ferritts biting

[ginger 0]

hi all new to ferritting and recently got myself two jill kitts, they are 14 to 15 weeks old now and have had them since 8 weeks.

the thing is there biting the hell out of me and i dont just mean nipping proper locking on, any advice will be great cheers

[muddy210 34]

picking them up and handle them as much as possible an hour a day is often not enough when they are that young they dont proper bite. there are many options that people have tried over the years including taping the nose of the ferret when it bites or sticking your finger right into its mouth when it bites so its uncofatable for the ferret all have worked and will work but best is just to keep handleing the ferrets as much as possible and i never put the kits down straight after they have bitten me as they want to go down so there fore by biting and been put down they associate it with being put back i only put them down after possibly five mins of not biting me. dont give up with them they will grow out of it it just takes patience and lots of it im having the same with a polecat hob at the minute but time will cure.

[black recking it 730]

HANDLE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE MATE I GOT 5 KIT,S ABOUT 4 WEEK,S AGO FROM DIFFERENT PEOPLE AND MY KID,S HANDLE THEM AND ME AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE NO ONE BITEN YET? MATE I THINK GIVING THEM PLENTY FOOD HELP,S AS WELL SO THERE NOT OVER HUNGERY AND THINK FINGERS HANDS ARE FOOD LOL

[ferretguy12345 4]

I think the finger in the mouth situation bit barbaric, it just makes them worse biters. Handle your ferrets regularly and kindly, a badly handled and unhandled ferret will bite, and this leads to umanageable ferrets. Your voice is just as important and essential as the handling of the ferret, the more they get used to the smell of you and your voice the more they will trust you. Never just grab your ferrets as well as you can recieve a nasty bite by accident, my ferrets all come to the sound of my voice and are all well handled. I am the proud owner of a european jill which i bought this year, shes a very nice specimen and when i went to buy her the lad was handling his europeans with welding gloves, she was biting me for the first two days but through the simple method of handling regularly and talking to her calmly, shes now one of my best handled jills. I wish you the best of luck.

[The one 8,472]

Feed them them handle them when there full and tired and less likely to bite but stick at it every chance you get and pop a finger or knuckle in there mouth when they do it , If you dont put the work in now you will be scared of them later

[Marksman 934]

try rubbing your hands in lemon juice too....they dont relish the taste

 

Darryl

[Cannyboy 34]

Same advice mate plenty of handling and I've always offered my middle knuckle to a ferret that nips and when he trys to bite you gently push the knuckle into he's mouth not to hurt just so it's uncomfortable and he try's to pull away keep knuckle there for few seconds then try it again they normally don't nip 2nd time but if they do just repeat, ive never had ferret that this didn't work on, all the best mate happy hunting

[ginger 0]

cheers for your comments lads, just spent more time with them but it seems like the little shits just want to attack me!

might have to get some gloves theres only so much biting i can take.

[Cannyboy 34]

Gloves are a bad idea mate cause that won't get them used to your hands handling them, you should be able to hold them in 1 hand so they can't spin and bite you then you can offer them the knuckle of your other hand and just try what I said, they should soon get the idea that biting you is uncomfortable for them and slowly but surely get used to the idea of being handled

[pernod 466]

cheers for your comments lads, just spent more time with them but it seems like the little shits just want to attack me!

might have to get some gloves theres only so much biting i can take.

 

No offence mate but if you have to resort to gloves you must be too afraid of the ferrets, better to pass them on to someone else.

I know its frustrating when they bite you. i have 2 young ones from different breeders, and one of them has had a few nips at me and one last night that was a good bit more than a nip. As everyone else has said the only cure is to handle them, then handle them some more, most ferrets will calm down. If your afraid and snatch your hand away when they sniff it or come to it, you are increasing the chances of it nipping.

So either keep at it and enjoy your ferrets or pass them on.

 

Best of luck

 

Pernod

[muddy210 34]

dont go down the glove route or you will never get them used to your hands just looking at my right hand now i must have nearly thirty puncture marks in different points of healing from my hob this week id rather cure it now then when hes able to bite properly stick with the handling it will get better none of the marks are deep jst where they are testing there teeth i expect this with the youngsters for a while but every night when they have been fed i let the grub settle then bring them in the house for a couple of hours while i watch the box.

[web22 27]

i think most people are right,handle them as much as poss,i don't agree with knuckling them or tapping the nose or anything else because i think they could end up associating your hands with pain etc and not want to be handled,just be patient,slow,talk calmly,and i use one hand to hold the ferret and the other to stroke it while talking to it,i do this from the moment i get them and carry on every time i handle them(before work and at feeding time in the evening,and any other spare moments...)i have only given up on one ferret that i couldn't tame fully(the children might get bitten)so gave her to martnmagik on here,time is the key,you get out what you put in,as they say...

[Ferret mad Dave 65]

My two were proper little nippers it tuck me a week too sort that out mate loads and loads and loads and a bit more handleing and as others have said don't move too fast

All the best with them mate

[nivek65 4]

i have had 2 young ones since june, they were 8 weeks old when i got them, never been bitten yet, i handle them every day, even my little boy 7yrs old handles them. they sometimes have a little play nip but it is nothing,i can even stick a finger through the mesh in the cage and not get bitten, mind when i put some chicken legs, in there is no way they will let go of them, so if they wanted to bite they could probably give me a good nip. plenty of handling and playing with them will sort out the problem, as said before gloves are a big no no, just asking for more trouble.

[simonrocco 175]

handle them as much as possible pal and try giving them bits of food out of your hand that should work iv got 2 kits and thats what i do with mine they havent bit me for ages now. good luck pal.