Traditional Ferreting

Traditional Ferreting From Where it Began to the Present Day with The Ole Hedge Creeper ​

​It all start way back in the December of 1974, the day it was a Wednesday, I know all this as the Christmas Decorations had just gone up, my Dads rabbiting club fondly called the Bunny Club by the Dockers of The Royal Portbury and Avonmouth Docs where my Dad and family and friends worked, I know it was 1974 as it was just before my third birthday as uncle Les gave me my very first purse net called the lucky net, to read that story in full and so many others you will have to buy my book over on my website www,theolehedgecreeper.co.uk that book is entitled From The Start, To The Heart.

Like I said it all started on that ice cold frozen frosty December morning, dressed in my Rupert the bear padded outfit, wellies, boots and gloves, sat on the ferret box watching an open hole with my lucky net laid over it, the first time I had ever heard those Viking war drums as the pugs (ferrets) did battle with the drummers (rabbits) deep under ground, the only way I can describe it, its like watching a good film you are so immersed into the film that nothing else matters, your so focused on the drums and watching for the rabbit to bolt, of course at nearly three years old and a first time ferreter I did not know this, I just felt in my very ancestral hunting blood that coursed through my young veins something magical was about to happen, I remember ole Gyp our working whippet sat next to me eyes wide open, ears tipping from side to side, almost like a kestrel about to stoop, I could hear muffled sound behind me, rabbit in the net, Les, Chris, Barry Bob, Dave get a net as the action was fast and furious as the rabbits hit the nets all over like corks out of champagne bottles.

I or the dog never moved we both felt deep inside this rabbit hole with my lucky net on was the one that held the golden prize, all of a sudden the drums were right beneath me, they literally beat up through the ferret box and right into my body, I too remember freezing ready to pounce like a Lion an a Gazelle, then silence, not so much a breath of air for what seemed like an eternity, then there it was a big buck rabbit sat looking out of my lucky net, Dad’s words rang in my head, if a rabbit shows at the net look away or it wont bolt and we will have a kill, I remember looking away but could not help looking out of the corner of my eye, Sam my big Hobb ferret caught up with it and it hit the net with such force in my mind in slow motion this rabbit was actually flying, the peg held firm and this rabbit, my very first rabbit came to earth pursed good and tight in my lucky net, here is the second lesson I remember being drummed into me, always grab the rabbit not the net, I am told by my family and friends who were there that day that I pounced like a tiger as did Gyp that rabbit was not getting away, even Sam our Hobb locked on too, Dad says it looked like a good ruck as I have always had safe hands, on the rugby field or on the hunting field, Rugby is another passion of mine and played my first match at 5 years old, but we will get to that another time or read it in my books.

That's where it all started for this rough ole country boy, the ancestral passion for all country sports, especially tradition ferreting with net, ferret and running dog, that first big buck rabbit released a fire in my soul that still burns as strong now as it did getting on for five decades ago now, blimey where has that time gone and the literally thousands of rabbits later, but what was always taught to me from boyhood and is my driving force to this very day is conservation, so when I teach this ancient art, I make sure those pupils learn the whole package from the history to the cooking and eating, with everything in-between, so I should of entitled this article Ferreting For Conservation, I will explain further along my ethos and some of the fine Young Countrymen I am at present teaching and installing this passion for Traditional Ferreting for my beloved Coney (Sunday Rabbit) here in the wonderful West Country and around the UK.

Now for the past five or six years I have not kept ferrets, the first time in over forty years that is too, personal living conditions, lack of rabbits due to the ghastly RHD disease, plus the fact I had nobody to go with me, so I gave my ferrets away to a friend who had the time to use them and not just keep them in a hutch, that was until just recently, a pair of nice young men had applied to join my rifle club where I am a committee member, now getting chatting to them they come from where I was born, straight away we hit it off and talked like old school friends, then they said we love to go ferreting but have minimal kit but we do have a working Hobb (male) and Gill (female) ferrets, my eyes widened like I was three years old again, we chatted some more and I explained I have more ferreting gear than you can point a stick at 300 hand knitted purse nets, long nets, stop nets, Mk1 knocker boxes and collars, even a brand new Mk3 set still in its packet, so I agreed I would show them the art properly, if any rabbit work came in, bowl me over the good lord must have been listening, not 24 hours later a rabbit clearance job came in, it had to be ferreted not shot, this was pre some major ground works in this area, so my job was to make sure the warrens were all empty, I think this meeting of Countrymen was in the book of fates.

I put the team together, two fine young novice Countrymen, Myself and one of my dearest old friends Nobby, Nobby and I had not ferreted together in 30 years, as he always worked away, young family commitments etc, but now on this Sunday Morning he was coming ferreting, we all met at my place as it was on the way to the ground we had to ferret, all the boys were very early I think they must have been excited, as was I, I just could not sleep for the excitement of going ferreting, I have always been the same the night before, Dad always said I must have an alarm clock in my head, I was always sat there fully dressed ferrets in the box, dogs at the ready before he had even had a cup of tea, nothing has changed I am still the same now, chomping at the bit, I would probably sleep in the field the night before just to make sure I was not late for ferreting.​

We drove the hours drive to the farm and got to where the farmer had sent me a google map and photos for what he wanted done, we scouted the area and determined what were possibly live warrens and what were not used by the rabbits.

