Experiences with Ferrets 
A. S„ on page 423, asks what about 
ferrets. I can say I have used ferrets in 
ridding premises of rats, and want to say 
rats will not stay around long after they 
arc aware of the presence of a ferret. A 
ferret will kill a rat. in short order, if he 
can once get hold of one. Yes, ferrets 
will kill hens about as quickly as mink or 
weasel. But the way to Use them is first 
to get them tame, so you can catch ferret 
easily (fix henhouse so he cannot get. to 
hens). Then put him under the buildings 
and watch for him when lie comes out that 
he does not. get away. What he does not 
kill will leave after he has been loosed a 
few times, A good feed for them is bread 
and milk, with a little liver or other meat 
once in a while, (live ferret a dark place 
to sleep in, but a light cage. 
At present I have something that beats 
the ferret, but never heard about it before. 
We have a rod squirrel we let out once in 
a while. lie goes from eel la r to attic, 
an all over and under the other build 
ings. The buildings are all old, with wood 
Moors, just the place for rats, hut I have 
not seen or known of hut one rat since we 
began to let the squirrel out. I am sure 
it is tin 1 squirrel that drives them out. 
otherwise I would ta* overrun with rats. 
1 keep tin: hen feed in boxes and barrels 
with no trouble from rats. I have to shut 
the squirrel in his cage most of the time, 
for lie would carry away and little more 
poultry grain than a few rats. Perhaps 
l would better state that most ferrets will 
tackle most any animal, big or little, as 
they know no fear, and seem to think they 
arc at war with the world in general, so 
he careful and watch. I once heard of 
one killing a cow. 0 . u. 
New York. 
I should not turn a ferret loose among 
poultry ; they are very much like a weasel. 
It is always well to have your hands free 
from blood wllett feeding ferrets, because 
the tamest will, grab your hand as quick 
as a piece or raw meat. I have seen a 
man let his ferrets climb up his coat 
sleeve on ihe inside, crawl around Ids 
neck, and act m> more afraid of being bit¬ 
ten than as if it. was his favorite horse’s 
nose that was on his neck. One of those 
men who had always handled ferrets said 
lie had a three-year-old female he had 
raised that was as kind as anything could 
he, that hit him on the juglar vein one 
morning on its daily trips over his person, 
and as these little animals have a sur¬ 
prising amount of strength in their jaws, 
and arc bloodsuckers with all of the grit 
and stubbornness of a bul'dog. if was 
necessary to choke this ferret to death and 
pry its jaws apart tu get it away from 
this man’s neck, lie told me that after 
that his ferrets were handled with heavy 
gloves, and when he laid them they were 
either in the hag he carried them in on 
his hunting trips or else in his hands. 
When hunting rabbits with ferrets we 
always used a muzzle made of a piece of 
hard wood placed in the ferret’s mouth 
hack of the teeth and tied with ft piece 
of doth, both over and under the jaw. 
Before we did this our ferrets would start 
the rabbit and hump up in the hole so 
the rabbit would have to stop or turn in 
the hole. Then the ferret had a feast, and 
would stay in many a time a week before 
he would starve ut. It is against the laws 
of New York now to use a ferret. 
The boxes we used in keep our ferrets 
in were about 3 ft. sepia re. made of wood, 
with the front screened; in the darkest 
back corner was a little box with some 
soft lui.v in it. ami a hole about 2 in 
across; this was for the nest. A little 
hay was kept in the 1 large box to make 
if easy to clean. They were fed once a 
dav a small cup of good bread soaked in 
milk, and most of the milk pressed out 
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