>I have been asked to post this info for someone else He went out to his
>ferrets this morning and found that one of his healthy and the mother had
>been fine with them.  He has bred ferrets before + never had any problems.
>the only reason I could think of was that the mother had been extremely
>frightened in the night (ie.  by a fox or other such predator) though
>there were no signs of any thing trying to get into the hutch.
>
>Has any one else come across anything similar before?  and will the
>mother be OK just left for her milk to dry up?
 
Dear X:
 
Ferret mammas will cannibalize their children during periods of extreme
stress.  Constant light, loud noises, construction, etc. have all resulted
in this particular situation.
 
Please have your friend examine the situation more closely - ferrets
generally do not cannibalize without good cause, even first-time moms.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce H. Williams, DVM, DACVP
 
Join the Ferret Health List at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret-Health-list
[Posted in FML issue 3452]