A bit of fun

[Monaro Pete]

We do a lot of Ferret PR, and spend a lot of time answering those exact questions, people are always amazed that our ferrets do not smell like they were told/remember.

Firstly, ferrets do not go feral, they are a domesticated animal, that were deliberately bread to be albino, by the Romans, so the Peregrine falcon could tell the difference between a brown rabbit bolting from the hole, and go after it, or a white ferret coming from the hole, and ignore it. Unfortunately because of the inbreeding of albinos, to make it the dominant gene, they lost a lot of their ability to cope with parasites they get in the wild, becoming anaemic from flea and tic bites, and succumbing to ear infections from ear mites, and if those do not kill them, and they do not walk up to a fox or dog, as they have no natural fear, then the Lung work, and Heart worm, they get from eating Slugs, will definitely get them... Most do not last more than 5 or 6 weeks in the wild. The lucky ones find their way to a Ferret Rescue.

As for the smell, it's easy, you get them neutered.... It stops the smell... It also makes them friendlier, and in the Jills case, helps to save their life, as once a Jill comes into season, unlike most animals, if they do not mate, they stay in season, and often get an infection of her lady parts, or failing that, she becomes calcium deficient, and her bones thin down. The other thing is quality food, on the old days people fed ferrets some real rubbish, often thongs like bread and milk, ferrets are lactose intolerant. They need food with a very high (in comparison to most other animals) protein content, which helps to reduce the amount of waste product produced, which again reduces the smell. Along with that, keeping their cages clean also makes a massive difference, e.g, ours have their litter trays changed 1 or 2 times a day, and their fleece and cotton bedding changed and washed twice a week.

We often have people comment when they come over how they thought the house would smell, but it does not even smell as bad as a house that has dogs living in it.


We have had a bad year this year, and had several ferrets pass on, so in the 16 years we have had ferrets, we were down to the least we have ever had, since our first year... Today we went to the rescue to get a couple of new ferrets, as a belated birthday present for Suz... Somehow, we came home with 6 new fuzzies!!! 5 are this years kits, and one is an older lady who was used for breading,

4 of them are huge, more like dogs than ferrets, so I am sitting here typing this with 6 extra fluffy monsters running around, and boy are they a lot of fun...

Thank you. I have learned a lot from this post :thumb2 :thumb2 :clap

 

[Thomas61]

This has opened my eyes to the world of ferrets, when I scanned through the pond photos on the phone I thought blimey they can do the back stroke that's amazing!!! A proper look showed it was the pond ornament. Slightly disappointed about the back stroke but loving the pictures and the learning.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

This has opened my eyes to the world of ferrets, when I scanned through the pond photos on the phone I thought blimey they can do the back stroke that's amazing!!! A proper look showed it was the pond ornament. Slightly disappointed about the back stroke but loving the pictures and the learning.

:lol:lol One of the ladies on my Ferret forum saw that picture, and said it looked just like one of her ferrets when he has a bath... none of ours have ever laid on their backs as far as I know though.

Our ferrets used to spend ages trying to rescue that otter from the pond, but finally got board, so I hope the new guys will do it again.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

well, it's been nearly 48 hours, and we've broken them...

 

[emjaybee]

Sweeeeeeet

 

[macabethiel]

Great post love the little critters !

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Well, we seem to have got the names sorted..

The Polecat Mum, has fallen nicely into "Mars", we had already been calling her "Ma" or "Mum", as she was mothering the whole group.

Her daughter is as black as black, with just a tiny white mask, and is very timid. Currently she slinks round the house in the shadows, and under furniture, and seems to just magically appear in places... She is now "Magic", as in "Black Magic"

The huge Polecat boy, is a real character, and chases us everywhere taking flying leaps at us, grabbing trouser legs, and ragging them.. He is now "Lion".

His Albino mate that was in the same cage as him at the rescue is super cute, and loves to curl up for cuddles, but when he is awake, he can't resist chewing on your fingers and knuckles... Luckily he does not get too carried away, but because of this, he is now "Chewit"

The other 2 Albinos were Suz's Birthday present, and as they are almost identical, and hard to tell apart at the moment, they have become "kit" and "Kat".

 

[solarman216]

You have some patience I will say that, good on you for rescuing them, you must bring some of them here one day, Rick