vac or castrate?

[Guest little lurcher]

im hopefully getting 2 little jills in next few weeks , at min i have 1 huge boy entire!! these girls will be small at adult age , would i be est to vastamise him or simply castrate him and spey the jills when old enough , i dont ant to breed ferrets i simply work them ,im also new to ferrets only having had them for a year

 

what are my realistic options and advice from you experienced keepers

 

the vet has just said to chop him and spey the girls , then they can live together with no prolems , i do trust this vet but as with any vet i still trust experince more

 

thanks in advance

[stubby 175]

I suppose it depends on funds available, and if you intend to ferret all year round, just having the hob snipped would sort it, as he would then get the jills out of season, but ofcourse he'd be randy as heck in the summer, and need to be kept seperate from the jills, for a longer period, plus if ferreting in the summer, hob's then tend to want to "mate" down the hole, rather than flush out rabbits,

 

having him castrated, would mean he could be kept with the jills always, and some owners of castrated hob's, have remarked that they still get jills out of season,

never having a jill speyed, I cant really remark on that option

[Guest little lurcher]

this may seem very sad but he is a valued pet too and i must admit he do bloody stink lol!!!!!!!!!! o da la stinky hob isnt the best scent to wear lol

 

i want them all to live together happily so does seem the big chop is best

[stubby 175]

castration will help a little on the smell of a hob in season, but he will still stink, unless you opt for weekly bath's, as the scent glands will still be intact

 

its wierd with the smell, I can smell it, but its not off-putting, yet my missus say's, I stink of ferts, yet when she handles them, she says the smell is nice

[Guest little lurcher]

sad as it may seem but i do like my boy to have daily exercise be it playtime or working , today he was in my sons playarea with a ball pit and i wish i had vidoed it , he had so much fun playing with the silly little plastic balls from ball pits , he is now curled up fast asleep and very happy , i am getting the jills as he tends to lay up but also as company , however if he didnt need company i would consider not having the girls and just keep with him and doing my little bit of token ferretting

[The one 8,522]

If it's just cash get the hob snipped and he will take care of the jill's for you .But if you can afford it get him castrated and get the jill's done as well then you will have nothing to worry about

[Guest little lurcher]

to vac him is £75 , totally castrated £37 speying of jills around £45 , if thats any help

[sue 1]

my vet charges £60 for a vasectomy ,£30 for castration and i havnt a clue for a spay but if you can cope with the smell i would get him the snip then if you find yourself with good working jills in a few years you could always find someone with a good working hob and have a litter yourself to bring on yourself

[on-point 0]

i don't really know about getting jills spayed but i've had three hobs over the past 9 or 10 years and go all three vasectimised (or however the f*** you spell it). always had at least 3 jills with them.

getting the boys snipped i found to be very helpfullas not only did it mean that sorting out jills in season wasn't an issue but also i made a few friends around the local area who would want to borrow him now and again to cover their jills. this was invaluable because it meant i could call in a few favours now and again, got a few more places to go ferreting and had soeone who was happy to look afterthem when i was away.

just from my experience i would say keep jills and a snipped hob, they work like hell you don't worry about kits, if you decide to have some thats fine....and theres less digging (bonus in my bit of the world)

 

just my two cents worth

 

on-point

[Guest jojoamojo]

if you get them all neutered they wont smell and you have more chance of them all living together too, all my friends who work only work neutered ferrets so it wont affect their abilities and your vet charges a reasonable price

 

if you do vasectomise him i wouldnt let anyone else use him as ferres can get STDs and pass abould bugs

 

plus neutering reduces the risk of illnesses in jills IE pyos

Edited May 23, 2008 by jojoamojo