Trained Ferrets Control Rat Population

Trained ferrets control rat population LIVESTOCK Exotic Animals 10-1-23 "They're taking the place of cats in this part of the country. Everybody's buying them to chase rats," says Dick Dierks, Comstock, Wis. who's gained the upper hand in the struggle against his farm's rat population with "trained" ferrets. Dierks, and many of his neighbors, say ferrets make the ideal rat predator. The weasely little animal, with it's sharp, curved teeth and vice-grip jaws, instinctively runs down rats and goes right for the throat. It relishes the chase through tunnels and shed walls and under corn cribs and buildings. The trick is to teach the animals to kill and move on or to simply chase the rats out into the open where people with brooms and sticks can finish them off. "We feed our ferrets only cat food so they really don't develop a taste for meat. If you reward them after they do a good job rat chasing they'll come to you after the hunt for a little petting as a reward," says Dierks. In the spring and fall, when rats get particularly active, Dierks rounds up a few neighbors who also own ferrets and they have a rat killing party. The people surround the grain bin or building that is the target, and the ferrets are sent in. As rats come scurrying out, they're beaten to death. "You never realize how many rats there are until you flush them out," he says, noting that rat chasing has become a kind of sport that everyone seems to enjoy. Ferrets are available in pet shops for $30 to $40. Dierks says he and his neighbors sell them ù when available ù for about $15 apiece. He says they're easy to keep around and make good pets if they're handled a lot. If they're not handled often, there is a danger that they'll snap at any quick movement and once they bite, you have to pry their jaws apart to get them to let go. They are not especially well-suited for kids but each animal is different and Dierks says some ferrets are very affectionate and would never bite a handler. The female ferret is the best rat-chaser because it's the best hunter and is so flexible it can turn around in a rat tunnel. Dierks keeps his ferrets penned up because he says they'll attack animals much larger than themselves out in the wild. "If you let them out they'll come back covered with porcupine quills or never come back at all." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dick Dierks, Rt. 1, Comstock, Wis. 54826 (ph 715 822-8313).

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