Matan
 
For an animal, the drive to breed is like your drive to scratch an itch.
If there is no itch, you don't miss scratching it.  Animals are not capable
of missing something that is hormonally controlled.  A hamster, a dog or a
cat will all follow their drives to mate and to raise their young but none
of these animals risk anemia or infection through heats the way ferrets do.
In North America it is acknowledged that something as risky as breeding
ferrets should be left to people who are proficient at it.  You don't yet
know enough about breeding ferrets to be capable of doing it safely.  If I
were interested in breeding I would research everything there is to know
about it BEFORE ATTEMPTING IT since jills face illness with every unbred
heat.  I would have my own hob and vasectomized hob to breed with my jills,
OR access to the appropriate injections so that I could control her heats
myself and I would limit the number of litters the jill produced.  Raising
young is VERY draining for an animal so if your ferret is bred on every
heat she may become weak and susceptible to more illnesses, related to
breeding or not.
 
I believe that for an animal there is a lot more to life than breeding.  My
three ferrets love to explore, go outdoors on leash, dig in the sand, eat
cheerios, play with plastic grocery bags, and cuddle with me.  Their lives
are very full and happy, and because they are healthy, they will enjoy this
for a very long time.  And I will enjoy them for a very long time.
 
For the record, I have a degree in biology and have been accepted to
veterinary school for this fall.
 
Jen
Newton, Dobie and Fig.
[Posted in FML issue 3454]