I know Pam Grant asked that people respond to her via private email
about this, but I deleted the last issue before I wrote down her
address...
Amelia is a Canadian ferret presumably from QUebec, but I understand
that almost all ferrets available in Canadian pet stores coast to coast
are bred by Hagen.  Amelia is an early alter, but is very large, I'd
guess about 1 1/4 kg, muscular and plump at age 8 months (altered at
around 6 weeks).  I think the closest way to describe her coloration
would be silver mitt, but only her toes are white; otherwise her legs
are black.  Her coat is very thick and fluffy, with a snow-white under-
coat and black guard hairs (except on her tail, where the longest hairs
are white).  She has rarely been ill (a greenie scare earlier this week
turned out to be broccoli).  I had thought that her robusticity was due
to spending a grand total of three hours in a pet shop before being
taken home and given high quality food and lots of TLC, but maybe it's
more of a genetic thing. Temperment-wise, she is fierce, although loving
and sometimes cuddly. She really enjoys the outdoors and will sometimes
hunt bugs and beetles, and is never scared of dogs (except for the one
that licked her face)(SLURP). Since Canada is land-o-fur, it wouldn't
suprise me too much if the Hagen ferrets had originally been bred for
fur, then brought into the pet market as they became more popular.
Anyway, they do seem to me based on my quite limited experience to be
different from US ferrets.  I'll have to go get a US ferret and test
this theory at home... :-)
  Maybe Meg Carpenter would have a comment on this issue, since she has
mentioned a multi-ethnic business of ferrets in her care?  Sorry to have
gone on for so long, but get me started talking about my favorite
subject in the world and off I go...
 
Regina (I thought we didn't need Bitter Apple anymore) and
Amelia (must kill sock  must kill sock  must kill sock)
[Posted in FML issue 1218]