Us Appalachian hillbilly ferret folk have recovered from the vists by them
Ozark hillbillies.  Well maybe they weren't actually from the Ozarks so its
only us that are hillbilies.  Worked on the ferret's air conditioner - not
such a good air conditioner fixer yet but its better.
 
About that old petstore debate.
 
We worry that there aren't enough private breeders just yet to handle the
demand for ferrets.  What would be great is for there eventually be enough
smaller breeders growing fairly slowly to the point while also stealing
sales from pet stores.  This is why we aren't favorites of Marshall Farms -
we want them to lose sales.  We'll get to the point where good hobby ferret
breeders will be close enough to people that there won't be people three
states away from the closest breeder.  Then we'd support eliminating pet
store ferrets completely.
 
But thats just our opinion...
 
>From:    Lise O'Brien <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: ferret this'n'that's
>University Pets is the only pet store in the area that I know of that
>doesn't have ferrets on a regular basis.  They told me they get theirs
>from local breeders, but when I inquired as to who the breeders were they
>wouldn't tell me.  They stated the breeders didn't wished to be bothered
>by inquisitive folk
 
Most retailers aren't fast to identify their sources.  If you go direct to
their source they lose their profit after all.  Not too many places where
there are local breeders that will supply pet stores though.  Those breeders
we work with are very quick to state they would never place ferrets through
pet stores (see above).  We turn down pet stores that ask us.
 
>Tatoos: I mentioned this to someone in a direct post, but I will post it
>here as well.  My local shelter lady told me that MF has added new blood to
>it's line (English blood).  These "new" ferrets will have a tatoo inbetween
>their toes as well as the three in their ears.
 
Marshall claims they didn't add new ferrets.  They claim the extra tattoo
is to differentiate Marshall ferrets from those from other ranches that
aren't as careful in neutering.  They also only put  up to two dots in the
ears on any ferret unless something has really changed recently.
 
>From:    Marylou Matthews <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Distemper, lesions photos?
>Looking for any photos of lesions associated with distemper.
 
Fox book "Biology and Diseases of the Ferret" page 223.  Crusty chin, nose,
eyes and paw pads.  Nervous disorders cause tics and shaking.  Hard to miss.
 
>From:    Michelle Phillips <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: low maintenance pets
>All in all I would say they were a little more to deal with than cats,
>but much less that dogs.
 
We'd agree with that.
 
>However, as far as vet bills go, I have never spent so much money as I have
>on my ferrets.  They do seem to run up a bill when they do have to go.
 
Since we have more ferrets than dogs or cats we might spend more on them
total.  But perhaps we're lucky to have had vets that don't charge extra
for ferrets.  Over all we've not had to spend much money on most of our
ferrets individually.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2412]