>From:    "Leidig, Lisa" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: a ? about Marshalls
>How is Marshalls tracking the important characteristics and genetic
>information, and weeding out undesirable stock (as stated in their ad) if:
>
>a) They never contact anyone who purchases one of their ferrets?
 
Control group.  They can track what they need to from a control group of
ferrets that are not sold.  This could be little more than their own
breeding ferrets.  This is all about statistics and a controlled group in a
controlled environment is FAR more useful than polling customers.  Car
companies can poll their customers about their products and usually they do
but most people will never get a call.  Just a small percentage.  But it is
completely different.  Genetic information and how it effects the life of a
ferrets is not easily gathered from the field.  Since many ferrets that are
not Marshall farms ferrets get sold with Marshall registration cards and
many ferrets do not get sold with those cards all control is lost and the
data gathered can not be trusted after the ferrets reach the pet store.  It
is also more or less impossible for Marshall to have anyway to track what
ferret from what litter ends up in what home.  How could they?
 
A small hobby breeder doesn't have a large enough population to follow this
kind of control group statistics successfully.  Marshall does.
 
>b) They destroy the non-productive jills at about age 3 so long-term
>diseases or conditions are never noted?
 
Not all of Marshall's ferrets are killed at about age 3.  Again not all need
to be as long as a reasonable sample is studied.
 
>Don't most breeders stop a line if they discover predispostion towards
>disease/problems by keeping up with the placed kits and the parents?
 
It would be nice if this were true.  We are skepitcal.
 
>How do breeders keep up with their genetic lines, especially if the hob
>is from someone else's ferretry?  Do you periodically call and check on
>the hob's condition?
 
Well you are pointing up a big misconception in the breeding of ferrets.
Many people scream about the evils of in-breeding without realizing that it
is an important tool.  Line breeding is a controlled form of in-breeding.
If you do not do any line breeding than you have virtually no genetic
information to track.  If you do line breeding than you have bloodlines to
track.  If you don't do line breeding you just do not really have any lines.
 
>less than 10% of the total ferrets produced by Marshalls and part of
>that number are the fur ferrets
 
We have no information on Marshall farms being part of the fitch trade.  But
a 10% sample is more than enough for a reasonable sample size - that would
be some 8 or 9 thousand ferrets every single year!
 
>Knowing their methods of tracking would certainly benefit (and quiet their
>detractors!)
 
We doubt that.  Most of the "information" about Marshall comes originally
from people that seem so detached from the truth that nothing could stop
them.  This is based on what they have written as "fact" on incidents that
no one was more aware of the facts than we were.
 
>to get an idea of the care and thought that goes into the selection of a
>jill/hob for a litter, instead of thinking maybe they just throw a rutting
>hob in with a jill in season to get more babies!
 
This information is not a secret.  Ask Pam Troutman, it was explained to her
in detail.  It involves keeping several buldings of ferrets and mating hobs
from one building to jills from a different building on successive breedings.
 
>Honestly, I don't know -- I am a shelter, not a breeder.
 
We are both.  We fully understand the problems that other shelter folk deal
with.  We get them as well.  We also fully understand the problems that
other breeders deal with.  We do not claim to have all the answers either.
 
>If Marshall's does monitor the FML, then they must realize that closed
>doors make for "conspiracy theories" and rumors.
 
We have open doors and have to deal with nearly as many rumors as does
Marshall Farms.  But they don't have to deal with potential ECE as much as
we do.  They sound pretty smart if its said that way.
 
>The difference between Path Valley and Marshalls?  The advertising that I
>have seen from Path Valley states that their ferrets are only sold as pets,
>not for research or fur.  Marshall's provides ferrets to the fur industry
>in Europe and of course to the labs as research animals.  I have no idea
>how old Path Valley kits are when shipped, although I would think about 7-8
>weeks, so they are also neutering/spaying and descenting prior to shipment
>as well.
 
Seems expensive to ship ferret fur from the US to Europe when there are more
and cheaper fitch ranches already in Europe.  If some real information
though can be found we're are certainly willing to be convinced.
 
But aside form the research sales, Path Valley will almost undoubtedly sell
ferrets at about the same age as Marshall Farms.  They would lose too many
sales otherwise.  They can not afford to lose many sales after their
problems with food a few years ago.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
mailto:[log in to unmask]  mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.zenferret.com/
[Posted in FML issue 2227]