TheRamblersRamblings

A new permission.......And its lifting!!

2014-09-14T11:19:00.000+01:00

After a long time away from our rabbiting permissions, Dave and myself finally got out and knocking. We tried a couple of farms further up from where we already have permission, both were keen to get rid of as many rabbits as was possible.

The land is quite hilly, and there are features that will at times make this a very difficult area to control. Last night was a calm evening and was to stay dry, so I armed myself with my air rifle, and Dave gave the long nets a try.

We had a good walk round when we got there, finding out were the concentrations of rabbits were, then taking note were we could hold up for a time and try and ambush them. We found our spots and went our different ways. I chose a small hill which would give me a good view of two woods which surround one of the fields. These woods also contain the warrens were the rabbits are at their most secure, we can't obtain the permission on there just yet.

As can be seen, if I keep low here the rabbits can be almost on top of me before they relies I'm there! And with there being no wind, scent wasn't a big problem.
After a good few hours sat here I'd got a good tally going, 5 of the rabbits I had shot fell back into the woods, these had to be left for the evenings carnivores, as we under no circumstances can enter these fenced off areas.

This was the right hand side of the wood, in the end I placed 2 air rifles out as the light lowered to save on movement noise when turning from side to side

Dave had sat behind a wall and had kept perfectly still, even though he was being eaten alive with the local midge population, after a couple of hours the rabbits had regained their confidence and had started leaping over the wall and returning to eating the grass. After a short time, they made their way out further into the field, and with this Dave set the net out, having rushed out today, he had chosen the quickset, which being noisier than traditional had a detrimental effect on numbers of rabbits caught. 100 yards of net walked out and a long walk through the fields resulted in only a couple of rabbits being seen and none in the net. on the plus side a few ran up the hill to were I was waiting!

We then had a wander round with the lamp and the air rifle, we use the Deben lithium battery and a Light Force lamp, cracking stuff when a full night of power is needed, but a few seasons have taken their toll and as we were lambing Dave noticed the connection heating up. The wire had come loose from its solder and was creating a short.
With this we packed up, knowing that we really should have been better prepared, I'm spending today checking batteries and sorting nets, we don't want to be caught short again in the future.

After a great evening our total tally was 6 in the bag, 7 left to the foxes and a rake more that will be on the cards for next time.

Happy Hunting.

Its Been A Long Time Coming, But I'm So Glad It Did!!

2014-02-09T10:07:00.000+00:00

The day started cold and windy, very windy, but at least it wasn't raining....YET!!
We had a few new recruits to try out, last years Kits, so we headed for a few smaller warrens.

We had met another friend who wanted to try his dog out alongside ferrets, it was a very quick dog, but an ankle problem was slowing him down, and we decided to net the holes so as not to cause the dog further discomfort

It wouldn't be a day out ferreting without a dig, and on a day as cold as today it was a welcome sidetrack.
Only three foot down but a nice way to warm up, we were onto five rabbits now and one of Daves creations came in very handy for carrying the rabbits, its a plaited twine rabbit carrier, if anyone would like one they can leave a message on here and i'll let you know colour availability

This wall section never fails to produce a few rabbits, it has holes both sides of the wall and a few bolt holes into the wall!
When you enter the ferrets it really is a case of watching everywhere, you just don't know when or where a rabbit will exit from

I decided to use one of my young Jills and its Mother, putting a collar on for the first time can be quite traumatic, a ferret that doesn't nip can become a whole different animal whilst trying to fasten this to it. As my finger found out. Its still sore now as I type this ha ha

With the collar on, both were entered into the same hole, in a hope that one will lead and the other follow, the young Jill was wary at first but soon entered her first warren and ran round it like a seasoned pro.
We had five rabbits from here and I was most impressed by her first outing.

We moved further down the hill and decided this would be the last warren as the wind and rain were now getting worse, it was becoming hard to stand in the same spot!
Buzzing from her last catch I entered my young Jill and Dave entered one of his, both ferrets did the business and.......

........Two more rabbits were in the bag. Thankfully, and we don't say this a lot, it had come to an end, we were both cold and soaked, but happy that our young workers had taken to their new roles with vigour.

Thirteen overall, but with one given to a friend, for dog food, we had Twelve remaining.
Hole dug and rabbits gutted, we went home and skinned them ready for their use in the catering world. Its good to know that someone somewhere is enjoying one of natures finest meats.

