I've seen a couple of posts about the ferret and (NAME THAT ANIMAL)
combination lately, so here's my $0.2 worth.
 
BTW: I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to find some of the U.K.-published
books on ferrets/ferreting which don't seem to be available here.  I'm
particularly interested in history, but will take anything!  If anyone knows
of a U.S.  source, please let me know!
 
Ferrets & Rabbits (or hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, etc.):
 
IMO, BAD IDEA.  In the U.K.  & other European countries ferrets are used to
HUNT rabbits.  Their "job" is to flush them out of burrows, but hunting
ferrets DO occasionally kill them, and, in typical ferret fashion, sometimes
eat what they want & fall asleep next to the carcass - big mess for the
hunters, who may have to dig them out!  BTW: Hunting ferrets used in Europe
(and some states in the U.S., where it's legal) are the same animal as the
those we keep for pets - they're just unneutered.
 
On a more personal note, my daughter has a rabbit.  On a few occasions, the
ferrets have sneaked into her room, instantly transforming the usually calm,
tame, and placid rabbit into BUNZILLA!  Her eyes turn red, she snarls,
gnashes her teeth, & jumps at the bars of the cage trying to get at her
"attacker." Of couse the ferrets think this is a great game, and dash madly
around the room tormenting the poor bunny until some mean ol' human comes
along & spoils the "game." One of these days the poor bunny's going to have
a coronary!  I suppose if the ferret and rabbit (or whatever) were raised
together from babyhood they'd probably get along o.k., but I wouldn't want
to take the chance with older animals!
 
Ferrets & Parakeets
 
I don't have personal experience with this (though I've heard that the
combination can be lethal), but I don't see how they're much different than
any other "prey" except that they're airborne.  .  .probably a bad idea!  I
don't think the ferrets would "maliciously" kill things, but we sometimes
forget that they ARE carnivores.  .  .
 
And more on ferrets hunting. . .
 
IMO, whether a ferret can or will hunt depends on the ferret & it's
opportunity & motivation to learn.  Many U.S.  breeders take the kits away
from their mothers before they're old enough to learn, so of course they
don't (and their mothers, who were taken from their mothers early, may not
know how either).  But I think a kit, kept for a "natural" period of time
with a mother who knows how to hunt, will probably learn.  The ability is
there - somewhere - buried under all that joyful fuzziness, and I have had
ferrets that hunt mice, lizards & various insects.  We recently adopted out
a ferret whose new "mom" was pleasantly surprised to find that she is an
excellent mouser.  (Better than a cat, because she can get into places that
are too small for cats, & moves faster).  She doesn't eat them because she's
well-fed, but she does kill them (& hides them under the furniture!)
 
My own guys are great for keeping the house spider and cricket-free, & I
have at least 1 who would most certainly hunt "larger game" if given a
chance.  (You should have seen her when she found a mouse one of my cats
killed!) Not that I particularly ENCOURAGE them to "hunt" but, it's a bit
hard to keep the bugs out of the house in mid-summer in North Carolina, &
they do it anyway, so what the heck?
 
Anyway, just a little "food for thought!"
 
Happy dooks!
 
Karen
[Posted in FML issue 1442]