unexplained ferret deaths

[bobhow 57]

Ive been reading of  quite a few unexplained ferret deaths on face book by all account ferrets have been fit and well one minute then dead the next and heres the puzzling bit some ferrets die while the remainder stay fit and healthy its nothing ive encountered in over 40 year keeping ferrets

[Blackbriar 8,569]

I had a hob who was fit and well - one morning, he lost the use of his front legs. He was still awake and alert, just couldn't walk ( did the decent thing, obviously). I also had a Jill who was happily playing away, charging round the pipes and generally doing what ferrets do - an hour later, I found her dead.

In both cases, none of the others were effected or showed any unusual behaviour.

[bobhow 57]

its a head scratcher all right

[Sirblessed 2,511]

Not sure what type of spiders you have there, but here the red back can kill ferrets and pretty quick too.

 

[SamR 178]

What have you been feeding them? My mate lost a few last year after feeding them a rabbit he had been gifted. Turned out the field he got it from was next to an allotment that had rad poison kicking about.

[bobhow 57]

Sam there as been quite a few different people that have lost ferrets so would think its unlikely  they were all poisoned Sirblessed we don,t have any spiders in this country that are capable of giving a killer bite personally i think it as some thing to do with the way they are being fed but who knows

[neil b 2,296]

I had one die on me the other week, fed fresh rabbit, ok at dinner time stone dead at tea time, the other 3 cagemates are fine, so who knows???? 

[bobhow 57]

Neil B thats the story a lot of people are saying healthy ferrets just dying whilst others are unaffected strange ?

[Flacko 1,742]

neil b do you not freeze your rabbits for 2-3 weeks for ferrets to eat  atb Flacko 

[SamR 178]

flacko is there a reason for freezing them? mine get fresh. Will it cause bother?

[neil b 2,296]

1 hour ago, Flacko said:

neil b do you not freeze your rabbits for 2-3 weeks for ferrets to eat  atb Flacko 

Nope guts out and straight in, they wouldn’t freeze them in the wild would they 

[Chaff 3,590]

If you freeze them for month it kills all bacteria parasites makes them safer to eat 

[stealthy1 3,964]

I had two jills die last year, both 3 years old and had two years ferreting with them, so they were fit.   No sign of illness,  just curled up dead, looked like they had died while asleep, 3 months apart.

[Flacko 1,742]

neil b I used to feed that way myself for years then read about giving them a freeze for couple weeks, if someone puts good advice my way then I take it on board just progress I suppose when we was kids we fed milk mash & they seem to do ok but times move on so I try to do best by them just my way mate , atb Flacko 

[fred90 3,209]

got to agree with Neil you wouldn't freeze them in the wild. if feeding rabbits was killing ferrets then stoats would have been extinct years ago.