Now that spring is uncovering the grass on the hills behind the apartment,
two of our carpetsharks have been undergoing a radical change in color ---
Obelix, who had been a sort of chocolatey brown sable, is turning
silvery-grey!  His head is grey, his guard hairs are turning greyer by the
day, and in the right light we sometimes mistake his head for Mithril's (our
shaded silver).  Mithril is turning paler, more and more of her guard hairs
are turning white --- she's only six months old, but there's probably no
possibility that she'll turn into a BEW since her legs and tail are quite
adamantly dark.  (Or is there??)
 
Molly, the smallest spunkiest of the bunch, was a cinammon when we got her,
but she's turning black!!  All her guard hairs (except for the ones on her
belly) are now jet-black, and her underfur is getting darker as well.  (/me
wonders paranoidly if it is an FLO plot to acquire camouflaged agents.)
 
Also, is there some sort of FAQ on breeding ferrets?  The most experience
that I have had in breeding any sort of animal is with black mollies (fish),
chickens, and my family's ponies.  We're interested in running a ferretry as
a hobby later on (after college), most interested in breeding BEWs, albinos,
and apricots (I heard from Marshall Farms that they have apricots -- beige
undercoat, apricot guard hairs)).  There's been a lot of talk about
bloodlines being so closely related & inbreeding occuring because of the
small gene pool.  What my husband and I are thinking of trying to do is to
import ferrets from Europe (England, etc.) to try to expand the gene pool
we'd have available here --- is that a feasible idea or are we just blowing
smoke?  What are the chances that we'd find enough BEWs to have a decent
line or two going?
[Posted in FML issue 1535]