Ferrets

[AceOfHearts]

After getting to handle some ferrets at a country show at the weekend, i have finally got the misses to agree to let me have two. I am a novice with ferrets and only know what i have been reading online the past couple of days. I would probably want to get a hob and a Jill. Does anybody have any tips they could give me? I would like to work them occasionally so i guess i would be better off getting adults to start with so taht I can start this winter, and that hopefully means I can re-home some from a local shelter.

They would be living outside, and i have a space spare that should be able to house a pretty substantial hutch and run. I also read that they need proper welded wire mesh as opposed to chicken wire as they can chew through it.

Meat shouldn't be an issue as I regularly shoot rabbits and pigeons, so i could give these on top of pellet food. Is there anything i am missing?

[pikeyboy]

You need to look up simon pakefield in google. The ferret man, he often does a slot on using ferrets at country shows.

http://www.pakefieldferrets.ic24.net/

[boobles]

I had 24 of them at one point & they all lived outside in big cages. They were cleaned out twice a day & allowed to run around our garden whilst their cages were cleaned. They can smell awful because of their glands but this is normal. We fed ours cat food + wild rabbits & all of ours were handled all the time & were very tame. If they make a "hissing" noise at you, get out of thier way because if they bite, they don't let go. Enjoy, they are very rewarding indeed.

Oh & they can chew through pretty much anything but if you allow them excersise they are normally pretty well behaved & don't feel the need to escape.

[GT03ROB]

I had two once. Very friendly but stank to high heaven. They eventuallychewed their way out of their cage & that was the last I saw ofthem!

[pikeyboy]

I think if you want to work them, then ideally you need to bring them up on rabbit to make sure they get the taste/smell for it;)

[Backseatdriver]

We have seven ferrets. They are huge fun but are very high maintenance and need cleaning out at least twice a day. The idea that they bite is absolute nonsense if they are treated kindly and handled confidently. They are very loving and make excellent pets. Their smell reduces dramatically if they are neutered or implanted. They do suffer from health problems such as adrenal cancer and insulinoma which is cancerous nodules in the pancreas, so be prepared for some vet bills. Also do find an exotics vet. Most "normal" vets know very little about ferrets, which is rather strange as ferrets have been kept in this country for thousands of years. A good website is Ferretsforum.co.uk. There are thousands waiting for good homes in rescues. Good luck.

[AceOfHearts]

Thanks everyone

Wild rabbit is no trouble, there are always plenty of supplies. I will do some reading up on those sites

[Pat101]

Female ferrets (Jills) will come in to season and stay in season until they are mated. If they don't get mated they can develop aplastic anaemia which is fatal.

If you have a female spayed there is no problem. Or you can mate her with a vasectomised boy ( someone on the ferret forum will have one)

Or obviously, if you have a boy and a girl and let nature take its course there will be a litter of kits, which you will then need to find homes for.

You can also have a "Jill jab' done at the vets which brings a female out of season but this is quite expensive.

Worth bearing in mind before you decide what to get gender-wise.

I have 6, 4 girls and 2 boys. All spayed and neutered. Fascinating animals, but hard work to care for properly. They do need a lot of 'entertaining', ideally at least 3 hours a day out of the hutch to play.

British ferret club also have a good website.

[9400pamela]

Heres some of mine, so lazy they coudn't catch a cold let alone a rabbit....