Until next time, Happy Hunting

Winter is a coming.........

2012-11-25T10:16:00.001+00:00

We had been given a new permission right next to one of the farms we had done a few weeks previous, due to work commitments neither Dave or myself had had time to walk round and check were the rabbits were living.
It was a very cold Saturday morning, 0° the car was registering, as we got out the Ranger our faces felt the chill of the air starting to bite.

With this cold front came dry weather though, possibility of sunshine to warm us up whilst looking round this new permission. The sun was rising, but the mist was not for going away.

As we looked round we found a wall that had quite a few holes in the bottom of it, rabbit faeces was scattered around with the odd bit of fur stuck to the wall were the rabbit had scuffed against when entering. On one side we laid a longnet, as the holes were only in the walls.........

.........and on the other we placed a longnet and also a handful of purse nets on the holes that had been made in the stony ground.

It was the females who would be used for this job, they are much smaller than males and are better suited for the tight gaps that are present within dry stone walling, we never force them into the wall, instead we lay them at it and let them use their noses, if theres a rabbit in there they will certainly find it!

With only 1 rabbit in the wall we follow one of the newly formed roadways down to another end of the land, we saw a few holes on the edge of the road but decided that they had not started using these yet.

You've heard the saying 'All the gear and no idea' well we had no idea were these rabbits were hiding!! Many times we had watched from higher up the hill, another farm we work, and watched the rabbits always heading downhill in this direction, but where did they go to once here. We decided to leave this area till we had done a spot of watching, and walking round without all the gear weighing us down.

So back up the hill to our usual farm

We found some new scattered holes, usually just a handful of nets and one ferret needed to check if anyone was home......

.........and as can be seen from this photo, as I clicked the camera a rabbit exited straight into a waiting purse net, Lee was quick off the mark to cover the hole with his foot whilst the new net was laid over it, you can see here we had nets waiting next to the holes, we sometimes do this if we have heard a lot of movement below ground, it saves on lost rabbits, it also means we can get away with not setting up a long net.

This wall has produced many times for us before, one hole in the foreground which leads into the wall and out the other side of it, but on this occassion we were left with our cold hands firmly stuck in our pockets!

A small warren which is getting bigger every time we visit gave us another chance to stand a chat, rabbits over here are getting harder to find, even though we can see lots running round when we first get there, they truly are the masters of evading us.

One mound that usually gives us a rabbit or two, we circle it with the longnet as the holes are many, sometimes 3 together that would be impossible to purse well enough for the nets to work 100%. Yes there may be a case of hole hopping but that is par for the course.

Here David is removing a rabbit from the net, I love it when a plan comes together!!

This warren has been void of rabbits the last few times we have ventured up here........

.........but with fresh scrapings of earth here and there it would be rude not to give it a go!
Thankfully it a gave us another rabbit on the score sheet.

This metal drinking tank has produced in the past, but it was not to do the same again today!

Even the 'Old Faithfull' fallen wall failed to produce for us today

We weren't giving up all hope yet though, and with one last warren to do before the warmth of the vehicle, we laid the purse nets and set the trap!

Lee was soon emptying a net, with Dave shouting out reassuring comments like 'Hurry up i'm fecking freezing' and the likes.
Not our best day by a long shot, but on a cold morning, 6 rabbits in the bag meant our ferrets would eat like kings tonight, and I know I would certainly be running a hot bath when I got home, not as cold as when it snows, but that ice chilled wind certainly gets into your bones!

Possibly a change in venues next week, lets see what phone calls come in this week.

Happy Hunting.

A change of scenery

2012-11-18T12:36:00.001+00:00

Todays job was on an equestrian farm, lots of rabbits were creating areas of instability.
The horses were in danger of leg breaks through falling into rabbit holes

Large amounts of long nets had to be used due to the huge warrens

Lee dispatching one of the rabbits

Not a huge amount from each burrow, what we found here was the ammount of rabbits seen entering the burrows was much more than what could be taken out in the small time available. These burrows were very deep, sometimes going off the 16foot scale of the Deben Ferret Finder.

here we have a fenceline warren, it only had 3 holes on Lee's side, but as can be seen on the long netted side, its a whole different story!!
Not a huge warren but a large ammount of holes in a small area.

Lee's nets are not easily lost!! I think possibly alongside the great wall of China, these are possibly the only other man made item that can be seen from the moon!!

