Skiff
Junior Member
Posts: 117
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Post by Skiff on Oct 7, 2015 16:25:43 GMT -5
I feel kinda stupid asking this but I cant find an answer anywhere so I guess the breeders board is as good a place to ask as any. So at the moment Poro (my hob) is sharing with Jinx (my whole jill), he is only just 4 months so not sexually mature yet, I just want to know how long I have to get them spayed/neutered or separated.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2015 17:51:46 GMT -5
I'll tag several of our breeders for you. You will get a quicker response. crazylady Heather nancyl can you answer Skiff's questions for him?
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2015 18:03:44 GMT -5
I had my male (6months) and female(8months) together for about a month before getting them both done. The sooner the better in my opinion. Where I live, my vet said that 6 months was the right time to spay/neuter, however I heard some say that may be too early and if its done too early there may also be health risks or so i hear- I might stick around since this topic has intrigued me.
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Post by Sherry on Oct 7, 2015 18:28:58 GMT -5
Just keep watching your female for signs of coming into season(check her vulva daily if necessary), and/or your male for his testicles dropping and him getting aggressive with her for now.
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Post by Heather on Oct 7, 2015 23:07:17 GMT -5
Sherry's right. My little girls think it's a natural human greeting first thing in the morning. Flip check their girlie bits and if everything is ok they get to run with the boys. Watch that wee boy of yours though, they can be really sneaky Most jills are not compliant unless they're in season. That being said breeders have been known to get caught out so do be careful especially when dealing with kits who are becoming teenagers. Kits usually come into season earlier than their adult counterparts. My girls from last year's litter came into season around Jan/Feb. Their mother didn't even bother to consider it until March/April As far as altering, I like to see a year before altering. A ferret is often sexually mature between 6 months to 9 months. A ferret hasn't finished growing until after it's first birthday, altering before that time will never allow it to reach it's full potential structurally. If you can't deal with that hobnoxious behaviour then perhaps using the DES for his first year might help. Always check with your breeder they often can provide you with ideas on what they consider acceptable. Some breeders do not want their kits chemically castrated expecting you to surgically castrate. It has been discovered that altering early can set your ferret up for adrenal later in life. ciao
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Post by crazylady on Oct 8, 2015 13:23:32 GMT -5
Hi skiff I just noticed you are in the uk may I ask are your ferrets house ferrets ? because if they are and they receive more light than darkness ( artificial light ) this can advance there sexual maturity and make there bodies think they are old enough to mate so they may mature at 6 months rather than the normal 8-10 most vets in the uk will not fix until a kit has over wintered and the males testes are down ( makes his job easier lol) as heather has said keep a close eye on both of them it can happen before you know it lol I once had a jill come into season 25th December and she was kept outside in a ferret house in natural light lol take care bye for now bev
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Skiff
Junior Member
Posts: 117
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Post by Skiff on Oct 10, 2015 6:41:35 GMT -5
Thanks the replies all, so my guys are all outdoors ferrets so shouldn't be affected by artificial light. Just for reference, the reason only one of my girls has been spayed is because when I took them to the vets, Jinx had lost a lot of weight and the vet wasn't sure if there was something wrong, so she said to keep an eye on her weight. I did and it levelled out and hasn't changed much for a while now, so I'm just assuming she is a very skinny ferret.
As for Poro, I would like him to see a year before I get him neutered but I'm not sure I want to deal with his first season, everything I have heard about it says he's gonna be a stinky, sticky little nightmare lol. How bad is it really?
Also, what's DES?
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Post by Sherry on Oct 10, 2015 11:05:40 GMT -5
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Post by crazylady on Oct 10, 2015 14:15:52 GMT -5
Hi as there out door you should not have any problems of your jill coming in season just yet ( its just started getting dark at around 4 30 here in the uk lol) normally its around jan feb that your little male begins to drop his bits ( depending on the temp )the first season is normally the worst for males they go into it big time ( think teenager on a girl hunt for the first time lol) they get sticky oily and yes can stink they can also turn a little bad tempered after all it is your fault they cant make whoopee lol some of my most loving hobs have turned on my son to bite him yet tried to drag me into there cage lol they can taste female hormones on my skin yet my son they look as the enemy he may get the ladies before him lol another thing to watch for is in breeding season don't handle your female before picking up a whole hob wash your hands first or you could end up with a nip lol in all honesty I don't mind the smell of whole hobs I have handled way too many for it to bother me lol take care bye for now Bev
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