Polecats/Dark Ferrets

[rob190364 2,594]

OK, I'm going to attempt to start a decent thread on Polecats (or dark ferrets) if that's at all possible....and before you groan and start typing "they're not polecats, they're dark ferrets", read the thread and try and input something worth reading...

 

I got an animal from Redtail on Sunday after my hob had passed away. If you'd have asked me about polecats before Sunday I'd have said exactly the same as most of you on here.....they ain't polecats, they're dark ferrets and they're just a money making scheme.

 

Now bare in mind, Redtail gave me this animal so I'm not trying to justify any payments or anything.....and I will never breed any animal so I'm not trying to put a price tag on any future litters....nor am I trying to make out it's some sort of super ferret, if it performs as well as a normal, decent ferret I will be happy.

 

Whether it is a polecat or not there are definitely some very noticable differences between this animal and every other ferret I have ever owned (approximately 12-15 ferrets). I know it's based on only 2 or 3 days of one animal, but the differences I've noticed so far...

 

....the fur is more oily and has a stronger smell.

....it eats like a feckin horse!!!

....it's more timid than any ferret kit I've had in the past, it's still getting used to me but when I approach the cage it runs into the nest box rather than straight to the front of the cage like ferrets normally do.

....it explores with more caution than ferrets I've ever seen before, they normally just bumble around, eyes down and exploring, this one is constantly looking around and up in the air before it goes into a new area.

....it seems to have much better eyesight than ferrets, it's hard to explain without seeing it but if you're walking past, it will look you in the eye and it's eyes will be completely fixed on you as you pass (as in it turns its head to follow you).

....it doesn't wriggle or scratch or anything when you hold it, it just sits completely still and if you sit it on your knee if will curl up and go to sleep like a cat.

....and the thing that is swaying me towards the opinion that it is actually more than just a dark ferret is the fact is just isn't vibing with my jill. Every single other time I've introduced a hob and a jill in the yard they have done exactly the same, they've had a sniff and then started the usual bouncing around and playing and after a bit would go into the nest box and curl up and go to sleep. With this one there's none of that, they sniffed each other but haven't played or anything once, they seem to give each other a bit of a wide berth and just tolerate each other with my jill just giving him a nip on the neck if he gets in her way. When they go in the nest box they curl up at opposite ends of the box. If he pokes his head out of the nest box and she's eating, he'll watch from a distance and as soon as she steps away from the dish he'll dart in and grab a mouthful and then run off.

 

I'm not saying it's definitely a polecat, what I'm saying is it's definitely different to any other ferret I've ever seen or owned. What are peoples thoughts on this? Again, I know it's only based on one animal but if it isn't a polecat and is just a dark ferret, how do people explain why is acts so differently to what I've seen before? I've probably not explained or emphasised the differences very well, but it is a very different animal to a normal ferret.

 

And I know it's a bit too much to ask but can we keep the flippant, dismissive comments to a minimum please....if you're adamant it's just a ferret then see if you can come up with a reasonable, sensible reason for why it's doing any of the above.

 

I'll try and film a few of these behaviours later just so any of you that haven't seen this 'type' can see what I'm on about. It'll be interesting to see how any of the above changes as it gets more used to its surroundings, my jill and me.

[Carraghs Gem 1,675]

Fascinating post! And I agree it does sound strange... I get mobbed by ferrets whenever I open their hutch... It terrifys my fella when he attempts to feed them for me the odd time

[rob190364 2,594]

Fascinating post! And I agree it does sound strange... I get mobbed by ferrets whenever I open their hutch... It terrifys my fella when he attempts to feed them for me the odd time

Exactly, I've never seen a ferret do anything else! Even when I've got kits in the past that have had no handling whatsoever, they've all been straight to the front of the cage aswell. When I approach the cage he'll leg it into the nest box, then peep out of the nest box for a couple of minute...slowly make his way out and then once he's out he'll be fine. It's proper cautious though. When he's peeping out if I put my hand to his face he won't dart back in or nip or anything, he'll just sniff my hand but stay where he is for a while. It's really odd because when you're holding him he's soft as a brush and yesterday was sat on my knee without me holding him for a good hour, I put him back in the hutch, went in to get his food and when I came back out (slowly and quietly), he bolted into the nest box as soon as he saw me.