One end of the warren purse netted with a large amount of vibrant coloured nets, apologies to half of Yorkshire who lost there television signal due to the reflection from these nets!!

Now this is a long warren, the red coloured net is 100 yards long, and it stretches the whole way down, with a few 10 & 25 yard nets criss-crossed in between to act as breakers.
If we'd have had a full team today*, we could have easily used up to 400 yards of long net and aroung 150 purse nets, that is the extent of this warren.

*see end of this post for 1 missing rabbiter!

The bushes are great cover, and the amount of holes between each one is unbelievable!

After missing a rabbit through a hole we had missed, Lee lays another purse net

This is the far end of the warren, a large area of undergrowth made for a hectic hour with the ferrets, due to the short period of light at the moment, we gave ourselves about 2 hours to each warren, this included laying nets, another hour was taken gutting and burrying at the end.

2 quickly caught and dispatched rabbits, note how my longnet has a very baggy bottom (ahem!!) this is so that we get a good cover over varying land lie.

A nasty bramble bush gave me a few scratches during the day!

The nettles still havent died back yet, in the midst of winter we will revisit this patch and hopefully with a full team take a few more rabbits out. Of course this was where the majority of the rabbits could be found, getting at them was a different story, I maybe need a scythe next time!

End of day shot, 21 rabbits, a nice result and a very pleased owner, rabbit pies promised to him as a thankyou for the job, these are very fat, healthy rabbits with a large fat deposit inside, we may be in for a bad winter.......again!!!

And just a few final shots to prove that I dont just stand behind a camera!

The soil was lovely to dig here, just sandy soil for around 3 feet........

.........with a rabbit at the bottom!

Same here too, a fantastic day out, with great weather for the time of year. a good catch of rabbits with only one lost, a great result for a short day.

And as a final note, i'd just like to congratulate one of our rabbiters, David, or Bountyhunter as he is known, is the proud Father to his second boy Tommy Lucas who was born on the 14th November at 9.30pm, he weighed in at a grand 9lb 10oz. It was strange not having you there yesterday Dave, but I know from experience, you never get these times back, enjoy some baby time........and i'll let you know when the next outing is booked!!

Thanks also to Lee for allowing me to help him on some cracking land, lets hope theres a next time.

Happy Hunting.

Its been a long time coming!!

2012-10-07T17:28:00.001+01:00

It was a beautiful morning when I set off to Dave's, and the forecast was to stay the same all day, the mist rested in the valley whilst Pendle Hill stood on tip-toes to look through and the lovely clear sky.

This was one of last years kits going into her very first warren, she was a little daunted by it but performed brilliantly all the same.........

..........with her very first rabbit in the net!

Excuse the photos, my camera has finally given up the ghost, after years of abusing it in the field the LCD screen has stopped working, i'm now using the old fashioned "looking through the viewfinder!"

This set here runs alongside and through the wall, we've had many fabulous catches were the wall was alive with the tip tapping of the rabbits paws

After a few minutes of the ferret not showing its time for a bit of detection.........

..........and then a bit of digging, with a lovely rabbit stuck tight in a stop end

We knew we weren't going to get a huge bag today, but most of the warrens produced one or two healthy rabbits, with the weather as it was, I would have been happy to just being outside!

The tyre tracks give it away, walking is very old fashioned ha ha, also, whilst driving round the fields we find many knew workings and single holers to give the youngsters a bit of a workout

This is a large warren, with a few mid air leapers out the side of the hill, when you see the amount of rocks in the soil, it always amazes me that a rabbit can even dig it!!

Here we can see the workings that just seem to eject from the side of the hill

Another small warren, the large yellow net is a 'poke' net, we used it here as there are three holes that all exit out of one, using purse nets would be messy and a greater chance of tangling.

A lot of holes spread out over a wide area is always best delt with a long net or three, this area includes a collapsed wall that the rabbits usually can't resist.

you can just see Dave at the far end of this warren, it has produced quite a few rabbits here in the past, but today wasn't going to be one of those days

This metal tank has produced a few in the past too, but again, not today.......the buggers were eluding us!

Now this warren on the other hand gave us four cracking rabbits, they were flying straight out of the holes.......

......except for this one that had a ferret firmly chomping on its arse!!

The end of day tally was a respectable ten rabbits, with no losses.....which makes a change!!

