Julie wrote:
>My vet told me yesterday he had a lady come in with a 10 year old ferret,
>that was still in pretty good health and was a Marshall Farms.  I know
>some of you have ferrets that old, but this is the first one I have heard
>of here.  Got me to wondering if they neutered them at such an early age
>back then or not.  Does any one know when they started the practice?  Not
>trying to start the early neuter debate again was just curious.
 
Well, there were early neuters on the market at least 17 years ago, given
when we got Fritter.  Now she wasn't a Marshall directly; she was a
Winstead and Wendy Winstead had bought whole MFs specifically for breeding.
Still, I know that the early neutering has gone on for quite a while longer
than 10 years there, so that 10 year old would be an early neuter unless
bought through some special arrangement as has happened with at least some
retired breeders.  Ten year olds aren't all that common but I certainly
have known and known-of 10 year olds and older who were early neuters
from a range of places over the years.
[Posted in FML issue 3427]