[foxtails 272]

99% of the things youv listed there iv had the same behavour in my ferrets,its normall behavour,,when he gets used to you hel probally stop being so causious,iv got an albino jill here now that bolts back in her sleeping quarters as soon she sees me coming,iv had a polecat in the past (a jill)that would fall asleep on my lap,would lick me ans all sorts,,iv had those behavours your explaining in my ferrets but not all of those in just one ferret if you know what i mean,, keep us posted on how he gets on, cheers mate atb fts

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

I reared 2 hob kits from a litter that came about from a mating between a wild male polecat and a captive jill polecat coloured ferret. They were the dodgiest big feckin ferrets I ever had... both were well handled and reared like any other ferret Ive had... yet they never tamed properly, and always were skulking at the back of the hutch, they never bit me, but if they had they would have taken my f*****g hand clean off (LOL) they were tense and shy when handled. I eventually tried them working, and as I kind of expected, as soon as they entered the dark inviting warren, they never wanted to come back out, not a rabbit bolted, I seen em peep from a shaddowy entrance, (I didnt work them at same time, but both did the same thing!) Needless to say a shotgun sorted the situation. As they were not going to be re-captured, and all this despite being reared with loads of handling. Never again. We dont spend decades/centuries domesticating animals into forms that 'WORK' and are tame and friendly, willing to please us, only to throw it all away in one go reverting back to a wild type... lesson learned (the hard way) this was a good 13 years ago.

all the best

[rob190364 2,594]

99% of the things youv listed there iv had the same behavour in my ferrets,its normall behavour,,when he gets used to you hel probally stop being so causious,iv got an albino jill here now that bolts back in her sleeping quarters as soon she sees me coming,iv had a polecat in the past (a jill)that would fall asleep on my lap,would lick me ans all sorts,,iv had those behavours your explaining in my ferrets but not all of those in just one ferret if you know what i mean,, keep us posted on how he gets on, cheers mate atb fts

I've had adult ferrets that would curl up and go to sleep on my knee but never seen a kit do it.

 

It's hard to explain but all of its mannerisms aren't what I've seen in other ferrets. It looks around a lot more, as if it uses it's sight a lot more than normal ferrets who tend to be inspecting everything with their noses more.

 

And the thing about the two ferrets being stand offish, not playing or sleeping together? that's the bit that I find the most unusual.

[rob190364 2,594]

I reared 2 hob kits from a litter that came about from a mating between a wild male polecat and a captive jill polecat coloured ferret. They were the dodgiest big feckin ferrets I ever had... both were well handled and reared like any other ferret Ive had... yet they never tamed properly, and always were skulking at the back of the hutch, they never bit me, but if they had they would have taken my f*****g hand clean off (LOL) they were tense and shy when handled. I eventually tried them working, and as I kind of expected, as soon as they entered the dark inviting warren, they never wanted to come back out, not a rabbit bolted, I seen em peep from a shaddowy entrance, (I didnt work them at same time, but both did the same thing!) Needless to say a shotgun sorted the situation. As they were not going to be re-captured, and all this despite being reared with loads of handling. Never again. We dont spend decades/centuries domesticating animals into forms that 'WORK' and are tame and friendly, willing to please us, only to throw it all away in one go reverting back to a wild type... lesson learned (the hard way) this was a good 13 years ago.

all the best

fingers crossed mine doesn't go the same way! I must admit, that business of peeping out of the nest box does make me nervous about him doing the same thing in a warren. I'm going to give him plenty of running through pipes etc. and lots of handling before I even think about taking him out though!

[kenny14 656]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will beg to differ!).

Edited October 2, 2012 by kenny14

[rob190364 2,594]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

that's not the point of the thread, I'm not arsed what I call it to be honest because to me it's a stinker!

 

the point of the thread was that I've always done what lots of other people have done on here and dismissed them as bog standard ferrets. Every other ferret I've ever had has either been a normal polecat coloured ferret or an albino and bar one or two minor personality differences they've all had exactly the same traits and have acted and looked exactly the same. This is a very dark coloured one that acts completely differently. I'm sure 99% of the people on here (myself included before this weekend) dismiss them as normal ferrets without ever actually seeing one of these 'different ones' in the flesh and witnessed the way they act.

[the.. hunter 4]

i have two half wild polcats tteh came about bu a wild polcat getting into the huch and the captive jills getting pregnant. the fur is definate much darker than any other ferret i have evr bred berfore and also the face mask is much more pronounced. one thing i do notace is whenever you give them food in the mornig they will take it and stash it in there nest box emidiatly whilst the other ferrets we have will eat it where they are. they are very forward and not to warey but they have had a huge amount of handaling since ther were kits. i have also found that when i worke the half wild polcats they are much quicker through the warrens than domestic ferrets and they generally kill in the warren wich is not what i want i want my rabbits bolted for my hawks but these are just a few things i have noticed that are different to any ferret i have ever ownd before

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

Genentially identical... yes.... so are dogs and wolves, but your not going to breed your purpose-bred working dog with a wolf, and hope to improve anything. Its no easy business perfecting a working animal, its an ongoing process just to keep standards decent, why loose it all in an instant??? These are things I found out through trial and error, not off the net lol I made the mistakes myself.

