The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-11
FERRETS AS RAT.CATCHERS.
How the Lively Little Animals are
Trained 10 Kill Rodents.

Trained 10 Kill Rodents.
eff you want to clear a house or yes
sci of rats, nowadays" said Rat-catcher
and Vermin Exterminator tsaacsen to a
reporter for the Mail and Express, ''you
mustn't depend on cats. They arc too
slow and old fashioned for this kind OF
work, and like everything else that is
%antiquated, they are bound to 60.
"What has taken the place of the cat3
Why, the ferret to be sure. 1t is the
only sure-pop remedy for these pests. A
few years ago ferrets were only used for
amusement in rat bats and things OF
that sort, but now ferret raising has be-
come a regular business, which is grow.
ing ali the time. Last year over Z, 600
ierrets were sold in this city, and this
year I am raising over 3 5000 myself, and
several f%anciers are dcvoting much time
and attention to improving the breed"
"Do they require special training?"
"Bless your soul, of course they do.
In the first place they are probably the
stupidest animals that were ever created.
The only thing about them that seems to
be common to all is pluck, and an obsti.
nacv like that CT a bulldog. When they
once get their teeth in the carcass of an
other animal, or even a piece of meat.
you cannot make them let 60 without
almost killing them, so great is the
strength of their jaws and neck, which,
after half a minute or so produces stupe'
faction, and then their jaws will relax.
They will, of course, naturally fight a rat
or any animal when they see it, but the
difficulty is to train them to hunt for
rats"
GLOW is that done?"
"The best way is by imitation. We
take young ferrets about six months
old rs recruits, and put them with an
older ferret, which has been trained to
enter rat-holes without n coaxing
being required. The younger ones will
follow the example of the experienced
hunter, and when they have become
used to the sport they enjoy it and will
usually take to rat.holes as a duck to
water. It often takes a good many
weeks, however, to make tiem proficient
in the work, and sometimes we have to
give it up. Once in a rat-hole they never
leave it until every rat his been driven
out or killed. The old animals which
have been carefully trained and have
shown exceptionally fine points are very
desirable for the purpose of working in
the young ~ferrets, and are very valuable.
That animal in the cage" he continued,
pointing to a small-sized brown-striped
ferret, apparently differing in no respect
from the others in the room, lis one Of
the finest at-catchers I ever had. l
would not take $50 for her. She is three
years old, and has an unlimited amount
of pluck, requiring no coaxing to start
on a forav. Beside this her chief point
is her small size, which you will observe
in comparing her with the other ferrets
near by. This enables her to follow the
rats through the smallest c%revices with.
out difficulty, when a larger ferret would
be obliged to give up the chase. She has
been in a great many fights and the princi'
pal danger has been the possibility that
in a contest with a number of large rats
she might be overpowered and killed,
for when a rat is cornered he will show
as much fight as a ferret. Her pluck has
always saved her, however. When she
is used for rat hunting, we always put a
larger animal with her for protection, for
two ferrets can get away with any mum.
Der of rats without difficulty.
ut sometimes takes several days, or a
week even, to clear the rats out of a
building. The rats are smarter animals,
and can scent ferrets as soon as they
are brought into the house, and will
leave it at once if there is any way OF
escape. 1t is therefore necessary to keep
the ferrets in the house some time, so
that the rats gradually lose their fear
when they find they are not attacked,
and will return to their old haunts. A
couple of ferrets can clear the largest
warehouse of rats in n night if they
can get at them. But even if they arc
not all killed the remainder will seldom
return to the house which has once been
ransacked by f~errets, for several months
at least. Many owners Of large drygoods
houses keep ferrets in their cellars all the
time, in the same way as they would
keep a cat, which is a continual
projection against these destruc-
tive pests. In hunting rats
on board ship great care must be taken
or the ferrets will be lost. The other
day I lost scvera! valuable ferrets in
making such an experiment. The rats
collected in the bow of the vessel, and
when the ferrets attacked them they
went overheard in a body, pouring In a
stream out of one of the hawseholes.
The ferrets went after them of course,
and were drowned. Put a big rat in a
room with a ferret and he will always
back up in a corner and defend himself
to the last. You can always bet on the
ferret though, for he is bound sooner or
later. to fasten his teeth in the. neck OF his
antagonist. Where q single ferret IS
placed in q stall with q large number of
rats the latter will crowd together in a
corner and try to hide under each other.
This makes it very easy work for the
ferret, but reverse the operation, and put
in q solitary rat with three or four fer
rets, and they will leave the rat entire
and fight with each other for the prize.
l have known ferrets to kill each other
in fighting for the possession of a choice
morsel which neither is willing to share
with the other.
"How much will a trained ferret
bring"
"The usual price is SIS a pair, but, of
course, the better trained animals will
bring higher prices. They are usually
sold in pairs because two will hunt bet
ter together than a single one.
"Great care is to be used in handling
ferrets on account of their vicious habit
49, l1.s-