Breeding Questions

[ShaggyRS6 0]

I have just purchased "The Complete Guide To Ferrets" and have some Q's for you.

 

I should be getting 2 Polecat Jills very soon. My question is how easy is it to manage to Pregnant Jills.

 

1. Can I keep the Jills and Hob in the same hutch after they have mated?

2. Do I need to do anything else other than handle them daily?

 

Or is it not that simple?

 

Cheers all

[Jack NUFC 1]

i would seperate them from the hob when there due to give birth

[Netter 0]

Split them up after, its the safest way.

[andy s410c 61]

You can keep the preggers jills with the group for a while however i used to move mine to seperate cages about 10 days before they were due.When the kits are born keep the distrubance down to a miniumun after a couple of weeks the jill will be settled enough for you to have a peek.However some jills i bred from were not really bothered about me having a early peek at the kits it just depends on the jills temperment....

[ShaggyRS6 0]

Thanks for the advice so far people.

[Guest Bigbob]

They should all be fine after they have mated but check the jills necks and if the hob is marking the necks a lot you will have to take him out .About a week before they are due remove the hob if its the jills first litters it might be wise to seperate them till you see how they get on with rearing there first litter .Leave the jills alone till the youngsters start coming out the nesting box but by then you will know if the jills want you anywhere near there young .Some times your better accepting a first litter is just for the experinance but some times they can pull a first litter off no problem .

[ferreting1888 7]

when i bred mines i looked at them everyday and my jills were super that way oh and defo split them up

[Guest Ditch_Shitter]

I have just purchased "The Complete Guide To Ferrets" and have some Q's for you.

 

 

Etc. Shaggy; That, to me, just about sums up that book. I bought a copy too, one time. I slung it out. Skinny little thing though it was, I had no room on my book shelves for it. What ye'd have done better with would have been " The Complete Book of Ferrets " by Val Porter and Nicholas Brown. A big, thick hard back which still commands the equivellent of its original cover price, even second hand. Why? Because it's probably the best damn book about ferrets ever written. It doesn't Leave the most fundamental questions unanswered. Probably answered more questions than any other book on the subject ever had or needs to.

 

Anyway, that aside, I'm pretty much with BigBob here. I'd only add that I always took the hob out once it was clear the business had been done. In short; Introduce him for twenty four hours. Then take him away from the jill altogether and leave her to settle down and get on with things till the kits started appearing of their own volition. That's pretty much how it goes in nature, with Polecats.

 

Why mess about?