Advice needed

[Bevwallis 7]

Hi All

 

 

I think i have a problem but am by no means an expect on ferret behaviour and so would appreciate some advice.

 

I recently merged 2 groups of ferrets making 1 vascectomised hob and 5 jills,4 being last years and one from earlier this year.

 

Tbh i didnt expect any trouble but one of my jills appears to be attacking the youngest jill.I dont mean the usual"i'm dragging you off by your scruff " type of thing,i mean biting and screaming- i tried to put the younger jill back in this morning and straight away this older jill woke up and attacked her.

I have now removed the older jill to see if the younger one can be excepted by the rest.

 

Without sounding dramatical there appears to be a tension between the jills for some reason- is it all about this younger one?

None are in season and the hob remains disinterested in the antics altogether

 

What i dont want is to end up with an injured or dead jill but i do want them all living in their nice new court.

 

Do i need to let them "get on with it" or am i facing permanant seperation,if so who do i take out?

 

Will ferrets kill each other for no apparent reason?This certainly isnt about space or food as they have plenty of both and i can only guess hormones or pack order of some kind?

 

HELP!!!

[noddy6560 0]

How old is your youngest ? I have a jill that HATES kits or anything under ayear. I had to wait until the kits were ayear old before getting them together , even then there were some scraps, the kits by that time were big enough and condident enough to tell her where to go but when they were younger she just went into hunt mode with them and it wasn't safe for them. If the young jill is completely new it's also a case of group dynamics. and your older jill may be taking exceptiom big time to it. try putting veg oil on the back of neck with both of them sometimes by the time they've licked it off they're pals

[stubby 175]

had the same happen last week, an established court containing a castrated hob and five jills, put a young hob in (16 6weeks) and one of the nicest j6ills went66 berserk on him, had thought the same.

 

I walked away and left them to it, they aint the best of friends, but its a largish court, they are both still alive,

[Bevwallis 7]

The "victim" was given to me a few weeks ago and is almost the size of the smaller jills.

 

I am unsure of what to do ....after a few attacks she is now becoming a bit paranoid around the others which won't help.

 

What i might do is keep the aggressor seperate for a few days or perhaps rotate them as obviously i dont want ferrets housed alone for long periods.

 

I had looked forward to this "wonderful" new housing for ages -this isnt how it is supposed to be!

[sue 1]

ive got problems to ,i took one of my jills out because she wasnt well,and shes only been away for 2 weeks, i tried putting her back and the whole gang went out to kill her not seen this before ,1 ferret attack another yes but not 9 on to 1 ,so the poor jill is now recovering from being attacked by the others on her own,good luck in getting them together im going to try her in with them again but her safely in a carry box see how that goes

[The one 8,467]

Trying to sort out the pecking order the more you get involved and seperate them and put them back together the longer it takes leave them to it mate they will sort it out quicker

[Kay 3,709]

Its one of the reasons i stopped keeping jills untill about 3 yrs ago , there a nightnmare , you can bet your life if theres tention it involves jills , i gave up trying to mix them at one point i had 9 single cages containing 1 stroppy bitchy jill in each cage

 

To be honest if there going to fight they will fight regardless of weather there entire or speyed , i am preying these 3 jill kits here & the 12 month old jill will contine to get along , so far i have had no issues with them , next spring may be a different story when there ultra hormonal & bitchy

[Kay 3,709]

The "victim" was given to me a few weeks ago and is almost the size of the smaller jills.

 

I am unsure of what to do ....after a few attacks she is now becoming a bit paranoid around the others which won't help.

 

What i might do is keep the aggressor seperate for a few days or perhaps rotate them as obviously i dont want ferrets housed alone for long periods.

 

I had looked forward to this "wonderful" new housing for ages -this isnt how it is supposed to be!

 

Over the years i have found if there not curled up together within a couple of hours then its not going to work & it stresses the whole business out , i learned a hard lesson some yrs ago , nearly lost a jill because i was told they had to have company , the poor thing was a wreck & dropped weight dramatically , i dont push intros now

[sue 1]

well ive decided a different approach ,im turfing the dogs out their kennel and im going to put the jill in there ,and take one ferret out of the other gang and put that one in with her for a few days then add another one ,see how that goes at least the jill will have a chance to fight back instead of 9 on to 1