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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2014 22:24:55 GMT -5
Babies indeed! Those are we big fat floofy ferrets! They are gorgeous!
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Post by Blue on Dec 3, 2014 13:29:21 GMT -5
I'd like to pretend I can see what you mean re: the masks, but I'm probably deluding myself! It doesn't help that their bone structure seems very similar too. Your poleys look very much like Marie's ferrets (because they're the same European breeding stock I'm guessing), but I can tell some of hers apart because of the skull shapes. Of course they're not all directly related.
I love seeing your babies, Heather. I hope you keep updating this thread forever!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2014 21:44:12 GMT -5
Heather Are you keeping your babies? They are so beautiful. I was wondering if they get along w/cats &/or dogs? I would feel so much safer with a ferret /or polecat that had a more substantial size & weight. My biggest boy is 3 lbs. All 3 are Marshalls ferrets. I came looking to see them again...soo very cute, beautiful. My questions are for real but now it's updated. How old are they now? Thank you - Jodi
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Post by Heather on Dec 7, 2014 23:31:52 GMT -5
I'm going to be keeping this litter. They like to hunt both my cats and dogs but I don't allow it. How would you feel safer with having a larger ferret? We were actually discussing this on another post on FB.....anyone who's had a hob that exceeds 4 lbs is difficult to handle. They're immensely strong, scruffing is next to impossible, I can't catch my boy with one hand because I can't fit my hand around his chest or his neck. A ferret has an immensely strong bite. A 5 lb+ ferret's jaw strength is immense and can easily bite through a chicken neck if they so chose to....so fingers are not a problem. Yes, they're cuddly bears but they're intensely independent boneheads when their bodies become hormonal. The kits are now 7 months old. Ask any questions, I'm more than willing to answer them ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 1:07:39 GMT -5
Heather I have a question... can I have all the ones from your next litter? And a few more if you don't mind.. how early can you start baby ferts on a raw diet? And do your floofers have types of testing a such done before being bred? I'm going about the ways I know dogs are reputably bred, but I don't know how it works for ferrets. And I've wondered, how many ferrets do you have in total right now? Not the litter but all your ferts put together? I wish the little meepers could stay the way they looked in June, hehe, their mouths look so cute.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 1:14:18 GMT -5
Lol Emily, me too. Heather ,I should have said; I'd feel more comfortable that they were safer My cats are bigger than my ferrets, & we had an attack one day so I have to be much more/extremely careful now, even though the kittens & kits all grew up together. Aloha too.
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Post by nancyl on Dec 8, 2014 18:14:34 GMT -5
If I remember correctly, I think I gave the kits their first chunks and pinkies at right around 4 weeks. It might have been a few days later but it was somewhere in the 4 to 5 week range. They'd been getting a soupy mix of baby food and goat's milk since they were 18 to 20 days.
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Post by Heather on Dec 8, 2014 21:55:21 GMT -5
Here you go....video of 3 week old kit stealing Mom's food. They have no problem chomping on whole meats and those pieces had bone in them. At that age they understand completely what they need and are willing to wiggle their little bodies out there to get it. As you can tell he's not willing to give it up either lol. He's willing to take on his mother for that bit of food. No unlike dogs, ferrets have no genetic data base to work from. There is no governing body that stores or makes sure that good genetic profiles are kept. It's up to the individual breeders to keep the records and do their research. Up until recently this would and could be based on very sketchy information and memory. I presently have 11 ferrets. My rescues, Masters Boris and Atreyu and Lady Natasha. Master Tico (the babies' father) and Lady Morgain (a poley jill), the B & E twins (an albino hob and my v-hob, Masters Enigma and Bacchus) Lady Lola (poley jill and mother to my bratty babies) and of course last but definitely not least the babies, Master Radagast and Misses Merrida and Boudicca. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 22:08:45 GMT -5
Wish my 5yr old was as determined for meatz.... lol See, they're just too adorable, someone is going to track you down and come and take the little meepers (giggle)
There's just something about Radagast, I've never met him and love him to death. Which baby is the kookiest clown of them all? ..and what is the life expectancy for them/poleys? I have wondered this for the longest time but always forgot to ask, just out of curiosity, I think you said you have had over 50 ferrets, have you ever had a ferret that was raw-fed from birth that had Insulinoma? I figure that it's also genetic, which sucks. But with good genetics I assume the likelihood can be lower?
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Post by Heather on Dec 8, 2014 22:20:19 GMT -5
In all the years that I've had ferrets I've only had 2 insulinoma...confirmed insulinoma. I've had 5 that we thought were but discovered that in 3 of the 5 cases it was a type of cancer of the digestive tract that was giving the illusion (low BG) of insulinoma, there was no pancreatic cysts. These ferrets that I have right now are the only ferrets that I've had from babies who were actually weaned to raw. Up until a few years ago, I did only rescue and hospice work. It's saying a lot for diet though because a lot of the ferrets that were surrendered to me had terrible diets. Genetics do play a part in insulinoma but only if they don't cut a break, I honestly believe if you switch their diet you can win this battle. It's not an absolute but it's close. Life expectancy....not entirely sure. There's so much that comes into play. I will have to look that up. The kookiest of the kits? Has to be Boudicca...of the whole group of ferrets....has to be the B & E twins, followed closely by Atreyu. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 22:31:04 GMT -5
I'm glad I'm getting the blood work done for L.Guy for sure. (with suspected Insulinoma) Hopefully not a cancer He has been eating the raw chicken great, pretty much from the first day...no kibbles, nothing else. I'll get test results back in the next couple days. The video is adorable One day I will have a much larger ferret or polecat. I doubt I'll move back to Canada, but when the time comes I'll get on looking for reputable breeders.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2014 23:02:22 GMT -5
I'm hoping my newest girl and my youngest, at 1yrs has been on raw for just over a month can beat Insu, I hate that disease, it took 2 out of 5 of my babies within 3 months.
How do you pronounce "Boudicca"... I feel like I'm saying it wrong, lol.
@jdomian when a ferrets BG is below 70, that is (nearly always) a confirmed diagnosis of Insulinoma, which is a cancer and we can only help this with lifelong medicine and a proper raw diet, which you are doing correctly. We can just hope Little Guy is more stable than others are with this, and we can also hope the tumors aren't malignant, but with the first BG reading it isn't very likely, but on this group we are all about hope.
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Post by Heather on Dec 9, 2014 0:12:37 GMT -5
BOUDICA is the spelling most scholars agree on. BOUDICCA was recorded by Tacitus. It SHOULD be pronounced like BO di ka - BO as in bow/tow not the modern BOO. Hope that helps ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 0:27:21 GMT -5
Ah okay, yep was pronouncing it wrong, lol. How did you come up with their names? If I don't steal little Radagast I'll have to steal his name (giggle)
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Post by Heather on Dec 9, 2014 0:44:40 GMT -5
They tell me ciao
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