​The first warren high up on a windy hillside, dug into the banking under two old Oak trees with a bramble bush surrounding part of it, purse nets laid and long nets surrounding it, the ferrets were put to ground, all of this was done in almost complete silence, I felt a wave of pride sweep over me as I watched these lads go to work, then that silence as nothing else matters but those Viking war drums, I heard heard so did Goose my Cocker Spaniel, then bang the first rabbit hit the net right at my feet, I was on that rabbit in a flash, in my hands my safe hands, before I had even got to my feet Nobby was right in behind me having a purse net straight back over the hole, again in almost complete silence, the young men could not believe how fast it all happened, Nobby and I were always a great team, the years have not changed that, the look of pride on my face is a good example of that, the first rabbit of the day was mine, the second came a few moments later as I was just netting up a bolt hole the boys missed and the ferret came out of, I heard Nobby dive and stand up with a rabbit clutched in his hands, I was straight in behind him have a net re laid in a flash, alas that was the only 2 rabbits out of this warren, so we picked up after letting the ferrets work and moved onto the next, as expected most of the warrens were empty as they had all been previously trapped, we did a few more and bolted some, lost some and caught some, that last warren was nice little 3 hole set at the bottom of a telegraph pole in a ditch, Goose marked it to say Mr Wabbit was at home so Nobby and I left these Two fine Young Countrymen to do it on their own, we climbed to the top of the hill to check the other warrens, these we decided to leave for the next trip here as it was getting very late in the day and experience tells me that's when you will kill in and be digging the ferret out in the dark, so with prudence we decided that was the end of ferreting for one day, I saw one of the lads dive on a rabbit in the net so happy days they caught the last rabbit of the day, the farmer asked could I move some pigeons off a rape field, so we changed from ferreting to shotgun shooting, this was the perfect icing on the cake to finish a wonderful days Country Sports off.

I got a call the following week from a client I have worked for actually I have worked for them for about 25 years, they own 3 farms all horse farms, 1 here in England and 2 in Wales, now I have the England Farm well under control for pest control etc, I have never been to the Welsh Farms before, although I know about them, the boss said can you come over and clear some rabbits from the riding arenas and horse paddocks were over run with the little grey blighters, of course I can, so it was agreed I would be over early Sunday Morning, I told the lads and they were excited to be out again, alas no Nobby this time he was working away and leaving that Sunday to be on site ready for the Monday morning.

Sunday morning came and both the lads were at my place early as normal, we decide we would take just one truck, as their truck is bigger than mine I was now being chauffeured on a days ferreting, we left The West Country early and about an hour later we were on the livery yard of the venue in Wales, no time for a mug of tea too excited, were were off like youngsters with a spring in our steps too, the boss had google mapped me some photos and had highlighted the areas he wanted me to concentrate on, or as in his text these areas are like Water Ship Down on speed, I have heard this so many times over the years, see a couple of rabbits or indeed pigeons on a crop and they are infested, only to find when you get there nothing, so I always take this with a pinch of salt, but our hopes were high as we had a wonderful new place to deal with, you know what its like the unknown of place fills your heart with new adventures, well lets just say this first area was a tad wet and boggy, unless these rabbits had diving gear and flippers this was not going to be very productive, none the less we checked out the area and even ferreted a few warrens, yes they had been used but not a single rabbit was at home, although we did watch rabbits at play basking in the sun higher up on area two, I said to the lads lets move to higher ground with all the rain over the last few days these rabbits have moved up the hillside.

I went on ahead to scout for warrens as the lads picked up all the nets etc, right away I found some promising warrens on the higher ground, nice clean holes, all the area nibbled short and plenty of fresh rabbit droppings, I bolted a rabbit in front of me from the hedgerow, well there is one at least at home in this warren then, the lads caught up and I told them net up this one I will look for other warrens along this higher hedge row, indeed I found a further two warrens in a deep bank with a double tiered hedge over them, I put my gear down by the first then went back and helped the lads finish netting up, ferret down and wait, I thought I heard a rumble? There I was like my ole whippet Gyp from my boyhood head going side to side straining to hear, out of the corner of my eye I caught a little purse net movement, first I thought it was the ferret? Then I saw it a big Welsh Rabbit looking at me sat just behind the net, my ole Dad’s words from way back on my first day in the field, LOOK AWAY BOY!!! I looked away but as always I just cant help but keep looking out of the corner of my eye. Then bang like a bullet from a gun it hit the net hard and fast, the peg held firm and the net pursed good and tight around it, I dived on that rabbit like a young pup again, right were off, the next warren held a couple of nice ones, quick bolters, one I had on a high bank hole with young Jim coming right in behind me having a fresh net on as quick as a flash, next Young Chad had one in the ditch bottom, again Jim was there taking the rabbit of Chad and letting him get a fresh net over the hole.