And finally, this is a picture of this years kits devouring one of the rabbits we caught today, we are now back up to a full team of workers for the next few years, one of the males here will be vasectomised and used to bring the Jills out of season over the next few years, that should save a pretty penny on getting the females jabbed.

It seems like an age!!

2012-05-29T21:00:00.001+01:00

It feels like years since I managed to get out and worry a few rabbits!! With everything happening at home Ive had no time to get out, we are in the baby season at the moment, the old addage of "No rabbiting in a month without an 'R' in it" still seems to work, but any month with a vowel in it at the moment would be more precise!!

Well Ive been rehousing the ferrets over the past month, with 2 deaths close by I thought I had a severe problem, so we quickly mated a couple of jills and are now awaiting the results. These are my 2 ferrets which died, Fez and Snowy, they were twin sisters who I picked up off a guy in Fezakerley in Liverpool, which is how Fez got her name, that was back in 2006, they were 2 year old then, so at 8 years old they had a good old innings.

The old hutch looked like this and it was great, but as always, I wanted a bit more, so I sat down with pictures of 3 friends sheds and asked them what they would change about theres if they could.

The new ferret shed is the outcome of all the questions I asked, and I think it looks great, the bonus is it has been made from lots of freebie materials from work, Its clad in UPVc cladding and has a vinyl on the roof that should outlast me......we'll see!!

This was when I got the outer shell up and clad, and started building the internal hutches

This is the external run area, the bit that had the sheet over it on the photo above, since this photo it has been hinged and bolted with locks for security, the ferrets can access this through pipes connected to the internal hutches

This is the inside which has a 3rd section above being created for breeding and using as an area for sick ferrets

Its still ongoing and i'll get a few snapshots up when its finished,whilst writing this ive just had a phonecall to attend a rat and rabbit problem locally, so watch out for the write up this weekend, thanks for your patience and hopefully we can get this blog back on track.

Chris

p.s I must thank Dave who popped round and gave me a days labour on the cladding, top bloke and hopefully he's up for a bit of ratting this week!

Another day.....another rabbit!!

2011-11-14T19:19:00.001+00:00

Another local farm gave us a call to come and sort out a rabbit problem he was having.........and always willing to help.......off we went!!

Whenever you set long nets you pray that the local cattle population don't get inquisitive and wander to close.

we brought a good mixture of Male and Female ferrets, not knowing what sort of warrens we were going to come across

Its great to watch them being their normal inquisitive selfs, they could definately smell the rabbits scent.

Dave with the first dig of the day.....there was to be a few of these!!

Here we see one of the rabbits being pinned into a stop end by 2 ferrets.

A quick pull and twist and the rabbit is no more, it would be unfair for the animal to suffer.

Then back in to check, and another is further along the tube.

Surely there can't be another in the stop end!!

Nope, two was our lot from here

Here Im just checking a 2 holer we found in the middle of the field, no-one home.....but its better to check.

A cracking warren, that ran a good way along this bank, a few digs would be necessary here.

You dont realise the noise these things make until your stood next to one!

The fresh diggings were a mix of shale and soil, there are a lot of old mines round these parts and the thought of your ferret dropping into an old shaft never to be seen again can be quite scary!

A squeal is heard by Dave........

And close to the surface a rabbit is trapped........

...........and another...........

and then another.........4 came out of this hole!!

and then a purse net is placed over the top so as we dont backfill and create a trap for the ferrets.

The fenceline here was quite well worked by the rabbits, the smell was very strong.

2 holes right next to each other, its better to use 2 nets than 1 net stretched over both, this saves on escapees.

Dave monitoring (resting more like) the other side of the fence

Thankfully one more made 11, not a high number but still a good day and a happy farmer.........and Ive just been told theres more permission coming off the back of this one!!

Happy Hunting.

A fantastic four hours......

2011-10-24T16:40:00.001+01:00

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

2011-10-01T20:46:00.000+01:00

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!!!

2011-09-17T19:36:00.002+01:00

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!!

2011-09-14T18:50:00.001+01:00

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

2011-09-11T16:13:00.000+01:00

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!

2011-09-04T16:47:00.000+01:00

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

Nearly there now!!

2011-08-10T21:33:00.000+01:00

Well the season will soon be starting again, a lot of time during this very long close season has been spent visiting shows, mooching round the old hunting grounds and finding new places to exercise the ferrets!!

