My own "crazy thing" is this: the restaurant where I'm currently working
prepares its own meats for cooking.  The kitchen help all know to *not*
throw away those "throw-away" scraps from the chicken - I collect the mess
and bring it home to cook into treats for the ferrets.  (they also save
veggie scraps for my birds LOL)  You should have seen the look on the cooks'
faces when I first asked <g> but now they all just grin & set the scraps
aside for me.  They know I'm crazy - and the ferrets are in chicken heaven!
 
****
I'd like to offer a suggestion for a new thread.  I'm sure many of us have
read "A Tao of Many Detours" and other items on ferret behavior, but there
are still a lot of unanswered "Why did they do THAT?" questions.
 
So, I'd like to suggest "The Tao of sPooF" (ever read the Tao of Pooh?
<g>)
 
The idea is to come up with a "reasonable," but strictly just-for-fun,
explanation for why your ferret(s) do the things they do.... let's see if
we can "solve" those other "quirks" of ferret behavior (or even
ferret-owner behavior!) that the books never seem to address.
 
   For example:  a lot of ferrets seem to be absolutely fascinated by
   vacuum cleaners, brooms and mops.
 
   Why?  My "theory" is this - assertive ferrets will often scruff and drag
   a less- assertive ferret around the room in play, right?  Or, one will
   scruff and drag another to establish "who's who" in the business.  Well,
   the ferrets see *us* scruffing and dragging the mop, broom and vacuum
   around the room.... and they want in on the action.
 
Does anyone "know" why some ferrets snorkel and why some shriek at the
sight of water that isn't in a bottle?  Why they collect certain items
but not others?  Why they develop certain rituals, or prefer certain
foods/dishes etc?  Why the corner *behind* the litterpan is better than
the corner *in* the litterpan?  Any "idea" why ferret owners tend to be a
bit.... um, crazy?  Why the ferrets can make a mess and we say, "Awww,
cute!" but if the kids make a mess we yell?  Why we "have to" go out in
bad weather to get something for the ferrets but never seem to have that
urgency when the weather is nice?  (Hi, Meg!) and so on......
 
If there are enough responses to this thread, I'll gather them up (with
permission) and put them up on my webpage with proper credit to each
poster.
 
Looking forward to "enlightenment"....  <g>
 
Carla Smith  <><
WhyNot? Ferrets
http://www.whynotferrets.com
ICQ:  29478475
member, Rio Grande Domestic Ferret Club, El Paso, TX
"Every pet deserves to be loved, and to have someone cry over them when
 they're gone."
[Posted in FML issue 2948]