Yesterday was an interesting and somewhat horrifying one for me.  Troy Lynn,
Nancy and I drove down to Freedonia, Kansas and met Kaye, who drove up from
Oklahoma.  We had seen an ad for "breeder ferrets" for sale and wanted to
check it out.  Since I had never been to a breeder's, I had no idea what to
expect.  It was worse than I could possibly have dreamed.
 
We drove into a place filled with birds of all kinds--peacocks, ducks, etc.
and were taken to a small shed where there were about 30-35 little female
ferrets, about helf sables and half albinoes.  They were in small
wire-bottomed cages with sleeping boxes filled with straw.  The sleeping
boxes, food bowl and water bowl were the only thing in the cages.  The smell
of Lysol was over-powering.  I saw a bag of food--a Purina cat-chow copy
with 31% protein and 8% fat.
 
Behind the shed were wire cages which housed about 12-14 males.  They were
furnished the same way, except these little boys weren't even inside.
Across the lot was another row of cages--the first had an albino male (who
is almost exactly the color of a new penny right now!) and a little blind
female with cataracts on both eyes.  The breeder told me he was going to
"let these two die" because the male wasn't a good breeder and the female
was "worthless".  Troy Lynn found a female with obvious adrenal disease and,
when we picked her up, we found she was definitely pregnant.  We also found
an albino male who was a "dangerous biter" and a little silvermitt with the
"same problem".  That little albino "biter" is now curled up asleep in my
lap.  We bought these 5, just to get them out of there.  (No flames, please.
You had to have been there!)
 
The breeder told us he washes the ferrets about 3 times a year by sprinkling
Tide on them and hosing them off.  He throws about 3 feet of straw into the
shed in the winter, lets the females loose in there and mass feeds and
waters.  In the spring he rakes out the straw and the dead ferrets!!  (Yes,
I kept my cool, but with real difficulty.) He has no idea what kills them,
but thinks they kill each other--when he sees them fight, he just kicks them
apart.  Yes, he really said this.
 
We need to get these little ones out of there before winter.  The breeder is
insisting on $35.00 apiece for them and then there is the price of neutering
and shots (they have never had ANY).  We can't house any more here--Troy
Lynn is still fighting ECE after 6 months and I am full to the brim--so we
need your help.  Can you adopt 1 or 2 or 10?  Can you spare a few dollars to
help us get them out and get medical attention?  If you can help in any way,
we, and the ferrets, would be very grateful.  They really are in need of
help.
 
Sorry for the long post.  Can you tell I am a bit upset...?  I could tell
you more, but I won't...now, anyway.
 
Lynda 8[ and the ten terrors, plus the three little newbies.
 
[Moderator's note: Seems to me the $1500 would be better spent buying a cage
for this breeder.  Then you can take the ferrets for free.  I'll donate the
hay we can throw into his cage to keep him warm and fed this winter.  BIG]
[Posted in FML issue 1708]