ferret on the loose = dead kestral

[BrianM]

rusty my kestral is dead.......... i went out this afternoon to clean out my mews and came apon rusty my lovely wee kestral who was on his block( well what was left of him just the wings) .... i am gutted as he was a great wee bird, very gentle and i had put a lot of work into getting him to where he was,,,,,, i am putting 2 and 2 together here but there is a notice in the post office window about a lost ferret,,,,, what do you think guys,, was it the culprit??? feeling quite low now ,, funny how you get attached to them isnt it :(

[BFC 007]

by the sounds of it brian it could well be,its like a member of the family has gone mate isn't it? :(

[Shaun Byrne]

Sorry to hear that Brian.

How much was eaten? Was there any feathers left about?

[BrianM]

pretty much everything hawka legs and wings left ,lots of feathers ,, i dont think its rats as ive never seen any and i put down rat poison and its never touched

[Shaun Byrne]

That rules out a fox then.

To be honest it could have been anything, rat, stoat, its a bit of a coincidence with the ferret though.

[Bubo]

oh i'm really sorry to hear that brian.

[North East Harris Hawker]

sounds like the work of a fereeet to me. ive hav it happen, took my birds head off. so upsetting :cry:

[MickeyDredd]

Brian, it goes without saying to watch out as the wee ****** will be back, he's had a feed at your place and if you have ferrets yourself this may have been what attracted it in the first place.

I had a wild mangy ferret turn up at my place sniffing around my ferrets, I released him about 4 miles away and he was back within 36 hours.

I released him 20 miles away - he aint been back.

[Debbie]

Brian, I am so sorry that Rusty was so cruelly taken from you :cry:

I agree with the rest of the guys the missing ferret is a little too convenient.

I also agree with Mickey that he may well be back.

If you have a trap I would put it out and set it or call the bloke who has lost the ferret he may well have a trap.


Big hug for you.

Debbs xx

[Bones]

sorry to hear about your loss mate i know what you must be going through been there myself but hey chin up and keep an eye open cause it will be back for more if its a ferret
PAUL

[BrianM]

thank guys,,,,,, i ve not got ferrets myself,,, my other three birds are freelofted just now ,, rusty was the only one who was tethered.. do you think they will be ok ,, as they are off the ground , or can these critters climb

[Bones]

can these critters climb
yea they are pretty good climbers and can also jump a fair height also so be very carefull mate make sure theres no food left overs or the sort to tempt it back they can also dig to what extent i dont know but have seen them do it sorry if im getting you worried but just stating all the posssibilitys mate HTH
PAUL

[BrianM]

what do i need to do know guys ??? do i need to notify DEFRA?? send the ring back ?? ive never experienced this before

[The Late Lord Lucan]

I'm sorry to hear about your Kezzy Brian, I know how gutting it is to lose a bird, and I don't wish to go off on a tangent, but I can't read the following statement without doing so.

Mickey Dredd wrote.....I had a wild mangy ferret turn up at my place sniffing around my ferrets, I released him about 4 miles away and he was back within 36 hours.

I released him 20 miles away - he aint been back

Very thoughtful thing to do Mickey.
With all due respect, are you stupid all of the time or just some of it?

[OutFlying]

good one...........

[BrianM]

rusty

[Gaz]

I released him 20 miles away
Why did you do that :!: :?:

do i need to notify DEFRA
Read your paperwork dude,

[BrianM]

DOH! never thought of that gaz.......LOL.... "if all else fails read the instructions" homer simpson,,,,,,

[Gaz]

:rolleyes: :finga:

[RabbitHawker]

It would have been better to have him rehomed. You can be prosecuted for abandonment of animals which is what you have done there.

[MickeyDredd]

Hi all

Yep, thought I might get a bit of flak for this but I'll try to explain my reason.

The ferret had obviously been wild for some time and I wasn't sure of the best way to dispatch him (I tried the 3 wood but my swing aint what it used to be), and I didn't feel comfortable to do so.

He was released in the middle of nowhere and whilst I accept that he could have been an added danger to ground living local wildlife, there are numerous stoats in the area so I doubt his impact would be huge. i've also never heard of a hybrid stoat/ferret ocurring naturally in the wild so don't think there was a risk of diluting the stoat gene.

With hindsight I accept it would have been best to dispatch him, rehoming was not an option - have you ever handled a ferret gone wild? I have and despite knowing how to handle them safely he got me!! If he was a recent escapee I would probably have tried to rehome him or keep him myself but that wasn't the case.

LLL - Hopefully I'm not stupid all the time, at least I try not to be.

Gaz - Didn't know what to do with him basically. My thoughts were that it was better to release him in the wilds where there were no houses/kids/falconry birds(refer Brian M)/pigeon lofts/pet bunnies etc, either that or kill him which I didn't really want to do.

ps Mangy doesn't mean he had mange it simply means he wasn't in tip top condition!

