The Midwest Ferret Fellowship Faire=20
October 23, 2004
Local 36 Union Hall, 28930 S Wixom Road; Wixom MI
 
You've seen our promotion for the Midwest Ferret Fellowship Faire and if
you've been intimidated by the judging aspect of a show, it's a piece of
cake, a walk in the park ...... pick a metaphor.
 
I can't stress enough the fact that the Fellowship is all about promoting
and educating the domesticated ferrets as a companion animal .........
and having fun in the process.  In addition, we celebrating 10 years of
legalization of ferrets in the State of Michigan.
 
The MFF is privileged to have MSU vet students and vet tech students
in our program as judges, stewards and pet checkers.  We've developed
a wonderful working relatioship with the students as a result of our
participation at MSU's Vet-A-Visit for a number of years.  They're
excited.  We're excited.  It's a perfect educational tool for them.
We encourage you to help us help them by entering your ferrets under
one of our Specialty Rings.
 
The Faire is a Specialty Show which means colors, patterns, health and
maintenance are being judged.  Here's a listing of the are the colors
and patterns that will be judged (by our definition):
 
Albino:  Pure white coat, bright red eyes, and pink nose.
 
Black Sable: Entire body, legs and tail are a deep solid black, with deep
cream to white under coat.  Solid black nose.  Eyes black.  Mask is
banded with full hood.
 
Blaze/Badger: Wide white stripe extending from the base of the nosepad
between eyes and ears.  The white stripe should intersect the mask and
widen as it goes over the head.  Can have dark half-moon circles under
eyes and white toes.  A white bib is also common.
 
Chocolate/Champagne: Chocolate -- Warm chocolate brown, dark eyes, pink
to brown nose.  Undercoat is creamy white to buff.  Champagne - Light
golden brown (diluted chocolate) with golden highlights.  Eyes are
burgundy, nose pink, undercoat is creamy white to buff.
 
Mitt/Panda: Mitt -- Any color ferret having four white feet, evenly
proportioned, and a cleanly defined white bib.  Eye and nose may be of
any color.  Note: Reverse mitts would be any predominantly white-bodied
ferret having four dark colored feet.  Panda - Completely white head to
the shoulders with distinct even break in color between shoulder and
body.  White mitts or stockings.  Usually a white belly extending to
underside of neck.  Should have a white-tipped tail.  Can have spots
of color on belly.
 
Point/Siamese: Guard hairs on the body are one to several shades lighter.
The undercoat is very visible with the guard hairs lightly tipped with
the point color.  The legs and tail will have a clearly defined line of
color between them and the rest of the body much like a Siamese cat.
Ferrets have a definite V-shaped mask.  There should also be a dark line
of extremity color running the length of the underside of the ferret;
known as the zipper.
 
Silver: Any shade of gray, but not black coat.  The eyes are usually
black and the nose pink, mottled or black.  The mask is more like two
finger smudges and not a complete bar.
 
Dark-Eyed White: Pure white coat, eyes ruby/burgundy red, pink nose.
 
Walk Ins: Any ferret that comes to the show is welcome in this specialty.
Class is limited to the first ten that sign up the day of the show.  This
is the only specialty class you can sign up the day of.
 
AWARDS:
 - All participants will receive a participation ribbon.
 - Rosettes will be awarded to the Top Five ferrets in each of the
   specialty rings.
 - Red, White & Blue rosettes will be awarded for Best of Show.
 - In addition, the winners will receive a photo session with Jennifer
   Deming, Photos with Flair
 
[part 2]
 
Temperament
Temperament is important.  Judges are looking for a ferret with
personality and an easy-going temperament.  Ferrets should be inquisitive
and let the judge do an examination.  Temperament is not to be confused
with personality and ferrets will not be placed strictly on the basis of
cuteness, assertiveness, shyness or bounciness.  Most all ferrets will
show some resistance to being held still for a period of time, but a
ferret should at least give a judge a minute or two for evaluation before
squirming.
 
NO ferret should hiss, bite or scratch.  A bite is referred to as
breaking of the skin.  Should the ferret break the skin, it should be
immediately removed from the show hall and all points earned the day
of the show and fees paid will be forfeited.
 
Maintenance
The coat must be clean and free of parasites and dandruff.  There should
not be any bald patches or reddish spots on the skin.  The coat should
feel plush, soft and silky, not dry and brittle.  The guard hairs should
feel soft without breaks, bends or kinks.  Ferrets have a summer coat
that is lightweight with less undercoat.  A winter coat is longer, fuller
and thicker with a heavy undercoat.
 
Ears are to be clean and free of wax.  They should also be kept free of
parasites.  Ferrets do have natural, dark earwax that builds up over
time.  If left untreated, it accumulates, affecting their hearing and
balance and causes infections.  This is also a breeding ground for ear
mites.  The ears should be intact, not torn or scarred and set close to
the head.
 
Teeth should be clean, white and free of tartar.  The gums should be
pink not white as this is a sigh of gum disease and can cause tooth
loss and even infect other areas of the body.  The ferret should not
have a bad odor to its breath; this is also a sign of gum disease.
 
Eyes should be bright, clear and free of any discharge.
 
The nose should be moist, not runny, dry, cracked or caked with mucus.
 
Whiskers should be even on both sides, long and fairly stiff, but not
brittle, split or broken.  Short, broken whiskers may indicate a vitamin
deficiency.  The length of a ferret's whiskers may differ from one ferret
to another.  Whiskers should still be flexible and of good length.
 
Toenails should be short and clean, not broken or split.  Each toe should
have a nail.  They should not show signs of being clipped specifically
for the show.
 
Dee Gage
owner/operator, West Michigan Ferret Connection
co-founder, Midwest Ferret Fellowship
member, Michigan Dept of Agriculture Companion Animal Advisory Committee
[Posted in FML issue 4626]