Rubberising my cage on the base

[Miguel Gomez]

Im getting me ferrets next week and was wondering should i apply a rubberised paint to the base of the cage to stop it rotting ,ive painted it with a preservative ,but would the paint be better .
Tyhanks
johnny

[Hawkmaster]

What like the stuff they use under cars?

[HawkMan]

No for over a roof its called acropyl its a paint which turns to a rubberised and seals roofs .

[Hawkmaster]

As long as it is non toxic I think it should be fine? Sounds like good stuff though, is it expensive?

[HawkMan]

Its quite expensive for a 5 ltr tin but i bought a cage today and the base is only 5mm ply and i thought it would help to keep it in good condition to coat it with this paint .
I use it for doing general repairs on industrial gutters and roofs ect
Ill give you some at the meet if you want as i dont pay anything for it m8

[Hawkmaster]

Cheers I use liquid latex now but it can sometimes not be man enough.

[HawkMan]

Dont want to know about your sex life m8 ,
Ill bring the tin thats all i need to know m8 ,pmsl
Its cracking stuff seals leaking roofs and lead in the rain it has fibres in it aswell .

[Jiff]

johnny mate, how ya doing, i would be very carefull mate,the ferrets will scrat and chew at whatever they can, will it harm them if they ingest it,as they no doupt are going to eat it, ferrets in general mate are very clean animals,they will always use the same toilet area,usualy the corner furthest from the sleeping area,once this area is established,it's easy to make or buy a small tray,put shavings or as i do cat litter in the tray and thats that, :wink:

[HawkMan]

Jiff sounds a better idea of yours m8 ,i did,nt know they could be house trained ,
When should i introduce the collar to them ?
And how do i train them ?
If you can answer these questions it would be of great help jiff ,lol
Thanks m8

[Jiff]

johnny ferrets need no training, young ferrets generaly don't go very deep into the sets,but as they get the hang of chasing rabbits under ground they soon start to hunt the full warren,if possible start them off on small fairly shallow sets then they never loose sight of the light at the end of the tunnel as theire confidance grows move em onto bigger ones, but bare in mind a larger warren might require 2 or even 3 ferrets to move rabbits especialy if the ground has been ferreted before,1 ferret in a large warren and the rabbits will just run arround bellow ground avoiding the ferret, leaving the safety of the warren is the last thing the rabbit wants to do you have to force the issue sometimes, with 2 or 3 ferrets they have no choice. having said that if you aint approached the set with atleast a bit of field craft they would sooner face the ferret.

[HawkMan]

Thanks for that jiff m8 .
Im getting 2 hobs next week of a local gypo should i get 2 sets of collars for them ?
Im just getting into me ferrets so its getting better all the time
I didnt ever know you used 2 or 3 on a large warren but it makes sense m8
Your not as daft as they all say on here ,pmsl only joking

[Gozzhawk]

As for the latrine we spray Vydephor every few days on everywhere except where they like to **** an it keeps it always in the one place. Our run has weldmesh floor on gravel base so no rotting wood , couple of tunnels an a little cute kennel about 3 ft raised off the floor, little blighters fighting at the mo , maybe not getting out enough. If theres a beach or a kids sandpit nearby take em there they love to rummel in the sand !

[Jiff]

you'll see when you get going mate, with 1 ferret in a big warren no nets as you're hawking, you'll have rabbits running out of one hole and into another shortly followed by the ferret, personaly mate i only use one collar i have no hard and fast rules about which ferret i use first(if i'm only using one) i may enter the un-collard ferret and if after a while i think he's cornered a rabbit i'll then enter the collard ferret he'll usualy locate and then join in on the hapless rabbit which then gives you a chance with the locator, i don't swap the collar in the field (you'll see why when you try and get one on for the first time) so if my collard ferret has had a bit of hard work i might give him a drink and a breather which then means i use an un-collard ferret.

[HawkMan]

I will m8 thanks for that gozzhawk .
Me kids are going to be handleing them most days so they can get them in the sand pit ,lol

[Jiff]

as much as possible johnny as much as possible, the more the better,though it must be suppervised with small kids,o.....and don't forget baby ferrets will tend to taste every thing they come accross so expect to get a few nip's but don't think for one minute this means you have bitters it's just cos they're babies

[Sighthound]

spot on advice Jiff :D

[Gozzhawk]

sound advice jiff, the more calm handling when young the better, never had a biter yet . In case anyone asks DO NOT even consider getting the scent glands removed i have had specialist vet advice on this one , thing is we must stink to them ... all that old Spice!!

[HawkMan]

as much as possible johnny as much as possible, the more the better,though it must be suppervised with small kids,o.....and don't forget baby ferrets will tend to taste every thing they come accross so expect to get a few nip's but don't think for one minute this means you have bitters it's just cos they're babies
I was reading on a thread on ferrets that if they are young put milk on your fingers and let them lick it off as it stops them biting ,is this true do you think Jiff .
Thanks
Johnny

[Jiff]

the ferrets i have at the moment would have eaten you're full arm if you encouraged em to :lol: they were never handled and bit every thing in sight (and i mean bit ) having said that were both hard working men johnny and we tend to need something more substantial to break our skin, still i had a problem 2 8 week ferrets totaly wild, solution; 3 days off work,wax jacket on every where i whent and in each main pocket a ferret,i continuesly handled em, the cafe, the pub,every where i whent they whent, when i wasnt out they were in with me running arround and torturing the yorki i have a couple of pics i'll try and get em up, i gave em toy's to play with but more importantly joined in with em,after three days they were nearly there,then it was just a case of working on it,i have two totaly honnest ferrets now that can be pulled off a kill when digging in without any fear of being bitten. in answer to you're question,they will nip at times but continueous handling will stop that i personaly havnt done anything like that to stop it,it realy doesnt take long before they stop,

[Jiff]

just a quick point mate, when young ferrets start venturing from the nest they should then start to get handled if this has been done with the ones you're getting you have every chance of never getting niped.

[Jiff]

heres a couple of pics on humanising ferrets

[Jiff]

heres another.......sorry about this but i'm **** at p.c

[HawkMan]

Ive rubberised me cage on the feeding quarters jiff .
Its only a thin layer and i dont think it could cause anyhrm m8,
I liked the picks m8 .
Bet you your dog loves them ,lol
As for typing at the pc im like it 24/7 ,lol i wish i was .
Thanks anyway m8 if i can sort me camera out ill post some picks .
Thanks lads for the replies
Johnny