Ferret Court: How high can I build shelves/ramps

[Madcowz 0]

I have been converting one section of an old shed into a ferret court and am almost ready to start thinking about 'Home Improvements'.

 

It is 2.3m long x 1.7m wide by 2m high at the apex. I am in the process of laying a concrete floor and have shuttered off the inside to make it escape proof.

 

I want to add a few shelves, ramps, tubes etc but am worried about the ferts falling off and hurting themselves on the concrete floor.

 

How high do you think I could go before it gets dangerous for them? I did think that the highest platforms could be enclosed by welded mesh and have tubes going to and from. That way the daft things couldn't fall off.

 

 

What do you guys do?

 

 

thanks,

 

 

/Mad

[Guest borderboys]

I have been converting one section of an old shed into a ferret court and am almost ready to start thinking about 'Home Improvements'.

 

It is 2.3m long x 1.7m wide by 2m high at the apex. I am in the process of laying a concrete floor and have shuttered off the inside to make it escape proof.

 

I want to add a few shelves, ramps, tubes etc but am worried about the ferts falling off and hurting themselves on the concrete floor.

 

How high do you think I could go before it gets dangerous for them? I did think that the highest platforms could be enclosed by welded mesh and have tubes going to and from. That way the daft things couldn't fall off.

 

 

What do you guys do?

 

 

thanks,

 

 

/Mad

 

i would only go about 2 - 3 foot if they are going to be falling onto a concrete floor. if you go too high and they fall head first onto that

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

When ye consider how it's perfectly feasable to break ye own ankle by stepping off a four inch curb. Or break ye back just by falling backwards from the flats of ye feet ..... Shit can happen in the most outragous ways. We just can't figure for the unimaginable.

 

Few things will certainly lessen the chances of a nasty mishap there though. One, ye have in mind already: Enclose their walk ways. Another, Borderboys is suggesting: Don't have any drop off points above a couple of feet. Thirdly: I'd look long and hard at that concrete floor. What would it take to just lay some planks over it? Be a lot warmer in winter and a lot softer, should one still manage to take the plunge. Especially with a thick layer of wood shavings.

 

Maybe it's just me. But I don't like the idea of animals living on concrete. I don't like the stuff myself. It's an unfriendly substance, isn't it? That's why we used to use carpets and now tend to cover our own concrete floors with 'wood' flooring.

[Guest little_lloyd]

I would just put a tunnel up the side wall like the one in the picture :thumbs-up: That way they cant fall of anything and hurt themselves

[bullsmilk 2]

i was worrying about the same thing in my court so i didnt have any high shelvs.but then one day i noticed the feckers climbing up the inside of the mesh right to the top (6`) then how did they get down???? you got it they let go lol

[Guest borderboys]

concrete has got its advantages mate such as:

keeps down the ferrets nails

easy to sweep/clean

but you got to bear in mind

cold

uncomfortable

unsafe if the ferrets fall onto it.

[Kay 3,709]

when i had a 6x6 court mine climbed to the top regular slid down the wire & didnt come to any harm

[Madcowz 0]

Thanks for your replies.

 

Few questions:

 

If I was to cover the concrete, what should I use? It needs to be hygenic and easy to clean. I could lay lino and then silicon seal the edges. I laid concrete as the shed had no real floor as it used to be a turkey shed and was covered in crap. I thought concrete would be easy to clean and good at keeping their claws short.

 

What do you guys have for flooring? How easy is wood to keep clean?

 

I suppose the best way to give them height and be safe would be to have open shelves up to say 3 feet and then only tubing and enclosed shelves higher up. I like the idea of tubing, but the only stuff I have seen to buy is pretty pricey. Where would I get flexible tubing? The only mesh they could climb will be at 4ft or higher as the whole thing is being enclosed in OSB2 board.

 

Picture of it before:

 

 

 

 

And the latest picture, although since I have started laying the concrete floor:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the shed from outside, the ferret court is hidden behind the oak tree and the holly bush, it is a huge shed.:

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, if this isn't ready in time, I have a multi storey hutch ready for them as a temporary home. I will cut holes in the floors to join it all up into one big house:

 

 

[martin 332]

Ooooh! I love old sheds :blush:

[Madcowz 0]

Ooooh! I love old sheds :blush:

 

 

heh,

 

me too!

