RogerTheCat 3 Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) About 8 weeks ago I got 4 ferrets off a friend of mine. All are gills 2 albinos and 2 polecats (colour). My friend has a very large ferret court with about 15 ferrets in it so I just went to his house and picked 4 at random. One of the polecats was clearly younger (this years litter) than the other three and when I got her a lot of the fur was missing on the back of her neck. Since getting her she has grown and the hair on her neck has grown back but not fully. When I first got her she was very out going but now she is withdrawn and stays in the sleeping area of the court I have built. If i take her out of the Court she instantley perks. When she does roam around the Court she gets attacked by one of the albinos and the other polecat. The other day I say the polecat run across the court to bite the back of her neck. The bullied polecat now seems very nervous around the other three who all get on very well with each other. If the go near her she seems to have ago at them as if anticipating a fight. Should I put her in her own court or is this aggression from the others likely to ease off with time? Edited October 10, 2011 by RogerTheCat Quote Link to post
Kay 3,709 Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 About 8 weeks ago I got 4 ferrets off a friend of mine. All are gills 2 albinos and 2 polecats (colour). My friend has a very large ferret court with about 15 ferrets in it so I just went to his house and picked 4 at random. One of the polecats was clearly younger (this years litter) than the other three and when I got her a lot of the fur was missing on the back of her neck. Since getting her she has grown and the hair on her neck has grown back but not fully. When I first got her she was very out going but now she is withdrawn and stays in the sleeping area of the court I have built. If i take her out of the Court she instantley perks. When she does roam around the Court she gets attacked by one of the albinos and the other polecat. The other day I say the polecat run across the court to bite the back of her neck. The bullied polecat now seems very nervous around the other three who all get on very well with each other. If the go near her she seems to have ago at them as if anticipating a fight. Should I put her in her own court or is this aggression from the others likely to ease off with time? She dosen't sound overly happy from your description, this is what I would do , observe what goes on, check she is being allowed to eat & watch her general condition , if you think she is loosing condition & the others attacking her is going to become detrimental to her overall well-being then move her to another cage . I think you need to allow a little time to sort pecking order out etc , but its knowing where to draw the line , i know from experience that sometimes ferrets just dont get on & in my case 1 hob lost his life because of a problem within the group I had here, if i had removed him then I am sure he would have been fine , but hindsights a wonderful thing . Its your call really , do what you thinks right , I am pretty sure as you have asked the question you already have a gut feeing alls not right, go with what you feel on this one 1 Quote Link to post
RogerTheCat 3 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks for the advice. I have been keeping a close eye and the bullied ferret is feeding a little to well as she is first to the food when I feed them and does scoff it down. Her condition is on a par with the other three apart from the fur on the back of her neck being thin. Last couple of days she has started to nervously explore the court so I am hoping things will improve. Also there have been less squabbles. I have a bought hutch with a run so have somewhere for her to live if necessary. Quote Link to post
Dancing Dog 10 Posted October 15, 2011 Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 I got a new Jill ferret about a month ago and had the same problem when i put her in the court with the other Jills, they kept attacking her and she had a lot of hair missing and bite marks on the back of her neck. They are now all fine with each other given a bit of time to sort the pecking order out. Hope this helps mate and good luck with your ferrets Quote Link to post
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