Jill gone nasty

[THE GRIFF 8]

I have 2 polecat jills - mother and daughter, the daughter is slightly bigger than the mother and has recently put on a bit of weight. I only got these jills in about june and they were both in season when I got them, the daughter was also biting me very nasty at first but I put this down to hormones and moving home. I soon had them both jill jabbed and with plenty of handling the nasty jill was fine.

Over the last few weeks the daughter has started dragging the mother around by the neck and is really dominating her to the point where the other jill is sometimes squeeling bad when the daughter grabs her. Both jills are excellent workers and have been working well together along with 2 other ferrets when out in the field, until I took them out on sunday. We were doing a set about 15 holes big and were using 3 ferrets when the jills started fighting with both other ferrets down the holes, she even went for me when I picked her up.

Since getting home I have put the mother in with some other ferrets and left the daughter by herself, she suddenly wont get on with any other ferrets(she has always got on with the mother and the other 2 we were out with, in the past).

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and wondered if the ferret came round in the end. I dont want to give up on this ferret because I know she is a good worker, she has helped bolt about rabbits already this season. I feel like seperating her might make her worse because she might feel the need to fight more next time she is put in with another ferret after being isolated, but on the otherhand its not fair me keeping her with other ferrets because she hurts them.

If truth be known I am unsure what to do with her, I am going to keep handling her, and am going to put the mother jill back in with her in a few days and see how she is but if she is still really rough with her then I dont know what I can do. I am hoping this might just be hormones and it will pass after a few weeks.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I do realise some ferrets simply dont get on with others(and it may be she is just one of them)but hope she isn't one of them.

[Ideation 8,216]

Sounds like a hormonal imbalance mate due to the jab and changing season, like a phantom pregnancy, my lot all live together and it was hapenning, but they have knocked it off now. It will pass.

[THE GRIFF 8]

Sounds like a hormonal imbalance mate due to the jab and changing season, like a phantom pregnancy, my lot all live together and it was hapenning, but they have knocked it off now. It will pass.

 

 

Do you think I am doing the right thing separating her for a few days or do you think it might take weeks?

[The one 8,503]

Are you sure there going hell for leather trying to kill each other ?, because i think shes trying to fit in with the other ferrets and find her rank in the group ?. I think youve got to put her in with the rest and let them all settle down you wont be helping putting her in taking her out etc. Im in the same boat with a young jill hitting the older jills but it settled after a couple of days lots of show and noise mate but no blood.

[THE GRIFF 8]

Are you sure there going hell for leather trying to kill each other ?, because i think shes trying to fit in with the other ferrets and find her rank in the group ?. I think youve got to put her in with the rest and let them all settle down you wont be helping putting her in taking her out etc. Im in the same boat with a young jill hitting the older jills but it settled after a couple of days lots of show and noise mate but no blood.

 

She has been living with her mother, just the 2 of them together for the last couple of months, before that both of them were in with a hob and another albino jill and they all got on fine. Lately she has been very dominant over her mother to the point she is hurting her and on sunday she was working with her mother and another jill and all she wanted to do was fight with both of them, you of should heard the squealing down the hole and it wasn't from a rabbit. I tried putting her in with another 5 ferrets I have in a big run and she was fighting nasty with them straight away, so bad I had to prize her off one of the them because she was locked on, after the fighting down the hole on sunday I decided to separate her. She is not one of this years kits she is now 3 years old. I do think she will be better off with another ferret in with her but just wanted to give the other ferret a break from her. I am going to put the her back in with the mother and another 2 ferrets tonight for a couple of hours and see how they get on again, she might not be so dominant if there's more than 1 ferret with her.

[Davidh 5]

I tend to agree with some other posts, in that I wouldn't keep putting in and taking her out of a group. This is just likely to unsettle the others. If she keeps fighting you will have to house her separately or sell her. I have a small jill that was picked on to the point of being quite badly hurt. I now know that after trying her with the others a second time without success. She will have to live on her own.

 

Hope all works out OK.

Edited October 5, 2010 by Davidh

[Rey27 83]

I tend to agree with some other posts, in that I wouldn't keep putting in and taking her out of a group. This is just likely to unsettle the others. If she keeps fighting you will have to house her separately or sell her. I have a small jill that was picked on to the point of being quite badly hurt. I now know that after trying her with the others a second time without success. She will have to live on her own.

 

Hope all works out OK.

 

[THE GRIFF 8]

I tend to agree with some other posts, in that I wouldn't keep putting in and taking her out of a group. This is just likely to unsettle the others. If she keeps fighting you will have to house her separately or sell her. I have a small jill that was picked on to the point of being quite badly hurt. I now know that after trying her with the others a second time without success. She will have to live on her own.

 

Hope all works out OK.

 

I already felt that removing her was probably not the best thing to do, but she really p1ssed me off on sunday after fighting down a hole, the other ferrets weren't concentrating on the job after the fighting either which p1ssed me off as well. When I got home I just wanted to settle the other ferrets down more than anything without her fighting with them.

After a couple of days by her self I last night put her in with 3 other ferrets including the 2 that she was fighting with on sunday, touch wood everything seems to be ok up to now. If she fights down a hole again with another ferret I will just not take her out any more, its a shame because she has always been one if my best workers.

I wont ever get rid of her, if it comes to a point where she has to be seperated and kept by herself then so be it.