breeding ferrets

[pigeonphill 69]

well watching them today, the litter belongs to "foxy" yet her sister "vixen" is more the matenal one, vixen drags foxy into the box, then goes and gets "buster" castrated hob, 3 times her size and drags him into the box too,

she will be wasting all her energy on rounding up the old ferrets thinking there her young and wont be looking after her young as she would if left on her own with them, at the end of the day its hard to raise a litter let alone the extra work shes trying to do

[sue 1]

who ever said the hob was a risk ,we have only been led to believe this ,we will just have to wait and see the kits could be at risk from the jill herself

[pigeonphill 69]

who ever said the hob was a risk ,we have only been led to believe this ,we will just have to wait and see the kits could be at risk from the jill herself

thats why you should leave well alone as the jill will kill her own young if disturbed to much is it worth the risk ???

[sue 1]

i once left 2 sisters together to raise their young as a group but one of them started killing the kits so i had to remove her i dont know whos kits they were ,thats why i dont think the hob could be anymore of a threat

[Kay 3,709]

well watching them today, the litter belongs to "foxy" yet her sister "vixen" is more the matenal one, vixen drags foxy into the box, then goes and gets "buster" castrated hob, 3 times her size and drags him into the box too,

she will be wasting all her energy on rounding up the old ferrets thinking there her young and wont be looking after her young as she would if left on her own with them, at the end of the day its hard to raise a litter let alone the extra work shes trying to do

 

I actually think thats a very valid point you bring up about her rounding up everthing in the court, i have never witnessed communal litters so dont really know how it works but i think what you say is logical really

[pigeonphill 69]

i once left 2 sisters together to raise their young as a group but one of them started killing the kits so i had to remove her i dont know whos kits they were ,thats why i dont think the hob could be anymore of a threat

thats why one jill one cage is always best its lifes were playing with at the end of the day

[sue 1]

ive never lost any kits through me looking ,i have only tried that once leaving them together sisters that is that is why im curious of the outcome of leaving the hob there

[pigeonphill 69]

well watching them today, the litter belongs to "foxy" yet her sister "vixen" is more the matenal one, vixen drags foxy into the box, then goes and gets "buster" castrated hob, 3 times her size and drags him into the box too,

she will be wasting all her energy on rounding up the old ferrets thinking there her young and wont be looking after her young as she would if left on her own with them, at the end of the day its hard to raise a litter let alone the extra work shes trying to do

 

I actually think thats a very valid point you bring up about her rounding up everthing in the court, i have never witnessed communal litters so dont really know how it works but i think what you say is logical really

foxy is the mother but vixen is the matenal one confusing for the ferrets what if vixen dont let foxy near the kits and isnt producing milk

[Kay 3,709]

Well if vixens having a phantom pregnancy that explains why, i had 3 jills all run with a vasectomised hob here yrs ago & one of them was so maternal that a couple of castrated hobs ;lost weight & became depressed due to being constantly dragged round by the little minx, i had to house her alone till the late autumn due to the behavoiur

[sue 1]

my lot seem to take it in turns who is going to drag everyone back to bed each day ,funny lot when you think about it

[stubby 175]

stubby correct me if im wrong but did you not breed too sisters and they booth had their litters in the same place and rasied them as each others?

if its not you then it was definatly someone on hear

 

yes mate, foxy and vixen are my orignal two ferrets, both raised last years kitts together, on there own with no others in the court,

 

just to clarifie to you all, Im not leaving the males in to "prove a point",

I have the ferret court, and three large breeding cages, with preganant or nursing jills in, the court was supposed to be holding the castrated hob, snipped males, and 3 jills that I did'nt want to breed, just get out of season, but due to me putting the snipped hobs back in too soon, its resulted in this litter,

I could I suppose have rushed out and made another large cage to hold the 3 hobs, but as I didnt discover the kitts untill about the second day, I did feel, that if the hobs were going to eat the kitts, they would have by then, also as Im always harping on about breeding records, these kitts have'nt one, as I cant tell for sure who farthered them, but whoever did, is closely related, either son or nephew, not a pairing I would normally undertake, therefore In my eyes to close a pairing, so if kitts were eaten, as much as it seems a shame, maybe it would be for the best, if not, they will only be found homes as pets, with a full account to the new keepers of their breeding

 

and yup, foxy is an excellent mum, feeding all the kitts as she should, her sister vixen, is just THE BOSS

[wasp 0]

Awwww you telling me we are'nt keeping any!

[stubby 175]

so, just a small update, all the ferrets are doing fine, still 12 kitts, and I tend to inspect them as little as possible, while watching them today, all the ferrets raced to the court door on my approach, expecting a treat, and two of the babies were dragged from the sleeping box, they were probably suckling at the time, "buster" the castrated hob, saw them and gently picked them up and returned them to the box,

 

[para1 11]

so, just a small update, all the ferrets are doing fine, still 12 kitts, and I tend to inspect them as little as possible, while watching them today, all the ferrets raced to the court door on my approach, expecting a treat, and two of the babies were dragged from the sleeping box, they were probably suckling at the time, "buster" the castrated hob, saw them and gently picked them up and returned them to the box,

 

 

All very interesting just a question Stubby.What do the entrance holes measure on your nesting boxes?Thanks P1.

[stubby 175]

probably around two and a half inches, had a mate who owns a wood yard make it up for me, and it was the only size hole cutter that he had