When does food fighting become food aggression?

[Deleted]

Gidget has gotten REALLY bad during meal time. At first there'd be minor squabbles over a piece of food here and there, but now she is jumping and hissing/barking at the other ferrets while they're eating, at every meal. Today I've started just separating her from them while they're eating, and allowing her to eat when they're done. I don't want them to feel insecure or unsafe while eating. Is it bad to do this though? Should I just let them be?

[Heather]

I've never bothered but I also feed in the house where they're allowed to steal their meats and take it away. Does Gidget eat all their foods? the dominant sprite/jill always gets first pick and often bully's the underlings but usually lets them eat when she gets bored with her games. This is up to you and how comfortable you are with her carrying on. I used to laugh at a couple of my guys....there was the top group, 5 young strong ferrets who always bullied everyone but in the end it was laughable. One of them would grab a choice piece and everyone would chase them down fighting, stealing and bickering for this piece of meat. Meanwhile, I had a wee senior, bottom of the food chain...he'd be found sitting in the middle of the plate of food, nomming away at some of the most choice pieces. Meanwhile, the brats where bickering over little pieces of mouse, somewhere in the house. Yes, he'd often get bowled over and hissed at but he often wouldn't even show up until the meat fights had gone elsewhere. There was always enough meats and even if it all got stolen and stashed he'd find it. You'd see him tottering around with a mouth full of meats where he'd sneak off to his special place to eat in peace.
ciao

[msav]

you should let them work it out themselves. Is gidget deaf? My deaf ones are more vocal, they have different ways of communicating. The others need to get used to her way of talking.

[Deleted]

She is indeed deaf, and the most vocal. The barking was new once raw came along, the first time I heard it I was like wtf! but when I ran over, she and Dalia were just stealing a piece of meat back and forth, haha.

She does steal the pieces of food that the others have. I noticed a couple of times that the others will sometimes stop eating and go lay down when this happens, so that's why I was concerned. Elwood did this at dinner last night, so when I removed her, I put him back by the plate and held him til he started eating again. He is also a waardy, so maybe he is just overly sensitive compared to Dalia and Jake.

[msav]

It is all part of the social pecking order, It will sort itself out faster is you let them sort it out themselves. If you break it up it only prolongs it. This is natural and it actually keeps them interested in the food (at least with mine it does) I still find it funny.

I feel bad sometimes because every time I would give Taz or Bleu a mouse Mogwai would come along and wrestle it away from them. So I kept giving Taz and Bleu another one, Again Mogwai would steal it away. I look in the cage and Mogwai has 5 mice stacked in the corner of the cage and he is guarding them, Each time another ferret would come close to his stash of mice he would hiss and screech at them. once Mogwai got tired and went to bed the rest of the ferrets raided his stash. They all will get their fill in the end.

[Deleted]

Gizmo used to be like that, since he was a little baby. He is obsessed with chicken hearts, and when anyone got close to him while eating those, he'd go craaazy. Hiss, bite, 'bark"... it used to be really funny when he was tiny - a ferret the size of my palm hissing and growling for a piece of meat:)) when he grew up, he would steal everyone's food straight from their mouth... now he chilled out, he's peaceful... just sorted out on its own....