This weekend myself and Dave went too a couple of places just for a mooch, we took the air rifles (just in case) but we were just seeing if the breeding had been successful!

I wasnt overly disapointed, there were a few rabbits to be seen, and within the next 2 weeks we plan to try a lamping session to see if there numbers increase at night.

Just one I managed to spot out of the corner of my eye

Only small I know, but even the little ones do there fair share of damage!!

So heres to the next few weeks, and hopefully a batch of new photos and stories to share with you all!

Happy Hunting

4x4 idea that caters for everyones tastes!!

2011-06-14T15:11:00.000+01:00

A new idea to secure the back of your 4x4 pickups and make them more user friendly has just been started by a good friend of mine, I hope to have mine sorted and photo's up on this site soon!!

For now though, here is a link to his website

And a link to his Facebook page

His Blogger page

and finally his twitter page

Hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to like his facebook page.

Thanks for your time, happy hunting.

Harewood House (Yorkshire Game Fair)

2011-05-31T17:29:00.001+01:00

The event was going to be great, I had read the attendees and even though a few of the regular faces
were missing I honestly thought it could still be the show of the year!
I realised after about half an hour of wandering round, I was totally wrong!!

The setting is fantastic, with Red Kites circling round overhead all through the day, and beautiful gardens to wander round.

But that isn't why I'd come today, today was for a Game fair!!

As usual one of the attendees was the excellent Helicopter ride, I did this once at the Welsh Show and decided there and then that that was the last time ever......If god had wanted me to fly he would have given me wings and a much smaller arse!!!

The BASC stand had yet another fantastic clay pigeon shoot, I had a 40 bird shoot with David and failed miserably!! It was much easier when someone stood behind and told me what too do, but I have been bitten by the bug and signed up for some training locally. So can't wait to start that!!

Now as I only took a few photo's I can't really show you the size of the event, but this link will show you what was there
Yorkshire Show Event List

It was well attended, the stalls that I would class as worthy Game Fair stalls were great, but I feel that not enough are attending and therefore the chance of a bargain are few and far between.

My overall rating of this show would be 6/10, and I think i'm only being this generous because the people I attended with helped to make it seem better than it was.

Happy Hunting

Selby Game and Country Fair 2011

2011-04-25T10:58:00.000+01:00

It was a cloudy morning but the weather was to warm up nicely, lets hope so cos it was bloody freezing!!

As we walked around the show it was becoming apparent that the show was more car boot than game! Rides and cheep tack stalls were scattered everywhere, the food prices again were extortionate! This seems to be the way of game fairs though these days, no longer are they just a way for like minded people to meet up but a way of squeezing every penny that you are carrying out of your wallet!!

In the main ring was a motorcycle show?? but it was enjoyable, the guy with the mike and the riders bouncing of each other with banter. Here we see the biker ramping over him!!

and then jumping up onto the vehicle!

Whilst walking round me and David decided to get a bit competitive, well, as competitive as you can get with an ex champ clay shooter!!!!

Davids first shot was as I was expecting....a hit.....but his eye wasn't there and he got 8 out of 10

My first time ever at clay shooting, I'm being shown the basics and how to keep ones eye looking down the bead below the dropping clay

My first shot was a hit, but this my second was a miss.....beginners luck maybe!!

My total score was 7 out of 10

We walked round again later and couldn't resist a second turn......David scoring 10/10 and me getting 9/10......I was well pleased!!

Carlton Towers, the siting of the show is a very grand place, a 19th century Victorian Gothic Revival house, located in the village of Carlton. The original part of the house dates back to the 17th century, with 200 acres of parkland to explore it is one big area!

Here we see Mr Pearson tieing a purse net in the net making competition on the East Coast Ferret Rescue stand. This was were many members of the Rabbiters site met up for tea, coffee and a bloody good chat!!!

At the end of the day a charity auction in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust was held, items that had been donated of the rabbiters site and from some of the stalls that were attending the show!!

It was a really good end with a large amount of money being raised, one of the prized items a Hand Made Knife from J.E.S!!

All in all a good show for catching up and if you take all the crap away that shouldn't be allowed there in the first place, then a good country fair..........now lets see where the next one is!!

Happy Hunting

End of the season

2011-04-20T15:45:00.000+01:00

Well it came sooner than expected, I've had a few days out for a mooch but way to many pregnant Doe's to warrant any control.
It doesn't seem right spoiling next years rabbiting stock, so the next few months will be spent catching up with friends at all the shows happening around the country.

