Bill wrote:-
>We are probably not really on opposite sides but just seem it. Health and
>temperament ARE show standards. For example on the AFA judging sheet we
>use a 100 point system. 5 of those 100 points are for color. Health is
>not a single category but is a prime motive of well over half of the
The NFWS gives up to a maximum of 10 or maybe 5 for each point used to
judge a ferret. So it ends up out of 100 or 50, sorry I can't remember
off-hand just what the points are. I know some of them are eyes, ears,
teeth, feet, coat, conformation, condition (health), temperament. I got
chucked in at the deep end when I had my first stint at judging - two weeks
notice is all I got. The advice I received was you'll know what to look
for, and at the end of the day it's the one you want to take home. I
judged 3 classes, Albino hob, veteran and handler under 14.
Some judges in the UK will knock a polecat (sable) ferret back if it's nose
isn't black, yet to others it isn't important if the rest of the ferret is
good. My Kurt and Phoenix don't have black noses but they have both been
winners in polecat classes, in the USA they wouldn't even be considered.
Out of 19 of my polecat ferrets only 4 have black noses, does that make
them any less desirable, I don't think so. Why the hell should they be
barred from taking part in a show because their noses ain't black! It
won't be long before some idiot starts tattooing pink and mottled noses
black.
>Like with humans or any animal when you get too far out of the natural
>size you induce structural problems. <snip> I'm talking mostly about
>ferrets that the hobs are barely a pound even whole not the fairly broad
>healthy range of say 3 to over 6 pounds.
6 lbs that'd not a ferret, that's a flaming donkey <g>. My big boys 4.5
lbs are considered too large for the taste of most British judges - a heck
of lot of our judges look at ferrets with an eye to doing the job they are
made for i.e. bolting bunny wabbits. A ferret that is on the large size
would probably have trouble doing a 'U' turn in a bury. One reason a lot
of ferreters use jills - I like using my hob Kurt, he weighs in at around
2 lbs.
>Now if we did hunting with ferrets much in the US... <g> But I've often
>read about using jills and hobs differently in the past. The older hunting
>journals in the US that did talk about sporting use of ferrets split the
>uses of buck and doe (they used different terminology in the US in the
>past) for different quarry.
Some folk still use buck, dog, doe and bitch terms instead hob and jill -
we also get the spelling gill.
>>I have no desire to see ferrets go the way of some show dogs <snip>
>Now this is why the size of the ferret is important. The AFA in particular
>stresses that it opposes the establishment of 'ferret breeds' for this very
>reason. There are folks in the US that are trying to establish quirky
>things like miniature ferrets but the AFA (and I think the others) is
>specifially trying to combat that. The so called 'bulldog' ferrets are
>one place where a proper standard should work to prohibit organizational
>support for the shortening noses.
Some working ferreters in the UK like the small 'uns (greyhounds) I haven't
seen any of them at the shows I've been to though. I take it that some
folk in the US are trying to breed the so called hob head in jills? Tell
you what keep the ferrets and put the breeders down!
>>Yes, if a ferret bites a judge in the UK it's disqualified.
>Same here. Some leeway is given by fair judges. Especially with kits.
>But a bite as opposed to a nip will disqualify. A nip will probably end
>the ferrets chances of winning even if it doesn't outright disqualify
>them.
If I was judging a kit class I would expect to get nipped occasionally -
but if the little begger hangs on it would be disqualified, that's if it
broke the skin. I know it's a different kettle of fish over there with the
rabies and all that........
>>What about the ferrets that don't meet the breeders standards? Just a
>>bit too big or too small do they get put down?
>The organizations discourage that. Neuter and place as pets is the real
>approach that vast majority of ferret breeders take <snip>
The ideal solution but we do have too many folk breeding too many kits......
BTW entire and neutered ferrets all go in the same class in the UK. Until
you shake a hob (just kidding) it's difficult to know if its lost a couple
of bits. The only difference neutering makes to hobs over here is that
they don't 'stink' (not too unpleasant if you really love the little
beggers), and albinos tend to stay white instead of taking on the
yellow/orange of a hob in season. I guess our practice of not neutering
ferrets until they are at least 6 months old may have some bearing on this.
>>I don't sell any stock at shows, it's very bad practice as far as I'm
>>concerned. Folk attending shows don't come prepared to purchase ferrets.
>I see quite a bit of gray here. I want to agree but am forced to disagree
>anyway. Some people come to shows with that express purpose in mind here.
OK we'll agree to disagree on this one........ but I get your point.
>There are also different types of shows. Full championship shows are
>different than say ferrets showing up at 4H shows or county fairs. The
>former is much different than the latter.
I prefer the smaller shows myself - around three to four hundred ferrets is
just about a nice size.
>If there is no standard than what the heck is the point? Quite seriously.
>A standard elevates it away from just a beauty contest. If a judge has
>something to base his decisions on its much fairer than having judges that
>pick based on some unknown arbitrary bias.
If a ferret looks right - it generally is right....... A bit of a broad and
sweeping statement I know. Then you can start looking more closely. To me
a ferret show first and foremost should be fun for all concerned. Its also
a good chance to meet friend and other ferret keeper and enjoy the 'crack'
and I don't mean drugs!<g>
>I wouldn't say that some UK breeders are allies of the rescues - to us
>they are a pain in the neck.
>>... We have what we call 'backyard breeders' over here that resemble
>>closely the equivalent in dogs and cats. I didn't really mean them. I
>>admit I wasn't clear. Sorry...
Well that's cleared up that point..... Thanks.
>My primary point is probably more attune to your desires. A show standard
>should be written specifically to ehance the breeding of ferrets with
>health and disposition as breeding goals in show ferrets as well as 'just
>pets'. I'll leave the hunting aspects to you folks on that side of the
>pond. <g>
I've only been out hunting once this season - with the mild winter the
bunnies are breeding during the normal hunting season. Most ferreters don't
like hunting when there are nursing does at home.
>If the standard being developed in the UK was primarily on what constitutes
>a healthy and well behaved ferret instead of what a color or pattern is
>called what would you feel the same?
Right on Bill... Health and temperament... That's what it's all about,
haven't I been saying that all along <g> I don't go for the so called
'designer' ferret.
Sheila
Bolton Ferret Welfare & Editor of The National Ferret Welfare Society.
Web Site: www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm last update 28 Feb 1999
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge: Jill, Deanna Troy, Cameron, Carnath, Button,
Bill & Bobby.
[Posted in FML issue 2605]
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