 

To satisfy your love of old sheds, I have a 'picture diary' of the ferret court construction over on Pigeon Watch, See:

 

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...showtopic=31764

 

 

/mad

[Guest little_lloyd]

Madcows it looks like its in the middle of a wood somewhere, i sure hope your ferrets dont get stolen Or it it in a safe place?

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

Mad; I'm guessing ye haven't had ferrets before? On that proviso then, let me point something out to ye: Ferrets shit in corners, mate. They won't be doing it all over the place. Only in one or two favoured corners.

 

Get a biscuit tin or two. Cut away two sides and bend the edges back to save sharp edges. Put these into the corners they select and that'll make mucking them out a doddle.

 

Ferrets aren't prone to digging through wood floors either. Claws aren't strong enough for it and their teeth aren't made for it. With their latrine corners covered, as above, there'll be no mess to soak into the wood (Remember, concrete too can absord liquids. But fetid concrete's a site harder to replace than a spot of shot wood)

 

As for their claws - not that many wild polecats run around on concrete either, nor do they have problems with their claws, else they'd have died out aeons ago, no? - if ye really think that might be a concern, just prop a roof tile in another corner. They'll either scratch at it, out of ferrety curiosity. Else they'll use it to run up, on their way to where ever else they hope to get.

 

Finally, a good layer of clean wood shavings is more comfortable for their little feet. Keeps them on a dry, warm surface, see? Will absorb any liquids (Drinker bottles drip the odd bit of water) and, should they become damp or soiled, for what ever reason, can be removed and replenished. Result? Looks great and covers all bases.

 

99% of my ferrets ~ most other peoples, I shouldn't wonder ~ have lived on wood surfaces. Never a related problem. Ferrets will nest down in a wooden floored box. Never heard of one bedding on concrete. Maybe ferrets know something some of us don't?

 

Lino? Wouldn't last five minutes.

 

 

 

Oh; And a bit of a shed fetishist myself!

[stubby 175]

I too used an old bird aviary as a fert court and got worried when they started climbing the wire, tried boarding the bottom section, but the crafty buggers still found ways round it, so yup i made platforms etc using mesh fully enclosed for them to use, still had areas which they could have leapt to their death onto the concrete floor, but they never did, now they are housed in an old air raid shelter and one jill still figured out how to climb up to the shelving it was like something out of mission impossible, should have video'd it and sent it to you'vre been framed

[Ossie 11]

Mad; I'm guessing ye haven't had ferrets before? On that proviso then, let me point something out to ye: Ferrets shit in corners, mate. They won't be doing it all over the place. Only in one or two favoured corners.

 

Get a biscuit tin or two. Cut away two sides and bend the edges back to save sharp edges. Put these into the corners they select and that'll make mucking them out a doddle.

 

you can also buy plastic litter trays designed for corners, they're only a few quid, and my ferrets use them.

 

the pets corner bit at Weston Longville Dinosaur Park (giant fibreglass dinosaurs in a wood, shit for adults, but kids love it ) has a big ferret court. i was there with my mates autistic nephew a couple of years ago, he wanted to see the ferrets, so they let me get a couple of them out. i was chatting to the girl who looks after them, and she said there was 7 ferrets in the pen. i could only see 6, so i asked about the other one. "oh, he's up there!". she pointed to a 6" wide ledge that ran round the top of the court just below the roof, 6' up... and there was a fat albino hob, curled up asleep. she said he always slept up there. there were branches & ropes in the court, but apparently the hob just shinned up the wire to get up to the ledge, and came back down the same way.

i wouldn't worry too much about them falling, they're sure-footed litle things, as long as what they're climbing on has a good surface texture, they should be fine. and they do tend to bounce when they fall!

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

you can also buy plastic litter trays designed for corners, they're only a few quid, and my ferrets use them.

 

 

Good god! What a bloody handy invention! Got a photo of one?

 

 

Thinking about all this; Stoats and, especially, mink are known to be sods for going right up trees. They just don't do it above car parks

 

I actually read somewhere recently; A Brown Rat is capable of falling ~ Don't quote me on this, but I'm sure it was ~ Fifty Feet (?!) and sauntering off again! I mean, even if I have it all wrong and it was Twenty feet? So what?! Hell of a f*cking drop when ye only eleven inches and a pound and a half, eh?

 

You or I plummet even twenty feet onto a hard surface, most likely Goodnight from Us!