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Post by joan on Jul 22, 2012 21:42:42 GMT -5
Bev, they'd eaten a couple hours before the photo session...thus the podgy tummies. ;D Darlene and Jackie...there are 8 kits, 2 hobs and 6 jills. Two jills have gone to their new homes and two more (a hob and a jill) will leave for Boston later this week. The second pick jill is spoken for, so I only have a hob and possibly a jill still available. Here's a few more pics of the gang: My keeper... imgur.com/dQvTtimgur.com/xgkdpimgur.com/fboJSimgur.com/Q8OAximgur.com/XproH
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Post by Heather on Jul 22, 2012 21:48:23 GMT -5
They are so cute. They're starting to develop personalities....wee little daemon fuzzes. Trouble comes in small packages. They are so adorable. Your wee keeper has worry lines across his forehead/between his ears. He's too young to have worry wrinkles Beautiful ciao
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Post by joan on Jul 22, 2012 22:56:19 GMT -5
Heather, my keeper's a jill. ;D
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Post by Heather on Jul 22, 2012 23:15:20 GMT -5
Ooops Silly me ;D ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2012 5:47:38 GMT -5
Oooooh did you ship to Boston or do you live out that way? D: -> Is 1.5 hours from Boston.
Beth wants a dark, dark colored fuzzy.
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Post by Sherry on Jul 23, 2012 9:00:26 GMT -5
Joan is in Texas(I think) and won't ship. She wants to meet and get to know any prospective adopters.
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Post by joan on Jul 23, 2012 9:24:27 GMT -5
As Sherry said, I'm in TX (Austin, to be exact) and any prospective first time buyers of one of my kits must come here. I'd consider shipping if the person already had one or more of my kits, but the catch to that is that it's too hot to ship ferrets in or out of Austin from approximately early May until late October.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2012 9:53:29 GMT -5
Yeah I was going to say, they'd melt if you did it now. I don't really like shipping animals to begin with, it seems so stressful. Maybe next year we can see about flying out to Texas to visit and meet the fuzzies. This year we are pretty solidly booked until the end of the year. Unless we win Powerball. Then we can say forget working on the house and just buy a new one.
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Post by joan on Jul 23, 2012 10:24:48 GMT -5
Actually, ferrets are much less stressed by shipping than are dogs and cats. I wouldn't want to ship a kit under 5 months unless there was a direct flight, but any ferret with a stable temperament who has been properly socialized to strange situations shouldn't have any problems with it. I've imported ones from Sweden and from the UK, and they arrived in excellent condition with no signs of stress from the shipping. They were out of their shipping crate and exploring their new home within a few minutes after I got them home from the airport.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2012 12:21:42 GMT -5
Joan your babies are killing me. I'm in Arizona, where exactly in Texas are you? Maybe not this litter, but if SOME day I wanted to make a road trip over there, would I be able to talk you out of one of your babies? My only concern is whether a hob would co-exist with my existing hob Finn. I've heard so many different things, different people having different experiences, anywhere from two intact hobs living together safely even DURING rut, to "they will kill each other". What's your experience with the intact hobs Joan? Do you have to separate them, when, etc? So far I'm so happy with Finn even as an intact hob, his rut lasted less than 4 months, maybe I got really lucky with that! But when he was in rut, he was stinky and had to live separate, but that was the worst of it. People at work let me know that I smelled like a hob which helped me know I had to adjust my sanitary measures ;D But when he's not in rut, Finn is just like my Marshall babies, only bigger, stronger, more energy, and causes more trouble Some day it would be fun to see what an "even more ferrety" hob is like ;D I do like a challenge. Or if you thought I was ready, a jill would be awesome some day I would probably get her des as soon as it was healthy... Anyway, just wishful thinking for now, but maybe in the not-too-distant future assuming you're still breeding?
