>If, however, you would like to check out Wolfy's website
>(http://www.wolfysluv.com/deaf.html), I believe it will be a wonderful
>starting point for you. Vets do not use any type of equipment to check
>the hearing in ferrets. And, many deaf ferrets are able to hide their
>deafness because they do not rely heavily on hearing in a domesticated
>environment. Deafness is often linked to other genetic factors or to
>other problems, such as chronic ear infections.

Dear Rene Downs,

Thank you for your post.

At the ferret frolics/olympics that I formerly ran in a local park,
one of the events I designed was a device that was used to check
ferret hearing at different frequencies of pure tones as well as
their harmonics.

The test box was a large cardboard box with two holes cut in opposite
sides, into which was inserted two long carpet tubes. One hole each was
cut into the carpet tubes, the hole being accessible only from inside
the closed box. The test ferret was placed inside the box and the box
was closed. The only way out of the box was for the ferret to go into
one of the two holes in the carpet tubes, crawl through the tubes and
exit onto the grass where most of them did their characteristic weasel
war dance; that is those that were hearing stimulated.

Using random frequency generators I delivered shrieks of agony into one
end of the two carpet tubes. I used ten different shriek generators
that we hunters use when calling in cougar, coyote and other wilderness
creatures in our pursuit of good fur pelts. The make a god-awful sound
when you blow into them and by applying varying pressure with your
teeth, you can modulate the sound to simulate a little bunny being
torn to pieces by a ravenous ferret.

You may not know this, but ferret pelts make wonderful steering wheel
covers.*

We do know that ferrets kill rabbits, mice, and other small game,
including prairie dogs. During the killing process the ferret's victim
screams wildly as the K9's of the ferret penetrate the cranial cavity
of the prey and kill it. Animal screams are coincident with killing,
and a ferret just loves to kill, as you all probably know from tales
you've heard about ferrets in the chicken coup. Ferrets will kill just
for the love of it. To them it is a most wonderful enterprise.

Some ferrets responded to one predator call while others did not and
some responded to a different predator call (I had 10 different ones to
use) that did not initially respond. I was surprised at the quickness
of response of most of the ferrets tested and had to roll away quickly
from the end of the carpet tube when I heard the ferret coming rapidly
toward me at the end of the tube. I lay on my belly with my mouth and
predator call right in the end of the carpet tube.

This ferret testing was a big hit at the ferret frolics/olympics and I
made good money on the tickets sold. People got a big laugh when they
say me rolling away quickly from the end of the tube and the ferret
come shooting out of the tube at full speed.

I want to repeat this hearing testing, keep written records and have
the frequency spectra of each of my ten predator calls recorded on a
spectrum analyzer tape. I'll get around to that some day.

BTW, ferrets can scream just as loud if not louder than rabbits. The
first time I heard one, I could hardly believe my ears.

Shucks, I know a wonderful joke about a wife who was hard of hearing,
but I can't tell it here.

Edward Lipinski
*Just kidding, just kidding..

[Posted in FML 6221]