Please form an orderly queue :)

[Mary Quite Contrary]

I'm sorry to hear about your Kezzy Brian, I know how gutting it is to lose a bird, and I don't wish to go off on a tangent, but I can't read the following statement without doing so.

Mickey Dredd wrote.....I had a wild mangy ferret turn up at my place sniffing around my ferrets, I released him about 4 miles away and he was back within 36 hours.

I released him 20 miles away - he aint been back

Very thoughtful thing to do Mickey.
With all due respect, are you stupid all of the time or just some of it?


A fine comment from a upstanding gentlemen

Are you coming out of hiding for the falconry fair.

[The Late Lord Lucan]

A fine comment from a upstanding gentlemen

Are you coming out of hiding for the falconry fair.

Well thankyou old chap.

Sadly I shall be missing the falconry fair this year. I have a couple of committments to keep, I have also been appointed the task of photographing a qualifying heat for the 'World's Strongest Man', so I am just a tad tied up.

Such is life.

Regards,
Lucky.

Mickey wrote.....either that or kill him which I didn't really want to do.

As sad as it is Mickey, euthenasia would have probably been the kindest option, at least for the local wildlife population, stoats included, if not for the ferret.......
I get the 'gist' of your thinking, if only it were that straight-forward.
A lost ferret can cause hideous damage to the local wildlife (and domestic animals for that matter), and should be avoided at all costs.

Regards,
LLL.

[MickeyDredd]

[quote]I get the 'gist' of your thinking, if only it were that straight-forward.

LLL It sadly isn't always straightforward as you say and I do agree that euthanasia should have been the option to take, it honestly was the first option I tried but it wasn't too succesful!.

In light of Brians sad loss I'm sure my choice would be different next time.

[Coedhirion]

i've also never heard of a hybrid stoat/ferret ocurring naturally in the wild so don't think there was a risk of diluting the stoat gene.
ever heard of polecat ferrets? a ferret and a wild polecat can and do reproduce. Don't know if you have polecats around there, but there are a lot around here. A wild polecat will also take a bird, like ferrets they are good diggers and squeeze through the tiniest holes. I dont rely on bars or standard aviary wire. I have a fine hole chicken wire fitted all round, about 2" or more from the actual weatherings and a strong weldmesh along on the bottom as we also have foxes. I won't put a bird out on the grass to weather, i only use an area protected from all sides and above!!
I am real sorry Brian, you must be devastated it makes me shudder just to think of it!!

[Hawkmaster]

Cats?

[Coedhirion]

PS went to check my bird and let the dogs out thinking about your sad loss. Like Hawkmaster I thought 'cats', but you say that the wings were left. I may be wrong, but I feel that a larger predetor would have taken the lot. A bird tends to leave the feathered parts, a teathered bird is a good target for crows or buzzards, especialy if it has been fed on its block. A ferret probably would not have taken so much. Rats hunt in packs and could manage. Keep your chin up and build yourself a fully enclosed weathering even if just with thin aviary pannels. We have neighbours who put out rat poison, a dopey rat or mouse eaten by a BOP will contain enough poison to kill it.

[Mary Quite Contrary]

I will be attempting to mate a stoat x ferret this year?

[Goldie]

I will be attempting to mate a stoat x ferret this year?

Hope you mean you are going to try to get a stoat and a ferret to mate :lol:
Sounds risky, I'll have a tenner on the ferret :twisted:

[Mary Quite Contrary]

I will be attempting to mate a stoat x ferret this year?

Hope you mean you are going to try to get a stoat and a ferret to mate :lol:
Sounds risky, I'll have a tenner on the ferret :twisted:

Grown up on sheep myself, stoats a bit tight.

I wont know the outcome until they are both mature which will be next year. As they would have grow up together i am hoping they should form a bond and hopefully the male will do his duty. If not the stoat will at least think it is a ferret as that will be his only companionship whilst growing up. 1 hob 2 jills and stoat.. I don't know if it will work but both animals are & will be very much loved and looked after regardless.

[Chris S]

bad luck mate.as regards to DEFRA you will have to send the ring back and tick the box to say the bird is dead on the blue form.i would put a fenn trap out if you have one with a chick on it that shoud do the job.

[Mathew simonds]

I am so sorry to hear about that Brian. I expect it is upsetting to loose a good little bird like that, like a close friend, a family member. Unlucky.

[Postolka]

It´s sad, I am very sorry to hear that.

[Moses]

im so so sorry to hear that brian, guys i saw rusty he was a beautiful lil bird , its a risk bud i heard stories like why some folk dont like their birds tethered just in case any fox's or anything else eat them up, its sad this happened maybe its time to let them loose in their mews only thing is the mesh will coz problem to their feathers as u know what happened to the peregrine when your joiner frightened it