Hi everyone,
thanks for the response to my posting, I think that I better clear up a few
points.  NO ferrets in England are no different from the ones in the U.S
(apart from the fact that we don't have the black footed ferret)when it comes
to milk.  I really wasn't very lucid on this point,I give my animals cow milk
twice a week as a treat,but the milk is watered down to about 50% with tap
water this dilutes the milk and so prevents the runs.
As Pam pointed out to me Ferrets in America are really treated as pets and
from what I can gather they have various operations to make them quiet, to be
perfectly frank I was rather worried that you would even allow them around
your face.  Here in England ferrets are really semi-domesticated farm animals
and are generally unaltered in any way,apart from the odd snipped hob that
are hired out by ferret clubs to bring jills out of heat.  As a unaltered
animal as Pam kindly pointed out there aggresion level is much higher and are
treated with a great deal of respect(I've seen a fully grown hob lock down on
a mans nose before and it wasn't a pretty sight.)That's not to say that they
don't make good pets, you just have to be aware of the dangers and treat them
accordingly (I take it you all know the quaint tradition in England about
putting ferrets down your trousers?DON'T :).)there has been a move in recent
years to make English ferrets more acceptable to the public, but there still
persists the idea that ferrets are nasty smelly things that bite,U.K vets
don't really like to carry out the scent gland removal operation,or the
defanging of ferrets.
Mince meat:yes, I meant minced beef meat not the fruity variation, It gets
shortened down to mince meat here and it often causes confusion.
Adult Ferrets.This one caused a stir didn't it?  While it may be true in the
states that adult ferrets make good pets,it's not the case in Britain.  If
someone tries to sell you a ferret and tells you it's a good worker, good for
rabbits and a demon for rats,you can bet your last dollar that there is
something up with the ferret.  Like example,it may be quiet at home but after
working the animal it may be phsycotic (turn from a lamb to a tiger.) or that
it has picked up bad habits and lays up underground.  Also you see you do not
know the nature of the ferret you are buying, it could be combination of all
of the above and you might end up with a right horror story.
I liked the posting on ferret racing, and would like to clear up a few points
Yes it's really just a bit of harmless fun,ferret races are held normally
at game fairs fates etc.They are normally supervised by the R.S.P.C.A(the
royal society for the prevention of cruelty to animals.)most of he winnings
really go to charity and ferret racing should be treated as a bit of fun.
did you know though that ferret racing started in America?
For some reason the 2 to 10 pound signs didn't come out in the posting,
yes they are really that cheap about $4 to $13 dollars and I would be curious
to know what they cost in the states.
A question of my own now,here in England we have three different coloured
ferrets(albino/whites,polelys/polecat and sandys/sandy colour.)I have a book
here that mentions American ferret colour varations like for example
sweethearts,cotton socks etc.could someone please do me a favour and provide
me a rough guide to the American colour variations.
                       Dave Gould
                       dave.dwgould.demon.co.uk
 
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dave.dwgould.demon.co.uk
[Posted in FML issue 1236]