>From:    Robert Campbell <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Marshall Farm Ferrets
 
If BIG hasn't done this already, let me step in and explain about Marshall
Farm ferrets.
 
They are loving, wonderful ferrets who by no fault of their own, came into
this world to supply a pet shop with something to sell.  Marshall Farms is
in North Rose, NY (and goes by several addresses, including Wolcott) and
produces 50,000 ferrets annually for sale - maybe 10% of these ferrets go to
research.  The rest to pet shops.  There is no distinction between who goes
where, it is the luck of the draw.
 
Females are bred 2-3 times a year and are no longer of service by the time
they are three years of age.  Kits are taken away from their mothers at
about 4 weeks of age (before their eyes are opened) and neutered and
descented, then shipped off to pet stores between 5 and 6 weeks of age.
They are given ONE distemper shot the day before travel.
 
The breeding colony is considered "closed", which means they do not add new
breeding stock.  They just rotate between "barns" the females to the males
each breeding session.  Ferrets are kept under artificial light in order to
cycle the females as much as possible.
 
Marshall Farms marks their ferrets with two blue dots in the right ear.
These dots may be more black looking depending on the dye.  Sometimes the
second dot is very high (on the head) or just tips the ear.  In 1995,
Marshall Farms started adding a third dot to a single toe of their ferrets,
but it is very difficult to find unless the ferret has white feet.  I have
also been told that they are using a circle tattoo, but have yet to see one
myself.
 
>This brings me to my first question.  How do shelters avoid falling in
>love with most of their rescues and end up keeping them?
 
Well, when you stop to look at all the cages to clean, all the animals who
need personal attention, all the medical and food bills for just pet
maintenance, you try real hard to put the ferrets adoption first.  Plus,
shelters usually get "stuck" with the old and ill ferrets that many people
will not adopt, and for that reason, the cute ones are adopted out without
too much a glance of regret.
 
When I started doing rescue in 1988, I had 8 pet ferrets.  Within two years,
my personal collection (yes, it was a collection) was 42.  I brought that
down to 24 in a year because I KNEW I could not give them the attention and
personal care they needed and deserved all by myself.  I had 20 ferrets at
the start of 1996.  Even with the divorce and my moving, I still claim 15
ferrets as personal pets (thought they are living among friends right now
because I'm renting.)
 
I once went to a fun match in Maryland with two of my pet ferrets.  A
teenager asked if she could run one of my ferrets through the games and I
said yes.  I could tell by the way she handled the ferret and the way he
(the ferret) responded, that they were meant for each other.  I asked the
mother if she would be interested in adopting him.  I had NO INTENTION of
adopting out my ferret when I took him, but it just seemed the most logical
thing to do.  I do see him at shows once in awhile and know that he is very
loved.
 
>So -- and I think this was obvious from the start -- just polling shelters
>doesn't get you a good sample of ferrets for a study of this question, since
>the ferrets in shelters may be biased toward both poor health and MF origin
>-separately-.  You need a good control, which the shelters can't provide.
 
Good point Pam, but since STAR* has only a third of their subscribers listed
as shelters, and one-sixth as clubs, and the other half as private
individuals, plus the surveys that have been conducted are sent out to the
FML (90% private owners?  - my guess) and to the others listed as contacts
on the STAR* list, I'd say it is a fairly good mix of FERRET KNOWLEDGEABLE
people/owners.  Plus, I'm getting a better than 10% (industry standard)
return on surveys, so my information reflects a little more accurately with
more input.
 
In my case, and this is confusing - in 1995 I had 10% of the ferrets come
into my shelter with adrenal disease.  That was 14 out of 140ish ferrets.
Of those, 85% were MF ferrets (12) and the others were suspected late alters
from backyard breeders (1 was confirmed as such).  BUT, 60% of my ferret
turn-ins were from MF, the other 40% were late alters, PV or Canadian.
So... you can see from my figures that the incident of adrenal disease is
much higher among MF ferrets without them being the overwhelming source of
ferrets in my shelter.
 
>From:   Alicia K Drakiotes / Ferret Wise Shelter <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Research MF ferrets
>... on the learning and research institutions use of MF ferrets.  Are you
>aware that they for the most part use unaltered ferrets?
 
Actually, Alicia, it all depends on the type of research which kind of
ferrets are used (altered vs. unaltered).
 
Pam Grant
[Posted in FML issue 1744]