MC: interesting observations!  You have a whole lot of wisdom in there
and a whole lot of fairness.  If anyone missed that post send a post to
<[log in to unmask]> saying SEND FERRET 3797.  It's titled "Ages Of
Pet Store Kits" and if about 4/5ths of the way down the digest/
 
I know that at times every one of the farms screws up, but also know
that the stores and distributors do, too, and I have read of of
cross-infections and substitution situations by distributors who kept
mixed lots, also of situations in which kits from disreputable backyard
breeders (the puppy mill equivalent for ferrets) were sold as being from
the farms.  Have not heard of the latter in a while so maybe the major
perpetrators have been forced to stop; I hope so.  There is nothing wrong
with people taking fair and constructive actions to improve situations
at farms, but hey have to also NOT forget to tackle the things that the
stores or distributors do wrong or -- worse -- misplace blame.  When the
sources are blamed for what someone else did they often can't change the
behavior of those others so it is frustrating, unproductive, unfair, and
it misses an opportunity to change the injurious actions of the actual
perpetrators.
 
I still say that the best thing done is Alicia's law which bans the
transport of sale of ferrets younger than 8 weeks old, combined with
dental aging info the vets in New Hampshire.  That was CONSTRUCTIVE and
FAIR and needs to be copied.  Except in cases of bad malnutrition or bad
uterine environment the dental age ranges appear to be pretty reputable.
For the incisors they aren't, but those aren't used in dental aging.
 
Noticed your comments about PVs kits biting more.  Have heard that from a
lot of people and it has been our experience.  I recall when Fox M. was
telling me how they were breeding for short faces and although they seem
to have stopped active work in that direction it does seem to me that
they have more trouble with teething than most others, as has been seen in
some private lines bred for shorter faces.  They work out fine long-term
but need lots of gentle patience an things to help with teething pain
like Cheweasels, Foamy Fries, or Marshall Chews (which are the same as
Cheweasels except for shape -- it's a licensing agreement).  BTW, for
those who don't know Cheweasels began with two FML members who discussed
them as they were developing them.
 
Two of the four smartest ferrets we've had have been from PV; another was
bred by Wendy Winstead who worked from MF stock, and the fourth from
fur-fitch stock by a private breeder about 20 years back.  Through the
years our ferrets have come from a wide assortment of places.
 
>ALL kits tamed down nicely and made great companions.  All the farm's
>kits, in time, were exhibiting the same ratio's (that we could see) of
>adrenal and lympho.  All seemed to have the same ration (that we could
>see) of other, less common, diseases....cardiac and pulmonary issues.
>All had about the same ration (that we could see) of WS exhibiting
>kits...ie: blazes, white bibs/mitts/tipped tails/deafness.
 
Yes.  I think that a few private breeders may have healthier ones, but
have also encountered private ones that have been a bit worse in terms
of health and longevity.  The way to be safest on that score is to INSIST
on having health and longevity records for the line, a statement which
has gotten a few breeders or breeder/shelters perpetually angry with me
(except for some who already do it and have records of better than average
health or longevity, so ask and learn no matter who the source)...
 
>I am absolutely certain that all the tales of underaged ferrets...
>comes from people who plain don't know what they are talking about or
>are spin doctoring their 'tales' to further their causes.
 
When checking, I have run into some real 5 week old ones from two farms,
but not many (same as you), and most cases turned out to be undersized
rather than under-aged once dental age was taken into account, and those
situations trace to the distributor and stores usually.  I'd still like
8 week minimum age limit all over, though.
 
>I read here a while back, someone's explanation of the kits being
>shipped at 5 weeks or so to arrive at 6 weeks...HORSE HOCKEY.
 
That store group didn't use a distributor.  Some do, and the amount of
time a ferret spends at a distributor apparently varies -- not shipping
time but "warehousing" time.  I gather that some chains do their own
"warehousing".  (Awful word, isn't it...)
[Posted in FML issue 3798]