Although the topic of the DMK farm has been controversial, we feel that
it's important to share this rare opportunity with our friends on the
FML, a community that has known us for over 10 years now. We do not
wish to flood the list with controversy again, only to allow you a
glimpse of the little treasures who have come into the world under
our roof and care.

Several weeks ago, we brought home 6 handsome but stinky male ferrets
in rut. This special aroma might work on the ferret ladies, but to we
humans, WHOOOEEE did these boys smell!! In addition to the boys, we
brought home 8 females, most of which were thought to be pregnant. The
boys have been neutered and one of the females has been spayed with
another to be spayed soon.

The Ferret Haven in Louisville initially took 5 of the females while
our sister shelter, Rescue-Sanctuary of KY took 3 with the intent to
see the mothers through the birthing process & get the kits to adoption
age - about 12 weeks, at which point we would handle the adoptions. One
of the 3 has since relocated to Louisville so an enlarged spleen could
be looked at by our vet.

Our 1st ferret to give birth was Little Polly Pocket. Pocket gave birth
to 6 babies, one of which was still born and another which was rejected
by his momma and did not survive. We were having what we considered to
be a heart-breaking start at what we thought would be a joyous
occasion. After speaking with some knowledgeable breeders however, we
learned that losses are a larger part of bringing ferret kits into
the world than we realized and there was nothing we could have done
differently. Polly now has 4 very plump kits, 2 boys and 2 girls, who
are now 11 days old. We have some VERY special close-up pictures of
Polly's babies on our website www.theferrethaven.org

Next to deliver was "Little Momma". Unfortunately, she had only one kit
and being very large, he did not survive he birthing process. Momma,
an adorable 4 yr old cinnamon came to us with her partner of 4 years,
Cinnabon. As soon as she has recovered from her spay surgery, Momma and
Cinnabon will be reunited and officially retired from breeding.

On May 4th Mittens, a little 5 yr old silver mitt gave birth to EIGHT
little babies. This is a seasoned professional but at age 5, she became
quite tired during the night-long process. Upon arrival of babies #5 &
6, we had to remove the sacks and wipe the wee ones off with gauze,
handing them off to momma who then nibbled off the cords, (which I
refued to do myself!!) cleaned them a bit more and then cradled them to
her tummy. Mittens had 2 more kits and she is doing a wonderful job of
ensuring that everyone is fed and well cared for. She is a very
protective momma and we are trying hard to respect her privacy.......
but it sure is hard not to want to peek!! She's getting a lot of extra
protein to ensure she has enough milk to feed all these hungry babies.

As if things were not hopping already, over at Rescue-Sanctuary of KY,
Princess Di was the next to give birth on May 5th, Derby Day. She had 4
very small kits, 3 boys and a girl. Shelter Mom Lydia did a wonderful
job a socializing Princess and as a result, she has been allowed to
touch and pick up the kits under Mom's supervision. Princess and her
4 kits are strong and healthy and the babies are growing like little
weeds even though they're only 5 days old.

With 16 healthy babies in ranging from 5 to 11 days old, we still have
3 more girls yet to give birth.

I'm sure you're wondering what will be done with all these babies,
some have asked if we plant to breed any, to adopt them out, to sell
them, etc.

When taking pregnant females, we decided early on that we had an
opportunity to positively effect the health of the kits through late
spay & neutering. Although the kits will be available for adoption at
12 weeks of age, it will only be under the conditions of contractually
agreeing that NO breeding will be done and the kits will not be spayed
or neutered until between the ages of 6-12 months, giving their
hormones a chance to mature. Exceptions will be made on a one-off
basis, based on need as verified in writing by a ferret-knowledgeable
vet. This exception is to timing only - all kits must be spayed or
neutered. We are in Kentucky - these babies will not be shipped. If
you'd like to adopt one, we will do our best to hook you up with others
who are traveling this way - otherwise, the Bluegrass State is a very
nice place to visit!!

Momma ferrets will be spayed after the kits are weaned and some will
be avilable for adoption.

We would love to have you follow the progress of these babies as well
as those yet to come by logging in to our website,
www.theferrethaven.org
This site is a work in progress and will be updated every few days with
new details and pictures. (special thanks to Amanda, our webmaster, for
her time & all these updates!!)

If you would like to apply to adopt one of the kits or adult ferrets,
please complete the on-line adoption application on our website.

OK - Here's my one-time Schpeel:

If you wanted to do something in support of the DMK ferrets but didn't
know how you could help, we certainly welcome your donations. These can
be made by clicking on the handsome ferret in the center of our home
page http://www.theferrethaven.org/. All donations made to The Ferret
Haven will be shared with Rescue Sanctuary of KY.

Want to help but get something REALLY COOL in return? Bid on the 7
piece bedding set on e-Bay which has been kindly donated by Rose
Garman to benefit the new babies. e-Bay item #130110625411.

OR - participate in the Friends of Ferret Shelters Raffle:
http://shelterfriends.blogspot.com/

To donate to the DMK effort in general, a special fund has been
established through MFRAN
<http://www.mfran.org/Doug_McKay/DougMcKayFoundation/Doug_McKay_Foundation.htm>
MFRAN is a 501c3 non-profit organization.

This is a large undertaking for our shelter - as of today, there is
a total of 16 kits & 14 adults - all requiring spaying & neutering,
adults vaccinated for rabies & distemper, kits with 2-3 boosters before
leaving us, lots of food, litter, vet visits, etc. If you view this
effort to have value for the adult ferrets who now enjoy comfey
surroundings, are inside and are able to play with toys and sleep in
bedding and appropriate sized cages as ferrets should - please make a
contribution of any size. If it was important to you that the females
had their 1st ever bedding to give birth in and extra protein to help
them stay strong, please consider a donation. And if you enjoy watching
the kits grow through the pictures and updates on our website, if you
laugh when you read about their little personalities starting to
develop, like Polly's little boy, "Columbus" who is always off
exploring even though his eyes are not open yet, then please help
support them. I promise, this is the last time I will make the big
donation pitch!!

Enjoy the pictures & updates. I know that we in the ferret community
rarely have the opportunity to see actual babies. We're trying to do
some things that take advantage of this rare opportunity - like
documenting teeth at various ages, to help use as guides for how ols a
ferret "really is" when it arrives at a pet store. Feel free to make
suggestions if you can think of other things we might want to document.
Feel free to ask questions.

Jerri Carel
The Ferret Haven
Louisville, KY
[log in to unmask]
www.theferrethaven.org

[Moderator's note: Jerri checked with me before posting this.  I felt
post was factual and wouldn't be likely to rekindle the nasty debate
of a while back.  Let's hope I'm correct!  BIG]

[Posted in FML 5604]