Karen Vance,
 
Where did you get this jill with the vulva 'problem'?  You might have an
unspayed jill on your hands.  In tests performed by Marshall Farms about 50%
of the jills that were not spayed and not mated got plastic anemia (Correct
my spelling if its wrong).  [OK - that should be aplastic.  BIG] The other
50% did not.  You described enlarged vulva and decreased body weight.  Could
easily be a jill in heat.  There are some 'breeders' in this country that
'fake' the tattoos that Marshall Farms uses so you can't always trust that.
Obviously this is only a guess.
 
Canine Distemper and vaccine:
 
Distemper is airborne not passed through just contact.  A contaminated dog
walking past an open window can spread the disease into a ferret cage inside
a house.  (okay not likely but possible) I believe that Dr. Williams has
determined that ECE is passed by contact or contact with articles such as
bedding and contaminated people and is not airborne - is that right Dr.
Williams?  I want to keep my information up to date.
 
Fervac is the only vaccine approved for use in Ferrets.  Other vaccines
are very similar such as mink vaccine and some dog vaccines.  Politically
it would be better to support the ONLY company that makes an effort to
support ferrets.  Medically there are times when it is contraindicated.
I'll leave the medical part to the vets as they know more than us lay
folk about that.  Actively promoting crossuse of vaccines in favor of
properly approved vaccines does not make the ferret community look good
to the governments.  It would be good if Solvay went to the effort to
have Galaxy-D tested rigorously and become approved for use in ferrets,
but if we promote using it anyway why should they spend the money?  Some
ferret organizations do accept the use of Galaxy-D while others do not.
If you wanted to go to ferret shows you limit yourself if you do not use
Fervac.  United has been attacked for many years about Fervac and
reactions but it has not been proven that there is a problem and if there
is it has not been proven what it is.  If your ferret has a reaction you
or your vet should call United directly.  A vet would be seen as unbiased
and listened to by United more carefully than a possibly politically
motivated third party.
 
Older ferrets at shows:
 
Since it was questioned, my Furball was NOT in danger of getting ECE at
the shows shes gone to.  She had previously been exposed, she never even
contracted any symptoms from that exposure.  She is healthier than most
ferrets half her age.  She met Dr. Williams in New York last year - I was
worried Furball was going home with his wife, she liked her so much.
 
Ferret foods:
 
The only Eukannuba food I know is for dogs or puppies and would not be
appropriate for ferrets.
 
I have had great luck with Iams Cat food.  Its protein and fat totals put it
in the same league as other kitten foods.  I also use Iams Kitten for those
ferrets that need extra protein and fat such as ill or growing ferrets.
Totally ferret has more animal protein than Iams and we use it for pregnant
and nursing jills and kits as well as ill ferrets.  We didnot have success
with Nutro Max Kitten but it does seem to have good ingredients.  Several
other local successful breeders use Proplan Cat and Kitten food.  Mazuri
Ferret diet is another good food.  I've been warned away from lab diets for
general use.  Marshall Farms new food and 8in1's new food are also quite
good ferret foods - we just use Iams and Totally Ferret because of its track
record at our house not because it is better than these foods.
 
This of course is all my opinion though fashioned from information I've
gleaned from many sources including Dr. Willard at Performance Foods
(Totally Ferret) and Dr. Bell at Marshall Farms and all the local
breeders I talk to.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
[Posted in FML issue 1328]