Oh goody ;o) the great Bhor is asking questions!!  <G> Good to know that he
does have some human in him, rather than all ferret demi-god and Mac user
;o) (note: all Mac-users out there that have the new Mac... now's a good
time to tease Bob <G>) (okay Bob, I'll be quiet for now)
 
I can't say that I have a huge background here, but I have *some* ;o) and
just had to write and tease Bhor while I'm at it.  Okay...
 
>The question is, does anyone have practical experience with housing
>multiple hobs together when they are not in rut?  Is the extreme
>territorial behavior directly tied to rutting, or does it exist regardless
>of sexual condition.
 
In my (also limited) experience, I have never had a problem with having two
whole males together.  Even sometimes reaction to each other while in rut
can be an individual thing at times.  All the males I've had experience with
(bar none) have been in general more quiet while in rut... that is, until
they see their prospective girlfriends!  ;o) Needless to say, at that time,
I've found they tend to become a tad more excitable, and are more likely to
become 'territorial' at this time.  Personally, I've had more trouble with
the females attacking at this time than the males... Guess they have a
one-track mind then too huh?  (Note: Once they've had what they want, the
females seem to tend to get snappy at their boyfriends too!!  Case of waking
on the wrong side of the hammock??)
 
>From my limited experience, as well as from theory, housing hobs together
>shouldn't be much of a problem if 1) there are no nearby jills in heat, 2)
>they have been introduced when sexually off-season, and 3) the hobs are not
>rutting.
 
Sounds like the experience I've had.  Personally, I've never heard of any
real problems with housing hobs together as long as there have been no
females in season within scenting distance, *particularly* within the same
room/visible.  My guys, at any rate, get far more excited when they *see*
the jills.
 
>I have been many places where hobs are never housed or allowed to play
>together for fear of severe injury, but most also had jills in attendance
>as well, so the potential problems have not been well controlled from a
>cause and effect standpoint.
 
Note here: last year I 'borrowed' two hobs for two of my females.  Both
hobs normally live together, whether they're in rut or not.  While they
were with the jills, they were kept strictly separate, otherwise, they're
kept together.  The person who owns these hobs is a vet, with several years
of breeding ferrets behind her, and she has never had a problem with
keeping her hobs together.  One of the hobs was definitely an 'alpha' and
she has stated that if the two hobs were in the same cage as a female in
season, the alpha male is the only one who gets near her, the other never
even tries.  Just an observation for this particular instance which I
thought you may find interesting.  Not all hobs will 'attack' even in rut,
even with a female in season there...
 
Hope this helps somewhat :o)
 
Sam
[Posted in FML issue 2385]