So this week was Kelmarsh Fair, a cracking show and it meant a trip over to a friends in Lincolnshire. Which also meant a mooch and BEER!!!!!!

As can be seen in this picture the local Crow problem is huge, with a large amount of crops in this area the amount of wood pigeon was phenomonal aswell!!

So like I said, a bit of a mooch and a quick look round to see if we could find anything of interest.

Then one of the terriers disapeared.........barking like mad!!

and then the Lurchers went running off very sharpish

Could we find them.....No!!!

Could we find what they had chased.......No!!!!

Eventually they came back, out of breath and stinking of fox.........never mind....Next time!!

And to end the weekend just a few drinks and the usual drunken chat!!

The show was fantastic, and with a great bunch of lads the Craik was even better.......Heres to the next Show!!

Happy Hunting

Wet Wet Wet.......not the band!!!!

2011-02-13T17:10:00.000+00:00

As can be seen from the title, today was damp, rain was falling heavily at some points, the trees were dripping down our backs......and both of us managed to slip into a small dyke!!!

The new permission we have obtained (as mentioned in 'Just a quick one') was finally ferreted today, not the best day weather wise, but the season is coming to an end, so we had to show willing and make sure our faces and nets were seen to be making an effort on this new land before it was too late.

Our mind set was probably wrong, knowing the land well around these parts, we have seen a lot of Myxi wiping the local rabbit population out, and after a quick mooch of the surrounding land with not a rabbit seen our hopes weren't high!!

We grabbed a couple of long nets, a bag of purse nets and two boxes of ferrets, two males and three females. A brief description of this warren is that it stretches for 100+ yards (very big!) a barbed wire fence runs the length of it with holes to both sides of it, and running parallel is a small dyke

We weren't going to let the weather stop us catching a few though.....we hoped!!

So we started laying the long nets, one either side of the fence, and a few purse nets under the holly trees, awkward and prickly.....luckily not on my side of the fence, ahem.....! ;-)

You can see the extent of thewarren in this photo, we are just over halfway down looking up to the gate we arrived at, this side having the open holes appearing at random in the field.

This shows Davids side, complete with prickly bushes and dyke!!

Sorry Mate.....Honest!!

As can be seen here the trees are all being used by the rabbits and prove an awful dig to the ferrets if they killed in!

This huge hole to the side of a tree absolutely stunk of rabbit and had plenty of droppings around it, roots were clearly visible see below....

.....this is a close up of the hole above, the root system entwined into the rabbits runs, creating a secure environment from any wouldbe predators!

Looking up towards the gate from the dyke side.

David just resetting the net after a rabbit bolted and pulled the peg right out, the pursed net and rabbit falling straight into the water, luckily the net holding till David got to it!

Another end of the warren, and another tree that they have housed themselves in, at one point the ferret finder was saying a four foot dig in this area was imminent, thankfully the ferret reappeared out of a hole without any sign of rabbit fur or blood on it!

A cracking bolt from a hole, straight over the dyke and into the waiting long net.....excellent catch!

The second one in the bag, lets hope theres a few more

A nice open hole, lots of droppings and a familiar smell......very welcoming, and the ferret didn't need to be asked twice to get in!

End of the day, three rabbits in the bag, truck loaded and two very wet but happy ferreters are on there way home wondering.......maybe one more week to go ;-)

Happy Hunting to you all

Joe's Permission

2011-01-23T15:34:00.001+00:00

David and myself were very lucky to be invited to a little permission Joe has on the outskirts of Skipton. I was picked up from mine at 6 and reached Joes at around 6.30.
Once we had made the short drive to the land it was still dark, so we had a quick mooch round and decided that we would find a butty shop and waste a bit of time till we could see better. A few breakfast barms later and we were setting up at the first warren.

As we looked down the hillside we could see rabbits running around and feeding near the warrens

The team were well up for a bit of bunny catching, and with the frost on the hills we could tell it was gonna be cold!

Some cracking warrens with a lot of walls to search, the rabbits round here feel a lot safer in the walls, but in this situation we use the small females and let them run between the joints. The tip tapping of the paws when a rabbit is about to bolt can't be described!!

This was the main warren on the far side of the above wall, you can see below how big it was!

We were setting a long net up all around the warren, any escapees from purse nets could still be caught then.

