Hi all,
I'm glad I am not the only one alarmed about staking out ferrets and
leaving them to fend for themselves or worse yet rely on an avian
species as watchdogs. There may be a huge difference in what could be
construed as dangerous between the UK and the US however, personally
I'd want to minimize the "what if's" by being able to eyeball my
ferrets while they are outdoors and only being a few steps away from
them at any given moment.
In Florida there are a whole host of hazards to keep an eye out from
many birds of prey: hawks, eagles, owls, osprey, falcons; to wild/feral
canines: foxes, coyotes, loose dogs; even wild/feral felines cats,
bobcats, panthers; to snakes: rattlers, moccasins, coral, rat, indigo,
corn, pine, pythons, constrictors and more; don't forget alligators and
crocodiles and yes even bears! Besides these predatory animals that
would happily make a meal of a bite size ferret, there are also other
animals (like raccoons) that could dispatch the ferret just to protect
their young from a perceived threat.
Any one of those animals could roam through the yard and pick off a
delectable ferret staked to the ground in less time than it takes
for the human to spot the danger and run out of the house to help the
ferret. Scattering crunchy kibbles about for the ferrets to locate will
only call in even more wildlife like flocks of wild crows & turkeys
which will definitely get the upper hand on a tied up ferret; the
kibble will also bring in ants - usually fire ants and I've seen horses
go into shock and run through fences when bitten by these marauders -
a staked out ferret would just look like it was having a blast jumping
and rolling to get away from these poisonous insects!
As for the figure 8 vs H style harness each manufacturer makes theirs
differently. I have had good luck with the 5 in 1 harnesses and crappy
luck with the Marshall's ferret harnesses. To make the 5 in 1 more
comfortable for the larger ferrets I add another spring ring to the
connection between the collar and the harness.
I make my own ferret walking harnesses/shirts which works the best.
I've only used a figure 8 harness on my potbelly pig when he was a baby
and it worked o.k. I've taken my ferrets on my farrier rounds with me
and tied them in the stalls or barns out of harms way, but within view.
So I don't have a problem with ferrets being staked out or tied- just
being "unsupervised".
I am glad that I am not the only one that would ever leave my ferret
staked out without being in the immediate vicinity. It may work for
some, but I certainly wouldn't advise it.
Cheers,
Kim
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[Posted in FML 6080]
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