1 8 Studies in Rat Catching, [cH. i. 



on the day they go out until their work is 

 over. This makes them keen. Remember 

 ferrets work hard in a big day's ratting, and 

 therefore should be well nourished and strong ; 

 a ferret that is not will not have the courage 

 to face a rat. 



I have listened to all sorts of theories from 

 old hands about feeding ferrets, but have 

 followed the advice of few. For instance, I 

 have been told that if you give flesh, such as 

 rats and birds, to a ferret that has young 

 ones, it will drag it into the straw among the 

 little ones, who will get the blood on them, 

 and then the mother will eat them by mistake. 

 All I can say is, I have reared hundreds of 

 young ferrets and have always given the 

 mothers flesh. It is true that ferrets will eat 

 their young, and the way to bring this about 

 is to disturb the babies in the nest. If you 

 leave them quite alone till they begin to creep 

 about I believe there is no danger. 