The holes went right under the stone walls and came out on the other side, at one point we thought we might have to dig under here!!

As you can see from this picture a lot of walkers frequent the pathway at the bottom of this hill, and with two of the warrens being right next to it, I imagined we were going to get a lot of grief, but not today, they were all really friendly and most stopped to chat, some even applauding as the rabbits hit the nets!
Our main problem came from a woman on the far bank of the river who permenently kept coming out and shouting abuse at us, telling me that the RSPCA had outlawed the use of ferrets in the catching of rabbits!!!!! Ho Hum, never mind!!

As with all good rabbiting forays a dig is usually expected, and today was to be no different, luckily we had nothing deeeper than four foot in the day, this one a mere two feet!......which was why I chose to dig mooha ha !!

And here was my prize, a nice fat rabbit with a nippy ferret at the other end!!

David had decided that all this rabbit catching was proving toooo much!!! and a lie down was in order.........oh wait a minute, he's moving stones under the fence!?!?!

Ahhhh, so he wasn't sleeping, he had located a ferret who had decided to opt for a take away!!

David was using his refined skills as a Jedi Master to calm this rabbit, he does get quite attached to them and I feel this may cause problems in the future........some people are just tooooo soppy when it comes to wild animals!!

The end of the day shot, with 33 rabbits and a smile on my face I had had a cracking day, I think David had too but sometimes its hard to tell with that rugged look he portrays!!

Whilst gutting the rabbits we found a lot of fat encasing the offal, so I feel this winter hasn't finished yet, as Mother Nature has obviosly told the rabbits to build up ready for when its icy fingers take hold again!!

Thanks once again to Joe for letting us accompany him on his permission, and with a load of land signed over today when the farmer saw us doing what we do best, Joe has a nice little stock of rabbiting land!

Happy Hunting.

First session of 2011

2011-01-03T17:32:00.000+00:00

First off a big Happy New Year to anyone who reads this, I hope this year has a much happier feel to it than the last one!!

My father has had his operation now and is hopefully on a full mend, so thats the first bit of good news, and secondly I finally made it out on a rabbiting foray, the first in 2 months!!

It was 5.45am when David turned up, I was fully dressed for a change and rearing to go,I think the ferrets would have walked there they were that highly strung!

We arrived around 8.30am and had a quick look round, the first thing we noticed was the strong smell of fox, the next thing we saw was the said fox making a run for cover.....what I would have done for my shotgun at that point!!!!

The first warren is all around this tree, with the rabbits usually hiding under the roots of it.....lets hope we don't end up with a dig in these roots!!

A lovely sunset with the castle in the background, the day got steadily colder as it went on

The second warren is in the middle of a field, there seems to be an area where boulders and rocks have been dropped and left, the nettles and thistles have flourished in this area where the tractor can't disturb.....and so have the rabbits!!

David praying that what his ferret finder had picked up wasn't going to result in a dig

His prayers hadn't been answerred and a 3 foot dig commenced, but look on the bright side, we rescued the ferret and the rabbit was holed up in the stop end!

Our next warren and another dig, the smell of fox was all around every warren we visited, the snow had obviously kept the fox hungry and with his scent the rabbits weren't for bolting. Every rabbit was a dig nearly, thankfully 4 foot was our deepest.

This one producing a nice fat rabbit, that's gonna make a fine stew very soon ;-)

This stretch has 3 warrens side by side, all seperate and all showing fresh scrapings and droppings. The rabbits were actie, they just didn't seem to be at home!

Then all went quiet and the ferrets stopped popping there heads up, ferret finder out and 2 ferrets, one either side of the tube, had managed to keep a rabbit in one place.....so another dig ensued!!

End of Day shot with seven rabbits, not the amount we were expecting but a cracking return to the sport.
Remember that its not about the catching, the craik David and myself had that day will be remembered for a long time, the rabbits were just a bonus to a fantastic day, as can be seen by the time we had finished and cleaned our boots it was getting dark!

We popped to see the landowner to let him know we were off, we were introduced to another rabbit catcher, this one doesn't need a shovel he told us!!

Thanks to Dave for a fantastic start to 2011, I hope that the next session isn't too far away.....in fact what are you up to this weekend mate?!?!?

Happy Hunting.

Just a quick one.....

