Advice Required

[Dazzam 239]

Hi folks, I'm new to the forum and am looking for a bit of advice. I seen a working jill ferret advertised for sale and rang the bloke. After the conversation everything sounded good on the phone so made arrangements to go and have a look at the ferret. Yesterday afternoon I travelled around 50-55 mile to where fella lived. He seemed a real nice guy but when he took me to the side of the house to where he kept the ferret to my horror of horrors the cage was diabolical and the ferret was a real mess, barely skin and bone When i handled the poor wee thing you could literally feel every bone in her spine. I wanted to punch the guy. Normally i wouldn't have bought such a poor animal but i felt so sorry for the poor thing that i made the guy an offer which he accepted. He had the cheek to ask if i wanted the cage . I brought the ferret home and have started feeding it with my other jills. It will be very well looked after and fed as ferrets should be fed. If anyone has experienced anything similar will she gain back her body and shape? or will she always look like some poor specimen of a ferret.

Edited February 17, 2011 by Dazzam

[diggermad 154]

hi mate it will get its muscle and shape back will take a few weeks but you will tell the difference then wouldnt take the poor thing ferreting this year let it build up good on ya for taking the ferret you should of put the guy who sold you him in the cage and see how he liked it ATB DM

[homer 3]

Hi folks, I'm new to the forum and am looking for a bit of advice. I seen a working jill ferret advertised for sale and rang the bloke. After the conversation everything sounded good on the phone so made arrangements to go and have a look at the ferret. Yesterday afternoon I travelled around 50-55 mile to where fella lived. He seemed a real nice guy but when he took me to the side of the house to where he kept the ferret to my horror of horrors the cage was diabolical and the ferret was a real mess, barely skin and bone When i handled the poor wee thing you could literally feel every bone in her spine. I wanted to punch the guy. Normally i wouldn't have bought such a poor animal but i felt so sorry for the poor thing that i made the guy an offer which he accepted. He had the cheek to ask if i wanted the cage . I brought the ferret home and have started feeding it with my other jills. It will be very well looked after and fed as ferrets should be fed. If anyone has experienced anything similar will she gain back her body and shape? or will she always look like some poor specimen of a ferret.

Darren

[iamduvern 62]

hi mate it will get its muscle and shape back will take a few weeks but you will tell the difference then wouldnt take the poor thing ferreting this year let it build up good on ya for taking the ferret you should of put the guy who sold you him in the cage and see how he liked it ATB DM

 

[homer 3]

hi darren, about 2 years ago i found a little jill ferret wandering in my back garden in exactly the same physical condition that you describe. i didn't expect it to last the night and was all for ending it's misery there and then but my wife talked me out of it.she heaped loads of tlc on that little ferret and now it is fully recovered and happy living with 2 other jills.so yes yours should get over it's bad start and fair play to you for taking it in.my wife fed ours little and often,about 4 times a day.

regards graham

[mushroom 13,082]

Trust me feed it up leave more food than it needs in there with plenty of water I've just lost most of my court due to my fuucking irresponsible brother who was supposed to be looking after them while I was in the middle of moving after a break up Anyone who knows me off here will vouch that all my animals are kept in mint conditions.

[theferreter 311]

c**ts like that shouldent be aloud to keep animals cause he sounds like one him self as for feeding her with your jills i wouldent keep her with your other ferrets until you no she isnt carrying any thing which your own ferrets will get keep her on her own for about 2 weeks to make sure she is fit and well to join your own just keep giving her plenty of good grub of mostly meat ,egg, and ferret mix and she will soon put the weight on

[The one 8,482]

As said try feeding her up and i hope it works ,but some ferrets are thin, no skin and bone though and what age is it ?.

[Ideation 8,216]

Try feeding it meat with a higher fat content - i.e birds - pheasant, pigeon etc. Rabbit is very lean and takes a lot to 'bulk' weight up.

[Dazzam 239]

As said try feeding her up and i hope it works ,but some ferrets are thin, no skin and bone though and what age is it ?.

According to the guy who sold her she was born may/june last year. From the telephone conversation i had with him you would never have expected the jill to have been in the condition she was in as the questions i asked him ticked all the right boxes. Folks, thanks for all the advice an encouragement. It's just a matter of feeding her good quality food and seeing how things develop. I just hope that she wasn't starved from a very young age. Thanks once again everyone

[Malt 379]

Try feeding cheap frozen beef mince from the supermarket, you can get a big bag for a few quid. (Defrost it first)

 

The cheaper the stuff the better, as it will have a higher % of fat in it. The no frills/market value stuff would be ideal. I'd also feed her her separately until she got back to a weight you were happy with, she'll do it quicker without the competition from the other jills.

[dave1600d 35]

i found a jill wandering in the road when i was out in my truck on dec 4th last year,,it snowed the next day and she would have died im sure,,,she was skin n bone,,and had a nasty nip problem,,,,got her home,,put her in a seperate hutch from mine,,,,fed her up,,,4 weeks later she was as fit as a fiddle,,she still was a bit nippy,,i decided not to mix her with my jills but thought it not very nice to leave her lonely in the hutch for the rest of her days,, a guy rang me saying did i still have her as he,d seen her on here and the ferret forums as found/lost...he said he,rehome her with his 13 or 14 others if i wanted,,,,,so i took her over to him and a few days later i foned him,,he said hed put her in with the others,,and it was like she had always been part of his group,,she had settled real well,,,happy ending to a bad start,,

[bert the fert 28]

Trust me feed it up leave more food than it needs in there with plenty of water I've just lost most of my court due to my fuucking irresponsible brother who was supposed to be looking after them while I was in the middle of moving after a break up Anyone who knows me off here will vouch that all my animals are kept in mint conditions.

 

 

K, if you need a foster home where they'll be pandered to and fussed over, give me a bell. We can transport their cabin in the van, or if it's not moveable i can likely integrate them into ferret towers with last years kits. Don't be stuck, ok ?

[ferrety f 23]

Hey mate.. to get her back in condition lots of fatty meat, mince it if you can as its a lot easier to eat when they are in that state.

 

other good stuff i have used which is ferret friendly is Chicken complan ( from chemist ), egg yolk, double cream, unsalted butter, olive oil.. all these can be mixed in with any meat and they wolf it down and pack on the pounds

[scothunter 12,609]

if you cant get fresh meat ie rabbits and pigeons,asda do turkey legs for around £1.50 i find this a great deal if your low on caught meat.also i know a lot of lads dont like dry but throw some in aswell.there also a ferret tonic on the market.raw egg yolks.soya or goats milk.yu will see him come on in leaps and bounds mate.good luck and good for you on saving the poor wee bugger.