Lonely Ferret?

[Tengu]

Came back from the Bushmoot with a ferret....

(those of you who managed to avoid the ferrets can now look smug)

we are getting on fine, and he is a winner with my family (none of whom live with me, BTW)

but my fathers wife is objecting saying its a wild animal and its cruel to keep him on his own.

(she would not say this about rats/dogs/toddlers/budgerigars and pretty much any other sort of social creature.)

should I find him a home with other ferrets? he seems happy enough, he has a box with hay in it, where he sleeps, and sometimes he potters around the kitchen, I feed him things like mince, egg, catfood and milk and he eats them up quite happily.

(I will, of course get a proper cage and ferret food if I do keep him)

 

[GrahamC]

Hi,

Congratulations in discovering the best small animal around, great fun and a useful hunter!

If he is indeed a male ferret (a hob) then I would not suggest keeping him with other ferrets, at least over the spring and summer as hobs get quite aggressive, fighting other males and having very rough mating sessions with Jills (females). I have always kept hobs separate over this period, except for castrated hobs (hobbles - yes really!) and a vascectomised one that was permitted visits to the jills (if jills stay in season there can be serious health implications).

If you keep him you might want to get him castrated as hobs get very smelly and oily although I never known them to be agressive if frequently and lovingly handled. Apart from uncastrated males in spring and summer, ferrets do get on well in a group and a ferrret court (large pen) is a great way to keep them. They also make great pets and I find the small very comforting!

There are some good books about ferrets and I would definitely recommend one of the following,

The complete book to ferrets - Val Porter and Nicholas Brown
The complete guide to ferrets - James McKay
The ferret and ferreting handbook - james McKay.

Lastly, do not get another ferret until you have read some more about breeding, ferrets breed very easily and have large litters. Whilst lots of ferrets is good fun, too many is a pain!

GrahamC

 

[Red Kite]

Ferrets (like stoats and weasels) are pretty much loners out in the wild, only coming together to breed. So no real problems in keeping just one.

Its main problem is likely to be boredom, and you may want to place some toys into its cage - balls with bells in etc, though try and avoid anything with a reflective surface as it may see its reflection as competition and try and attack it.

May be worth doing some pavlovian conditioning (ring a bell or tap some coins together for a few minutes before feeding), so that in the event of it going awol it will associate the noise with food and will return - in theory anyway. I have seen this work with ferrets which have decided to stay down rabbit holes.

Have fun and remember those playfull bites will get more painfull as it get older

Red Kite

 

[Dandaman_24]

Pavlov's dogs, what a guy. I whistle to my ferrets when i feed them, so in theory should respond to me when they go on walk abouts.

 

[KAE1]

He'll be fine on his own. why not buy a harness and take him for walks to make life more interesting when not out hunting.
I have to recommend the fine books and DVDs by my good friend Simon Whitehead of Pakefield ferrets.Check his web site.

 

[spamel]

How did you manage to come home with a ferret? Sounds like a story that needs telling!

 

[The Joker]

How did you manage to come home with a ferret? Sounds like a story that needs telling!

don't tell me it crawled up your trouser leg...........Spamel has got a point though

 

[spamel]

don't tell me it crawled up your trouser leg...........Spamel has got a point though

Wouldn't have a point if a ferret crawled up my leg! It'd bite it off!

 

[The Joker]

Wouldn't have a point if a ferret crawled up my leg! It'd bite it off!

 

[Tengu]

Wildspirit bushcraft were selling them; but I got mine free, as a young lad found his mother wasnt very keen on the idea...

Hes better off with me than being pulled aroung by kids, he was shaking with fright.

Now how do I pacify `my` fathers wife??

(they do have an appealing musky smell, dont they? my uncle who came to visit was rather taken by him)

 

[seany boy]

Hi,
great little animals...
some useful links................

http://www.ferretfascination.co.uk/index.htm

http://www.17lbcod.fsnet.co.uk/index.html

http://www.bffw.btik.com/

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/index.htm

http://www.ferretsrus.co.uk/ferretsabout/index.php

http://www.britishferretclub.co.uk/index.htm


Have fun and watch out.... ferrets are amazing escape artists!!

 

[The Joker]

(they do have an appealing musky smell, dont they? my uncle who came to visit was rather taken by him)

My nephews used to keep them..................they stunk

 

[-Switch-]

...

(they do have an appealing musky smell, dont they? my uncle who came to visit was rather taken by him)

You spelt 'appalling' wrong.

 

[Twoflower]

My nephews used to keep them..................they stunk

Yep, my nephews stink too

 

[Hunter_zero]

should I find him a home with other ferrets? he seems happy enough, he has a box with hay in it, where he sleeps, and sometimes he potters around the kitchen, I feed him things like mince, egg, catfood and milk and he eats them up quite happily.

(I will, of course get a proper cage and ferret food if I do keep him)

Ferrets need interaction, that means you! As long as you have the time to give the war weasel then he / she will be happy BUT if it is a she, then you'll have problems when she comes in to season as you'll need to get her the jill jab (£15 from the vet). Ferrets can get almost all human diseases, inc. salmonella so be careful with the mince. Eggs can reduce the ferrets vitamin levels and they become lethargic, one or two a week is more than they need. Cat food (canned stuff) can lead to tooth decay. Best to get high protein dry cat food or Gilbertson & pages ferret food £15 per 25kgs. You should be looking for 28+ % chicken protein in the food as the ferrets stomach is very short and they don't have time to digest food, hence high protein. If you were closer, I'm going to build a new cage for my ferrets, you would have been welcome to my cage and run which has done me for almost ten years!

John

 

[Dandaman_24]

I feed mine liver from the supermarket, pork or lamb which evers there, only £1 odd and lasts a day or two.
I occasionally have some rabbits when I get time to go out and shoot or trap them.

Pets at home do a ferret food £4.99 for a biscuit based food. But ferrets in the wild ( related hybrids) feed almost purely on raw food, so try and feed as much raw as poss.

 

[The Joker]

You spelt 'appalling' wrong.

 

[pothunter]

I had a big hob when I was younger, we were both asked to leave the pub one night after he discovered crisps!
He was always very good with the girls, had more luck with them than I did.
Boredom was a problem it would take him half an hour to settle when I got home from college or work.
Enjoy your new friend Tengu and get a lining collar they really do enjoy a walk.

Pothunter.

 

[Tengu]

isnt liver too rich? I know you mustnt feed it to cats too often, as it can poison them.

Im giving him ox heart, which he likes (and I like)

why does he drag bits off to eat?

He does bite a little; I wash my hands well and rub in diluted disinfectant to take away the food smell. when he bites I scold him, tap his nose and put back in his box.

He doesnt take much notice of that (but hes only young)

 

[KAE1]

Don't scold him for biting Tengu. You need to be confident and not flinch/pull back, this will be his trigger to bite again. When handling him present your fist to him. If he tries to nibble gently push your index finger knuckle into his mouth.He will soon want to stop biting and reject the object in his mouth.
Repeat this GENTLY and he will soon learn.He should soon be able to differentiate between your hand and food. He needs to know your natural scent - not discinfectant.
Not sure if my advice is the 'current' advice but I kept and worked ferrets from the age of 10 until I was 31 and never had one of my own ferrets bite be in anger, not once. My kids used to play with them all the time and they were never bitten.
Hope this helps.