This next warren turned out to be a bit of a night mare, thankfully we didn't have a kill, it actually tuned out to be two separate warrens, one on the outside of the ditch the other higher on the adjoining bank, Chad and Jim took the inside whilst I covered the outer warren all on my own, I wish I had taken Goose my Cocker spaniel along too, but as I did not know what I was facing I decided to leave him at home, ferrets put to ground and we sat back, rabbits started to hit the nets like corks from bottle, it was very busy for a while, Chad went to stand up and got a large blackthorn right in his left buttock, I cant repeat the words but the howl would have been impressive for a wolf on the full moon, now this is where it all went wrong, I had not got inside the ditch so did not get a chance to survey the area, the lads did this part all on their own, I always remember my ole Dads words here, net every hole, you can lay 99 nets and that 100th hole is where the rabbits will bolt from, the first give away was when we heard squealing on the other side of the bramble bush, of course I tore in there like a bull in a China shop, only to find a ferret walking about chattering and a rabbit bolting past me, ROOKY MISTAKE, they not only missed one hole but more like ten holes, they didn't think the warren went that side of the hedge, WRONG!!! quick as possible they tried to net the holes, but too late rabbits were escaping or back netting as I drove them back towards the warren, I telle I was like a young whippet again, although my back and knees later that day reminded me I was not a young pup any more, Ooooooh Arrrrrrr I am not more like fat old crippled countryman comes to mind, I need cider to kill the pain, that warren was a lot of fun and a great learning curve for the cracking young men, they caught some rabbits, some rabbits got away and Chad learned not to stick his tail in the air under a Black Thorn Bush, I advised to pick up now before we get a kill and end up digging in the dark, something I learned long ago not to do if you can help it.

Actually as this was a boundary hedge the lady from the farm next door saw us and came over to find out what we were doing, young Jim reminds me of well me as his age, he is a strapping young man, bright eyes, muscular, dark wavy hair and a sparkling smile, so right away the boy put the charm on, I in my mature state appeared to find a lovely looking fine woman of mature years as myself, right away we hit it off and in no time at all I had this farm on the books too, this reminds me of the chapter Two Brothers Fighting in my first book and the lovely Elizabeth, ah you will have to get my books to hear those stories, so again another farm has been added to my vast client list, the best part they have rabbits to control and ferreting to be done, I telle muckers life dong get any better than this.​

We headed back to the truck for afternoon tea and a very late lunch, I said to the boys you go have a stalk around with the air rifle and see if you can pick a few rabbits off etc, I will pop around to the farm next door to get the contracts signed etc, I did notice this farms main problems were around the arena areas, alas its used 7 days a week 12 hours a day for teaching etc, so I will have to work out how best to deal with this area, at the farm next door I met this fine Welsh lady and here groom another love young woman, contracts signed and maps given of the boundaries I headed off along the headlands to get a feel for the place, I could see the lads stalking around from my elevated position, so I went back to the truck to await their arrival, they never bagged anything but had found a few warrens to do, as Arny says in the film terminator I will be back.

Brand New MK1 ferret finer sets and collars are available through The Really Wild Adventures shop on the website link below, they come with The Ole Hedge Creepers Thumbs Up Seal of Approval too.
www.reallywildadventures.co.uk 

Actually as this was a boundary hedge the lady from the farm next door saw us and came over to find out what we were doing, young Jim reminds me of well me as his age, he is a strapping young man, bright eyes, muscular, dark wavy hair and a sparkling smile, so right away the boy put the charm on, I in my mature state appeared to find a lovely looking fine woman of mature years as myself, right away we hit it off and in no time at all I had this farm on the books too, this reminds me of the chapter Two Brothers Fighting in my first book and the lovely Elizabeth, ah you will have to get my books to hear those stories, so again another farm has been added to my vast client list, the best part they have rabbits to control and ferreting to be done, I telle muckers life dong get any better than this.​

We headed back to the truck for afternoon tea and a very late lunch, I said to the boys you go have a stalk around with the air rifle and see if you can pick a few rabbits off etc, I will pop around to the farm next door to get the contracts signed etc, I did notice this farms main problems were around the arena areas, alas its used 7 days a week 12 hours a day for teaching etc, so I will have to work out how best to deal with this area, at the farm next door I met this fine Welsh lady and here groom another love young woman, contracts signed and maps given of the boundaries I headed off along the headlands to get a feel for the place, I could see the lads stalking around from my elevated position, so I went back to the truck to await their arrival, they never bagged anything but had found a few warrens to do, as Arny says in the film terminator I will be back.

We headed back to Englandshire excitedly talking like school boys of the days sport, mistakes made and lessons learned, of course boys will be boys and they ribbed me about the lady from the farm, ahhhh a Country Gentleman never kisses and tells now does he, until next time I hope you have enjoyed my humble scribbles, stay safe one and all, I will catch up with you again in my next Adventure of The Ole Hedge Creepers Tales.

Traditional Ferreting​

By The Ole Hedge Creepers

www.theolehedgecreeper.co.uk

Below in the slide show are some old pics as well as the latest ones with my old friend Nobby and I, the old school rabbiting crew of my forefathers, some of the new boys too.