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Post by antismurffette on Dec 16, 2016 12:44:24 GMT -5
We kinda did things a little backwards, my fuzzies never had mouse to eat before.
Nero likes to chase things so my fiancé thought he'd be a good hunter. The pet store was having a deal so he picked up a feeder mouse and let Nero chase it down in the shower.
He said it took him a minute or two. He said their was mouse sounds, possible bites and Nero rolled it like it was a ball to death, or rather close to death. It sounds like when my cats play with the mice to death. My fiancé ended up killing it when he realized it wasnt dead but the kit was done with it.
It sounds nothing like you guys say yours do to their prey.
So being he is so young and that he's never seen a mouse alive or dead before should we give Nero a second chance after they all eat some frozen mice and see them as food?
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Post by Heather on Dec 16, 2016 14:24:51 GMT -5
How old is Nero? I would be tempted to see if he will eat frozen. I'm not saying that he won't hunt at this time but if he's not going to kill it properly and definitely not going to eat it, why waste a life? It's just my thought on it. I do use hunting as a skill set for stimulation. All my guys eat prey....not all my guys are good hunters though. What you described was a bad kill. Most ferrets have a very short learning curve, they either kill or they don't. That being said, I don't know how old he was. My poley kits could do a clean kill at 10 weeks but they are what they are (it wasn't my intent but a stupid mouse decided the ferret room was a good place to hang out). It ran across the floor, the kits saw it and it was dead before it even realised it was prey. It also became dinner that fast too. Kits never waste food. I've had some fantastic little killers and some abysmal failures. Captain Jack was my worst. Though a tried and true prey "eater" he would snuggle the live ones. The poor things practically had heart attacks. I tried him on his own and I tried him with a mentor....it was a total fail. I've had ferrets who maim rather than kill and loose interest after it can no longer run away. I never allow them to hunt again, their prey drive is just not strong enough ciao
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Post by antismurffette on Dec 16, 2016 14:28:43 GMT -5
Double post
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Post by antismurffette on Dec 16, 2016 14:31:00 GMT -5
He's 8 to 9 months so he's getting up there in terms of not being a kit anymore.
After I slit it's tummy and put it in the cage someone ate it. I'm thinking maybe Satan but I'm not sure. Do you think I should I try them again after they've had a few frozen ones? Or is he forever deemed a bad hunter?
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Post by Heather on Dec 16, 2016 14:34:56 GMT -5
I always allow them 2 cracks at it. I have no problem cutting the hunt short to make it a humane kill I will not allow a ferret (or a cat for that matter) to play with their food. It's entirely up to you. A ferret doesn't need to kill to be a ferret ciao
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Post by antismurffette on Dec 16, 2016 14:37:27 GMT -5
Okies thank you. I just feel bad hearing the mouse had such a horrible end. :-(
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Post by Heather on Dec 16, 2016 15:50:05 GMT -5
If you think that the mousie isn't going to have a good end, don't do it again. I didn't see it so cannot judge. Calypso, was a great hunter but a lousy killer. When I tried her the first time I had to off her mouse. I won't allow more than a couple of seconds after the trap. She didn't make a clean kill and though an avid hunter didn't seem very keen to make the kill. I never let her hunt again, never even tried her a second time. ciao
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