Ed - just a couple of thoughts.
 
I'm glad you have a complex sense of sarcasm regarding California and the
ferret wierdness there.
 
My concern though, is with the first part of your post.
 
Whole male ferrets are not for everyone.  Whole hobs can do a good job of
turning the most open minded person off to ferrets entirely.  Not every
ferret owner wants to have everything in their home pee'd on as the male
marks, or be greeted at the door with the distinct odor of Eau de Rutting
Hob.  Whole males generally don't mix well with other male ferrets, altered
or not.
 
Arranging one's life around a rutting hob can be an interesting challenge.
 
As for leaving the female whole and leaving her with the male, yes, a
vasectomised hob can certainly make sure she does not suffer from aplastic
anemia, but it is questionable that the health risks that a whole female can
be exposed to are worth the minor risks of altering her when she is mature.
 
Also, not all males have the same timing as the jills that live in their
home.  Ideally, they do, but often as not, they don't.  A cold or some other
trauma can take the hob right out of season too.  Either way, it could be a
real concern for the ferret owner to have a jill in season and no hob to
take her out.  Hormone shots sometimes don't work or cause other problems.
 
As for bonds between ferrets - ferrets of all sexes and fertility states
develop close bonds.  I don't think the sexual bond between a pair of
ferrets is going to be any deeper then the bond between any ferrets that
like each other.
 
Anyone who has ferrets, but not whole ferrets is well advised to spend some
time with a whole male in rut before even considering keeping one around
UNLESS you are breeding and need him to take your jills out of season.
 
I dunno, maybe the sarcasm in BOTH topics of your post went over my head.
 
Ann
[Posted in FML issue 2262]