http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=1621
 
>remember being told I should breast feed my baby so he would have better
>immunity.
 
For any interested parties:
 
Just a couple of additional comments: The lack of digestive acid in
the ferret kit stomach from birth to 24 (in some cases 48 hours) is not
immaturity, but a programmed mechanism to prevent digestion of the large
volume of antibodies in colostrum.
 
Now with regards to long-term nursing, there is a different type of
antibody which is produced in the mammary gland and secreted in the milk,
called IgA.  This is a fairly weak antibody which will line the GI tract
of the kit and may destroy some types of intestinal viruses if they come
in contact it - but it is not a very effective system.  IgA lines the
respiratory tract, the GI tract, and in some species, the urinary tract
as a sort of first-line of defense against weak pathogens.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3921]