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Post by Heather on Jul 23, 2012 14:58:07 GMT -5
Actually, ferrets are much less stressed by shipping than are dogs and cats. I wouldn't want to ship a kit under 5 months unless there was a direct flight, but any ferret with a stable temperament who has been properly socialized to strange situations shouldn't have any problems with it. I've imported ones from Sweden and from the UK, and they arrived in excellent condition with no signs of stress from the shipping. They were out of their shipping crate and exploring their new home within a few minutes after I got them home from the airport. I've found the same.....no problems with my wee ones travelling either. They were a bit touchy or I suppose you could say grouchy that evening but were fine enough to eat a full meal that night. The next day they were up and ready to play and get into trouble. While they travel they just sleep anyway. ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2012 15:45:16 GMT -5
Finn didn't seem particularly scared when he arrived to me, and his trip lasted him around 10 hours! He had food and water and a litterbox. He probably slept most of the time. When I got him home, he wasn't at all sure he could trust me, and at first he didn't want me touching him. This is where some people could get bitten IMO if they don't follow the breeder's advice. Most people don't follow proper procedure, but in a case like this, you really should let them stay in their cage or carrier for a while with some food and water and let them calm down and realize they are safe. Then let them approach you so you can show them you are a friend (treats, etc). I made a couple mistakes with Finn when he arrived but it worked out OK, by bedtime he was comfortable enough with me to fall asleep in my arms But Finn is probably not as wily as some and you really should do it right and not skip steps in this process.
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Post by Heather on Jul 23, 2012 15:56:33 GMT -5
Allowing them some space (as hard as it's not to grab them and snuggle them) when they first move in is best. My two poleys (Lady Morgain and Tico) were more aloof and really needed their space (when they got out of their travelling box). The 'bino brats were all over me, expecting hugs and snuggles. I just put them in their cages, with water (and some RR, I think I needed it more than they did) and let them unwind. All 4 of them tucked into their dinner (international flights do not allow food across borders) very well and ate ravenously. They'd started their day at 5 am UK time (their flight was set for 11 am) and they arrived (with only a 15 min delay) at 3:45 pm, spent another 3 hrs in customs and then had another 2 hr trip to my home (oh, there is a 6 hr time difference). I believe that our ferrets are a lot more resilient than we give them credit for. You have to think about the state some of these wee ones come into rescues. I think strong healthy ferrets should be able to travel without issue as long as the proper care is taken. ciao
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Post by Sherry on Jul 23, 2012 16:08:28 GMT -5
Particularly if they are raw fed. I think that really makes a difference.
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Post by joan on Jul 24, 2012 8:40:49 GMT -5
Mikey, Austin is in central TX.
It's difficult to say if two whole hobs will get along as adults even if they were best friends as kits and especially when both are in rut . Some will, some won't, It depends on their personalities and temperaments.
For example, the hobs down from my Swedish import began to get aggressive with one another when they were around 4 months old and wanted nothing more to annilhilate all other hobs when they were in rut. In contrast, Basil (a UK import) and his son were able to stay together this spring while both were in rut. It did get a bit touchy at times when Raven tried to practise on Basil, and Basil beat him up thoroughly a couple times when Raven got too enthusiastic. Raven was still too immature and unsure of himself to fight back, but I suspect it could be a different story next year.
I really would not recommend another hob kit as long as Finn is intact, unless you're willing to keep them separate if one or both become seriously aggressive with one another. They would probably play together well until they started to come in rut, but they would most likely have to be separated at that time until their hormones subsided and both had been out for at least 3-4 weeks. They might or might not get along again after that, and might have to separate play times from then on.
You could probably cope with a jill from the UK background, as they have been relatively easy to live with compared to those from the Swedish background. They're even more people oriented and accept correction better...they're not as intelligent or athletic, either. Nancy would be the one to comment on this, as her Cricket was the only jill in last year's litter and she was 5 months old when Nancy was able to come down to get her.
Next year's litter should be comparable, as I plan to breed the jill I'm keeping to a half brother to set all their good qualities and bring out any recessives which didn't show up in this litter. After that, I plan to go back to a high content polecat background to reintroduce the high intelligence and athletic ability which I really miss.
I expect to be breeding for the foreseeable future, so long as I have and can obtain high quality breeding stock from a sable only background who have stable temperaments and people oriented personalities.
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