We had unusually warm weather the end of Dec and early Jan, with temps
eventually reaching the 50s and even 60s.  I was in the local pet shop and a
woman who works there was concerned about her ferrets.  She has several that
she breeds, and with the warm weather, her females had all gone into heat.
(She keeps them in a barn.)
 
She didn't want to breed them now and have babies born in February.  She was
aware that prolonged estrus was bad for them.  Did I have any suggestions?
I gave her the name of a vet that I knew could give hormone shots.
 
The day after I was there, the temp started started to plummet, and we've
been shivering since.  I stopped by the pet shop yesterday to see how her
ferrets were doing.  She said as soon as it started getting cold, they went
out of heat.
 
I was not aware that temperature could affect the estrus cycle. Have other
breeders experienced this?
 
By the way, Bill Killian, have you finished your breeding faq?  I would love
to give her a copy.
 
Linda Iroff
North Coast Ferret Shelter
Serving Northeast Ohio
http://www.oberlin.edu/~liroff/ncfs.html
[Posted in FML issue 1816]