[rossivale]

Hi

I seen a ferrett outside my kitchen window, went straight out and can't find the damn thing anywhere!

I have put the ducks and Chicks in for the night, but am really worried it will knaw through the wood, my neighbour is worried also, as he has old tin sheds for his chickens.

Lasy year a ferrett chewed through my mums duck cot and killed the drake, so I know the damage they can cause :-(

been out looking for the damn thing for an hour in the rain and cant find it :-(

Keep your fingers crossed guys that it has been frightened off by my dog, or that someone comes and finds it

Jo

[trinacooke]

Are you sure it was a ferret? as ferrets are only domesticated animals (they were domesticated by the Romans) and you will only see them if they have excaped from captivity! as they do not exhist in the wild most probably somebodies pet so you could try putting down a plate of cat food, they love that and you will be surprised how friendly they are!   we have fifteen pet ferrets who all live together, they crave company of other ferrets and humans! we have owned ferrets for ten years and have never been bitten! they are very, very miss understood animals! if it is a ferret they usually come in white, polecat colour or silver (verious shades).

The other animal it could be is a Mink and they are nearly black with a small white bib under the chin - these are very visious animals! be careful

I wish you good luck if you can catch the ferret then take it to a rescue centre as it will be missing its family  I doubt it will try and chew through your coop ours are in a wooden hutch and never, ever chew the wood!

Trina

[iwantanallotment]

I was thinking it could be a stoat?
Similar size/shape as a ferret but chestnut coloured.
There seems to be a ton of them this year, and they are voracious hunters/killers.

Whatever it is Jo, I hope you find it.

[PJM]

Ferrets are much bigger animals than Stoats size wise, so should not be easily confused. I know that  we have breeding colonys of ferret/polecats that are descended from escaped or released ferrets, and can be a nuiscance. If it is a tame escapee it could be quite friendly. But some of the more feral ones can deliver a sharp nip, so handle with care.

[rossivale]

hi guys,
Thanks for the replies,

I managed to catch it yesterday, with some cat food, and a re-cylce bin, I didn't fancy handling it just in case it was nippy 

Anyway, when my sister came up she handled it, and it was very friendly.

so all has ended well

here is a link to some pics, if anyone wants to confirm if it is indeed a ferett.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=85013&id=601663038&ref=mf

Thanks again
Jo

[AmandaH]

Please tell me it went to a good home?

[newatthis]

hi it looks like a ferrett to me, did you find it a good home, i use3d to have 1 when my son was younger, keep asking my other half if we can get 1 but he say's no( still working on it thro)...
where abouts are you??

[trinacooke]

Oh I am glad you caught it! poor thing was probably very hungry, they are Harry Hudini's in a fur coat 

Glad it all ended well 

Im not a member of face book and could not look at your photo's but if it was friendly then that would be a ferret, you would have needed a chain suit to handle a Mink and I doubt very much you would have got any where near a stoat!!!! it would have been long gone before you got near.

All the best i love happy endings 

[sam on lewis]

Hi everyone,

As you can see I live on Lewis, I can state categorically that ferrets are wild and living here, so why not on mainland britain.

They were brought over by some well meaning plonker who left them to fend for themselves when their holiday was over, now they have mixed with Mink and Polecats, also brought over by well meaning plonkers.

Scottish Natural Heritage is spending millions in a bid to get shot of them. They do immense damage to the natural ecology here. So no not all ferrets are domestic animals.

cheers,

Sam

[AmandaH]

You still haven't told us where it went.  What do you do with ferrets you've caught?  Call the RSPCA?  I honestly wouldn't have a clue.  Unless it was injured, it which case it would go to Tiggiwinkles!  

[trinacooke]

They would have been Domestic to start with though, it is down to Humans we tend to mess things up just a little bit dont we!

I expect in remote places this could be the case, but in general in populated area's most will be excaped pets, as this one turned out to be, as it would not have come any way near, let alown let itself be caught and handled.

Trina

[archiesgems]

just had a look at the photo and i have to say he is very handsome, and not a ferret at all, he's a polecat, i breed them and they can get very tame, even the wild ones that are getting more and more common, unfotunatly though they are partial to chickens and especially chicks. but they are indiginous to this country and they are spreading at a steady pace
Jay

[joyfull]

I can't look at the photo as I'm not a member of facebook 

[archiesgems]

I can't look at the photo as I'm not a member of facebook 

Not a member of facebook........... I don't blame you hehe x

[joyfull]

nor myspace or twitter - see I know what they're called just can't be bothered to join  .
Would have liked to see the polecat as my uncle and cousin breed them.