>From:    Edward Lipinski <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: My experience breeding ferrets since 1981 to present - some notes
>If you are going into really quality ferret breeding and are not
>interested in numbers of kits, you may want to do what we've done here
>(secretly, so far), and that is to have your males perform in a manner
>that results in very small litters....
 
>This method, which is proprietary and secret, has enabled us to produce
>litters of 4 and 2 and no baby ferrets from a given female whom we knew
>was fertile as was the male ... virile and potent
 
Ed - what is this "secret"?  Correct me if I am wrong - but I always
thought that more sperm was produced - even in tiny amounts of semen -
than ovium released.  So how does controlling the hob's ejaculate reduce
the litter sizes?  Won't the sperm "seek & find" the ova unless the sperm
are weak, damaged, or deformed?  I would think you would need to control
the amount of ova.  Again - I may be wrong, so please - anybody - feel free
to correct and educate me!
 
>I applaud your emphasis on documenting the geneology of the breeders, but
>as I've found out the geneology trees in most cases aren't worth the paper
>they are written on.
 
I disagree.  I think pedigrees are helpful.  You can see what breeders
bloodlines are in the individual, what color backgrounds there are - & in
some cases the longevity of the lines.  You can also see what animals you
have that may be related in some ways.  If the individul has any color
linked flaws (ie waardenberg's), how they developed, what color genes seem
to be dominant in what bloodlines, etc.  Why would that not be worth it?
[2-part post combined]
 
>I am extremely warry of any breeder of ferrets who claims that she has
>pure-bred, pedigreed ferrets; especially if she uses the term, "purebred."
 
I do agree on this.  A ferret is a ferret is a ferret.  A breeder could
have a pure German, New Zealand, Australian, Swedish, etc, but never a
"purebred" animal.  That is just way to difficult and time consuming
(years & years to perfect traits).  Purebred to me is a breed - like a dog,
horse or cat - that has different varriations making that "breed" look
different than others - ie - long tails; short tails; short up-right ears;
long, floppy ears; colors and markings; etc.  To be "purebred" these would
have to be bred with others like itself.
 
>As you may read thus far, I'm no believer in so called, "purebreds." As a
>matter of fact, in my experience, a mongrel ferret who is healthy, spunky
>and of good, solid muscle mass is the way to go.
 
I don't think I would really say "mongrel" as that sounds to me to be a
stray.  Ferrets with a pedigree or some background knowledge is benificial
as you "know" the background.  A "mongrel" may have more genetic flaws - ie
blindnes, deafness, cancers, missing apendages, etc in the background that
you are not aware of.
 
>To avoid this you may want to adopt our method or a similar method of
>inhibiting inbreeding by using a nomenclature program such as this.
>Consider the F1 sire whose name is Bandit.  Consider the F1 dam whose name
>is Frisky.  The F2 product of their filiation (mating), every and each kit
>born of this union would bear the name, "BanFri."
 
Or you can enter all the information in a computer program that does
inbreeding reports for you on a "proposed" breeding - such as a pedigree
program or "create your own" with Microsoft Access.
 
>Quality control of your breeding program is absolute in that just by
>knowing the litter name of your ferrets, you will not ever mate two Banfri
>ferrets, nor mate a F2 Banfri back to its Sire or Dam of the F1 generation.
 
Most breeders know what kits came from which two ferrets just by looking at
them.  Well - I can with mine anyhow.  Many breeders also know birthdates
off the top of their heads, too.
 
Amy Flemming
[log in to unmask]
Flemming Farms - Michigan, USA
Breeding for Quality Ferrets
American, Australian, German, and New Zealand bloodlines
Come see us at http://www.geocities.com/heartland/ranch/9521
 
"For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism"
[Posted in FML issue 2574]