Why are there ferret breeders out there that insist on "LINE BREEDING"
as this is another word for "IN-BREEDING"?  I do know something about
breeding as my mom bred cats for more that 30yrs, also bred dogs and
rabbits.  Breeding is to improve health, temperment and longevity of the
ferret, not just for looks.
 
Here's an example: I purchased a 6 moth old hob from a well known ferret
breeder in 1999 as a breeder male, not a pet.  She asurred me that the
liniage papers were in the folder that came with JD(Jack Daniels) and
that no inbreeding was commited.  THe liniage papers wren't in the
folder as I discoverd when I got home.  I called the breeder and asked
that she send another set(this took 3 months to recieve).  After reding
the liniage papers that were sent< I foud that JD was a product of
inbreeding!  His Mom & Dad were related!  The same 4 ferrets that
appeared in dad's side were also in mom's 3rd & 4th generation from JD.
To make matters worse, 2 of the ferrets on mom's side appeared twice!  I
called the breeder with my findings and she replied that she didn't own
the mom, but the mom was in her name.  We lost JD at the age of almost
4yrs from insylinomia and Lymphoma.  We wre crushed, needless to say
we've never delt with that breeder again.  Now, from growing up in a
breeding houshold I did learn that 7-8 generations is considered a safe
zone as anything closer could cause major health problems.  So I'm
asking again why are there breeders that insist on inbreeding??
 
Debi
 
WEASLE QUEEN
[Posted in FML issue 4956]