Subject: Trauma to jills on seperation
 
I hate it so much when two people I consider friends bicker on the FML.  But
from our view...
 
I do not think that jills suffer extreme emotion distress from having their
kits removed.  I believe that animals have some emotions but not to the
extent that people do.  Emotions and intelligence are wrapped together in
many odd ways.
 
BUT there are definitely physiological reactions when kits are pulled before
the jill thinks they are ready.  However it is also not a fixed age.  Some
of our jills wean their kits at 4 or 5 weeks.  Others are nursing up to 10
weeks.  As the kits age though jills demand some "freedom" from the kits.
We let the jills run alone before we seperate them long term.  One time we
thought a pair of nursing jills were done (they happened to be mother and
daughter fromt he previous year) so we pulled the mothers from the litters.
They overnight informed us we were saddly mistaken.  They broke out of their
new digs and climbed onto our pool table (serving as the nursery - yes I am
dedicated).  Broke their kits out of their respective cages and drug them
into the next room and hid them behind the panelling.  Ferret proofed?
Hardly.  Well I had to remove the panelling to retrieve the kits.  Odd thing
is that the mothers had no real interest in being with the kits behind the
wall.  We let our jills tell us when to wean the kits.
 
Now stepping into a major minefield - this is bill's personal opinion not
Diane's.  I used to believe strongly in no kits going before they were 12
weeks old.  I don't anymore.  BUT it strongly depends upon the new owner.
Experienced owners can get them younger then inexperienced.  Other breeders
the earliest - especially if they have kits the same age already.  But an
eagerness to learn will sway me earlier as well.  One other concern is CDV
vaccinations.  We prefer to have two or three shots in before they go out.
Again this will depend upon the new owner how strongly this affects
decisions.
 
Subject: birth announcement
 
We are pleased to welcome seven new ferret kits into the world.  UI's Buddha
of Zen and SS's Satori of Zen have 3 jills and 4 hobs.  Two of the hobs are
albino.  The others are expected to be champagne or chocolate since both
parents are champagne.  Buddha is the answer ferret from our web page.  One
of his earlier sons Zen's Professor Xavier of SS from an earlier litter won
Best in Show Breeder at last years Big Apple Ferret Fiesta against stiff
competition.
 
bill killian
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http://www.zenferret.com/
[Posted in FML issue 1614]