L., you wrote in the FML:
>I revisited the store last night with Kim and we were happy to learn from
>a new employee there that the 2 remaining ferrets were probably the last
>ones that we would see from Marshall Farms.
 
And this is "good" because...?  MF has no more problems than any other
large farms and fewer than some.  My bet is the source of the problems
has been within Petco (likely within individual stores given what some
others have written about some Petcos with very healthy ferrets but the
same source) and that the situation will now worsen in locations that
already have problems unless Petco gets into gear and places the blame
where it actually belongs (given the very different situations in
different stores) -- on parts of itself.
 
Simple fact of the matter is that if MF kits wind up in places where folks
are ferret knowledgeable they wind up no worse in terms of health and
longevity (typical age at death being late 7th year into middle 8th year
here -- some older and some younger -- with these being documented ages)
than those from other farms and those from a number (though not all)
private breeders.  At least that is what 20 years with ferrets from a
range of places has taught us.
 
I hope this is clear enough; I kept it short with much correcting because
I am running a fever from a bout of tonsillitis.  Just have found far too
many people, esp.  those relatively new to ferrets and a few who see
saints and devils where only humans reside lay blame where it often
doesn't belong.  Are there things that need improving there?  Sure.  That
doesn't make them the devil incarnate and when the buck gets passed
incorrectly it PREVENTS constructive changes elsewhere (homes and vet
care, stores, distributors).
 
You can NOT tell age by size.  Size is stunted easily early in life by
improper feeding even over a short period of time so it can happen in a
distribution center (MF is a breeder, not a distributor) or a store.  You
tell age by dental eruption.  I am not up to giving all of those details
yet again while sick; the dental eruption ages charts are in the FML
archives and elsewhere so can be easily looked up.  Archive instructions
are in the FML header on each digest.
 
Since folks have told of very healthy MF ones in other Petcos I think your
problem rests with your local Petco store and that overlooking that will
be in error.  Also, think that when tackling getting changes anywhere it
pays to look at the actual things wrong because no one can change what
isn't wrong but merely rumored to be wrong -- and, wow, does the Internet
ever have a history of abounding in rumors (too bad or too good) about
nearly anyone or anything...
[Posted in FML issue 3791]