 

As for most lines having pure wild polecat in them, even as close as a few gens back.... not true, not even slightly, Id say the vast majority of lines are tons of generations away from any pure wild blood

 

But totally different behaviour, the wild ones are not the friendly tame nature of a domestic ferret. They may be ok to handle, but never too keen on the idea, quite shy,timid, and always ready to be 'wild' again even if reared and born in captivity. This happened to the whole litter according to the guy who owned the jill (he kept a couple of jill kits, turned out just like the hobs I reared)

 

Good luck Rob, keep us posted, I wish you luck (genuinely)

 

DnN

[Lab 10,979]

i have two half wild polcats tteh came about bu a wild polcat getting into the huch and the captive jills getting pregnant. the fur is definate much darker than any other ferret i have evr bred berfore and also the face mask is much more pronounced. one thing i do notace is whenever you give them food in the mornig they will take it and stash it in there nest box emidiatly whilst the other ferrets we have will eat it where they are. they are very forward and not to warey but they have had a huge amount of handaling since ther were kits. i have also found that when i worke the half wild polcats they are much quicker through the warrens than domestic ferrets and they generally kill in the warren wich is not what i want i want my rabbits bolted for my hawks but these are just a few things i have noticed that are different to any ferret i have ever ownd before

....now that is unlucky...

[dogs-n-natives 1,182]

i have two half wild polcats tteh came about bu a wild polcat getting into the huch and the captive jills getting pregnant. the fur is definate much darker than any other ferret i have evr bred berfore and also the face mask is much more pronounced. one thing i do notace is whenever you give them food in the mornig they will take it and stash it in there nest box emidiatly whilst the other ferrets we have will eat it where they are. they are very forward and not to warey but they have had a huge amount of handaling since ther were kits. i have also found that when i worke the half wild polcats they are much quicker through the warrens than domestic ferrets and they generally kill in the warren wich is not what i want i want my rabbits bolted for my hawks but these are just a few things i have noticed that are different to any ferret i have ever ownd before

You have done well getting them working, even if they are not that good.

[kenny14 656]

My simple take on this would be that all ferrets are simply domesticated Polecats, and some of the lines will have true wild Polecat in them from not so many generations ago. As with most animals, some domesticated/dark ferrets will show different behavioural trends to most others (and not always the ones with the most 'wild' Polecat blood).

I often recieve photos, road casualty 'Polecats', or sometimes just a vague description of an animal, and am asked 'is it a true Polecat?', and often I can say that it definitely isn't, but I can never say that it definitely is. The truth being that Polecats and 'Polecat ferrets' are so alike genetically that at present I'm not aware of any method that can accurately seperate them.

So Rob, it's up to you if you want to call it a Polecat, or simply a dark Ferret, because no one can prove otherwise (though I bet someone will!).

that's not the point of the thread, I'm not arsed what I call it to be honest because to me it's a stinker!

 

the point of the thread was that I've always done what lots of other people have done on here and dismissed them as bog standard ferrets. Every other ferret I've ever had has either been a normal polecat coloured ferret or an albino and bar one or two minor personality differences they've all had exactly the same traits and have acted and looked exactly the same. This is a very dark coloured one that acts completely differently. I'm sure 99% of the people on here (myself included before this weekend) dismiss them as normal ferrets without ever actually seeing one of these 'different ones' in the flesh and witnessed the way they act.

 

Easy rob!

I put that line in to simply emphasise the fact that it could quite easily have a lot of 'true' Polecat blood, but there's no way of telling for sure! ........

 

And if they're stinkers.........clean the f***ers out more often

[BS40liam 203]

There was a chap at the wiltshire game fair who I spoke to with a loads of ferrets and polecat types on show there, and he pointed out these two very dark coloured polecat types and said exactly the same that they we're timid, very wary, hopless for work as they just stay just in the hole out of reach and when he put his hand in to pick the hob up he was very cautios as he said its an absolute fecker for biting! But once he had got it out eventialy it just hung there silent and without any movement unlike the other ferrets and domestic polecats he had there so maybe there is a difference?