Gwen M. Daley wrote:
>I suppose that she is a Marshall Farm ferret, and I have had her for close
>to 4 years.  The problem is that the animal is a walking example of why
>inbreeding is so damaging.
 
Without meaning to get into the whole MF discussion again, I've read that
Marshall Farms has literally tens of thousands of ferrets.  Assuming that
they don't deliberately breed relatives together, it seems unlikely that
inbreeding would be a big problem in a gene pool that size.
 
I am sorry that Lulu has all the problems you described.  Congenital
problems do crop up in any population.  I'm glad she has someone as loving
and understanding as you to care for her.
 
--
- Pam Greene
Ferret Central <http://www.optics.rochester.edu:8080/users/pgreene/>
[Posted in FML issue 1469]