2010-12-12T12:15:00.000+00:00

Well, many apologies to anyone who has been popping on and waiting to read another thread, due to work commitments and some very bad news about my father I had to take time away.
The news is good though, my father who was diagnosed with cancer of the stomach has had his operation and things are looking good....Its a long road to recovery but the first steps have been taken. As for the ferreting well that will recommence on Saturday 18th December....or this Saturday to be exact!!
Thanks to all the new members who have joined recently and I hope to have time over the next few weeks to contact you and welcome you to this site.
Again I'm very sorry for not being round but play will resume forthwith ;-)

Happy Hunting!!

p.s a new permission has raised its head, so we have plenty of land to mooch around over the coming months, I hope you'll all be there to follow the action.

My Carp Fishing Book

2010-12-06T18:11:00.000+00:00

Well after many years of writing and rubbing out and rewriting!!! I've finally got my story about the life and times of one of the Bivvie Brigade, packed full of humour and with moments were a single tear will roll down your face, this book is the first part of a two part story following my ups and downs as a fisherman.

Feel free to pop on the below link and get one ordered.......signed copies available ;-)

http://www.therisingfishery.co.uk/product/started-fish/

Tight Lines

This has now entered a second print, the next book is due out in April-May with a few others to follow, one on Hunting and one for all you hunters out there, its a hunters cookbook, with all the finest recipes for Rabbit, Venison and other game.

A New Magazine

2010-11-20T14:04:00.001+00:00

A great new magazine has come out this month, for anyone who is interested in it see below

The newest quarterly magazine solely for the fieldsports enthusiast. Written by sportsmen who take an active role in keeping alive our way of life.

Every issue is packed from cover to cover with articles ranging from the "how to" piece and the "funny story" that happened whilst out in the field. At the same time dealing with issues of the political nature that threaten our sport.

With articles only being written by truly enthusiastic sportsmen, you know it will be worth reading and based upon actual knowledge and experience.

With articles written about subjects ranging from the working Lurcher to our sporting history, pro pest control and shooting disciplines, The Warren has something for everyone.

We will try to promote all aspects of fieldsports, but to do this in an accurate way we need to hear from those who undertake these sports.

A link to the website

http://www.thewarrenmag.com/

I have written a piece in the first mag and look forward too writing a lot more, the guys who produce the magazine are Over The Hedge Publications, and in December are releasing my first book for me, its a Carp Fishing story, based on my life as a Carp angler before everything went pear shaped, the second book will tell the story of how it all went a little too far.......more to follow!!

Happy Hunting

Somewhere totally different!!

2010-11-15T18:33:00.000+00:00

A couple of hours up the motorway is a place I travel to each year and spend a weekend with some great friends, its one of those weekends were the rabbits are just a bonus to the craic we have!

It starts with a day of ferreting and ends with another excellent day of ferreting, and this year we will be concentrating on some hedgerows, not sure how the photo's will look as I forgot my camera and had to use my phone!

As can be seen, the hedges were very long, and bloody prickly, blackthorn and nettles, what a lovely combination when purse netting!!

The dog always knows which hole is about to be used as an exit!!

The rabbits were flying out of the hedgerows

I think this photo best shows the length of the hedgeline, I'm about halfway along this one!!

This is the end of day shot for the first day, I think it was 25 rabbits with one Myxi victim!

The second day was the same farm but a different hedgerow, again it was nice and long, and again was going to take the day to complete, the weather had changed, it was still a nice day but winter had arrived and with a vengeance!!

I love doing hedgerows, especially this time of year, you can actually see what you are doing without a mass of leaves everywhere

as usual whenever theres a great deal of hedgeroots, one of the ferrets decides your gonna need to dig to get to it

And dig we did.........

...............and did!!!!

but its always worth it when you find the prize at the bottom of the hole!!

and by the end of the weekend, we had a shedful of rabbits, 67 in total, so the next few days will be spent turning them into good wholesome food.
Catching them is great fun, but surely the most enjoyable task is turning them into something that most people wouldn't eat because its a fluffy bunny!! Can't understand how they can eat meat that has been forced to ingest growth hormones and that has travelled halfway round the world in a container that doesn't decompose for around 60 years (yes I mean Polystyrene), yet turn there nose up at something that is fat free, helps to lower cholestrol and has lived a full and active life until its final day eating natural foodstuffs and running round in a totally cage free environment!! but hey ho, theres nothing more strange than the consumer!!

Happy Hunting.