ferrets dying

[ferreterlez 17]

i have 1 large hutch with 1 hob and 4 jills in together today when i got in from work 2 of the jills were dead in there hutch a 1 chiverin like out foned vets they said it was hypthermia has any body else been loosing any they are fed daily and fresh water daily due to frost

[midnight walker 8]

i have 1 large hutch with 1 hob and 4 jills in together today when i got in from work 2 of the jills were dead in there hutch a 1 chiverin like out foned vets they said it was hypthermia has any body else been loosing any they are fed daily and fresh water daily due to frost

noop have you got plenty of dry straw and is the bed coverd i put pollystyreen over the bed as insulation hope this helps

[jocky 198]

i have 1 large hutch with 1 hob and 4 jills in together today when i got in from work 2 of the jills were dead in there hutch a 1 chiverin like out foned vets they said it was hypthermia has any body else been loosing any they are fed daily and fresh water daily due to frost

 

 

no not lost any, got six jills and a hob all together with bed full of straw, change water first thing in morning and again before it gets dark,,i i dont use bottles as they freze to quick,. and try to feed them meat instead of dry food, so they dont need so much water.

[fieldsportsman 107]

i have 1 large hutch with 1 hob and 4 jills in together today when i got in from work 2 of the jills were dead in there hutch a 1 chiverin like out foned vets they said it was hypthermia has any body else been loosing any they are fed daily and fresh water daily due to frost

sorry to hear that mate, was the bedding damp,i put a thick rug over hutch and straw for bedding

[farlap 19]

i have 1 large hutch with 1 hob and 4 jills in together today when i got in from work 2 of the jills were dead in there hutch a 1 chiverin like out foned vets they said it was hypthermia has any body else been loosing any they are fed daily and fresh water daily due to frost

no because this time of year they come out of their large outdoor court and get put in hutches and runs inside a relatively warm stable. They have thick straw and cloth beds to dive deep into, and are not out in the elements.

[shepp 2,285]

Is the bedding box draught free and plenty of straw?

[higgins 75]

i lost one jill but this was after the first snows when thawing,she was in with 4 other jills,never lost any in past due to winter,i put it down to her age and possibly some other underlying illness.The other 4 jills are fine,but water in the bottle has to be filled daily as it just freezes,their hutch has been moved to a less windy

part of the garden,so not so draughty and no straw just plenty of deep sawdust.I may put in an old sweater for them to bury themselves in as a precaution in case it starts getting colder again,i think there is more snow on the way soon,

Higgins.

[rex 8]

Sorry to hear of your loss, got 3 jills running together here, had minus 16 temperatures and alls good so far, bed is crammed with straw and an old knitted jumper from charity shop.

Changing water bottles twice a day

[stealthy1 3,964]

Make sure that when you change the frozen water in your bottles that the nozzles are defrosted to, dehydration makes ferrets shiver like the have hypothermia

[bert the fert 28]

Ours live in a cabin, ply lined and insulated with loft wool. Their nest boxes are lined with wool carpet, and there's a 12.5 tog duvet in there that they burrow into. I was worrying about them last night [ minus 15 ] and went out to check, but when i shoved my hand into the middle of the nest box, it was toasty warm.

 

Keeping the water unfrozen is the biggest problem. Every time i go out, it's like a jublee.

[redeye jedi 39]

Make sure that when you change the frozen water in your bottles that the nozzles are defrosted to, dehydration makes ferrets shiver like the have hypothermia

 

as long as they've got a shed load of bedding then there's no reason other than poor conditioning or illness for them to die in this weather.

 

ATB

 

REDEYE

[stealthy1 3,964]

Make sure that when you change the frozen water in your bottles that the nozzles are defrosted to, dehydration makes ferrets shiver like the have hypothermia

 

as long as they've got a shed load of bedding then there's no reason other than poor conditioning or illness for them to die in this weather.

 

ATB

 

REDEYE

 

 

Thats right mate. ferrets have one of the best Winter coats going, so cold shouldn't be a problem

[dave1600d 35]

sorry to hear that mate i got 2 jills in a garden shed,,they sleep in a hammock with 4 pet blankets and an old dressing gown for bedding,,,,,,i got one that i found a few weeks ago,,,shes in a 8x2x2foot hutch with an upstiars bed area,,,ive got polystyrene on the outside of the hutch to keep it a little warmer,,,,,mine seem okay,although i do worry about the one on her own ,,as for bottles they keep freezing so ive resorted to bowls for the water,,,,they dont freeze over so quick,,,they sleep a lot during the night so they dont drink a lot,,can they dehydrate that quick?...can someone tell me?,,and if the bowl freezes,,cant they lick the ice? unlike bottles which they cannot feed from as the nozzles are frozen,,,comments are appreciated,,thanks

[fieldsportsman 107]

sorry to hear that mate i got 2 jills in a garden shed,,they sleep in a hammock with 4 pet blankets and an old dressing gown for bedding,,,,,,i got one that i found a few weeks ago,,,shes in a 8x2x2foot hutch with an upstiars bed area,,,ive got polystyrene on the outside of the hutch to keep it a little warmer,,,,,mine seem okay,although i do worry about the one on her own ,,as for bottles they keep freezing so ive resorted to bowls for the water,,,,they dont freeze over so quick,,,they sleep a lot during the night so they dont drink a lot,,can they dehydrate that quick?...can someone tell me?,,and if the bowl freezes,,cant they lick the ice? unlike bottles which they cannot feed from as the nozzles are frozen,,,comments are appreciated,,thanks

i use bowls to

[stealthy1 3,964]

sorry to hear that mate i got 2 jills in a garden shed,,they sleep in a hammock with 4 pet blankets and an old dressing gown for bedding,,,,,,i got one that i found a few weeks ago,,,shes in a 8x2x2foot hutch with an upstiars bed area,,,ive got polystyrene on the outside of the hutch to keep it a little warmer,,,,,mine seem okay,although i do worry about the one on her own ,,as for bottles they keep freezing so ive resorted to bowls for the water,,,,they dont freeze over so quick,,,they sleep a lot during the night so they dont drink a lot,,can they dehydrate that quick?...can someone tell me?,,and if the bowl freezes,,cant they lick the ice? unlike bottles which they cannot feed from as the nozzles are frozen,,,comments are appreciated,,thanks

 

 

 

I dont know about everyone else, but I've found that my metal nozzles on my drinkers freeze up well before the water in the bottles, so it can look like they have a drink, when in fact they dont, I now have six bottles to swap around, I use two at a time, so I change them three times daily, but then this weather is very extreme, so I'm not taking any chances