. This happened several times and I was quite puffed. I was very thankful that I had the big white weasel. He's bombproof and I knew I could rely on him to work/ oversee the purse- netted warren whilst I sorted out the bonus bunnies at the bottom of the hill. ;) And that is how one person and one ferret worked two warrens at once. A rather exciting ferreting trip and one that filled the freezer nicely. Still, not as funny as you being coursed around the paddock by your jill. Raz- I will pass the compliment on - not that he needs to have an even bigger ego than he does already. Asal- I'm very fond of the paler coloured polecats/sandies. Here's a jill I used to have, just passed this July at the age of 9. Your dark eyed white sounds very nice- do you have any pics? And a bucket of kits that a friend of mine bred last year, I have a jill from this litter so she is in there somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 And a bucket of kits that a friend of mine bred last year, I have a jill from this litter so she is in there somewhere. OMG, I want one!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Raz- I will pass the compliment on - not that he needs to have an even bigger ego than he does already. They DO have massive egos, dont they! Very self possessed little animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OSoSwift Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 THat photos of the babies - just divine. Gorgeous creatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 It's amazing how bendy their spines are, look at the one on the extreme right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pulilover Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Just saw this thread. I am not into ferrets myself but I am totally into getting rid of bunnies on our property. We have heaps of rabbit warrens. Anyone that wants to come ferreting at my place, feel free to contact me, you are more than welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted October 15, 2010 Author Share Posted October 15, 2010 we may have accidentally tripped over and *bought another ferret* cough meet Babs the 11 month old jill proven worker too ... now one more to make it a nice round 10 and just as a comparison here is our biggest ferret Winston and compared to our smallest Caramel (who mind you is puffed up from chasing one very wanted mouse around the garage) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Are ferrets good mousers? Would they eat a mouse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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