>From:    Kathy Lucy <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Breeding for temperament
>I only breed once, and then they are spayed.
 
Seems waste.  If you have a wonderful mother that produces wonderful kits,
why wouldn't you breed her again?  Most ferrets jills in our experience do
far better after the first litter.  We think we can do better by our pets
by selecting those that do the best job as parents and letting them do it
again.  We can pick and choose better if we know what to expect.  If we
only bred ferrets once it would be very random breeding - we'd be guessing
what would result.  Selective and somewhat repetitive breedings are how we
generate lines with "proven" traits.
 
>My worry is that whenever she has come into heat before, she bites, and is
>on the ??tchey side.  When she is taken out of heat by a dud stud, she is
>fine again.  Healthy, happy, and full of life.
 
Ah... raging hormones...  We know them well...
 
Yes it is likely to pass on.  But again most likely only while in season.
You should choose as calm a male as possible matching all other necessary
traits to reduce inherited temperament problems.  At least thats been our
experience.  In our jills the hormonal nutsiness is less with each
breeding.
 
Broadening the response to include comments from others...
 
There is NOTHING about breeding animals and even making a living from
those animals that is inherently evil nor assures misery to animals.
 
That is Animal rights propoganda.  Its the big lie syndrome.  When people
say the lie enough people actually start believing it.
 
With horses I would expect a professional to know more about their horses
than an amateur.  The professional isn't distracted by another career.  I
want my doctor to be a full time doctor.  My lawyer to be a full time
lawyer.  Why would I expect a part time breeder to be better than a full
time one?  Admittedly at this point there isn't enough money in small
time pet breeding to make it a feasable profession.  I don't see that as
beneficial - just the way things are now.
 
-bill
--
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2697]