>Bill wrote:-
>It is unfair to alters to put them up against whole ferrets.  After
>neutering they start dropping muscle mass and even bone structure is
>lighter.  Early altered animals in particular just do not have the full
>strong look of whole animals.  Hobs and jills.  We don't have any sort of
>working ferrets in the US at this point so thats not an issue.
 
I can't say that I've noticed any difference in muscle mass and bone
structure between the neutered and entire UK hobs, in fact, my vasectomised
hob is fairly lightly built anyway.  The majority of my neutered hobs are
pretty solid little animals.
 
>The majority of ferrets in the US are early altered pet store ferrets.
>They wouldn't have a chance up against burly breeders.  With the seperation
>between whole and altered ferrets is for the benefit of typical <snip>
 
Yes, I can see the point of separating neutered and entire ferrets in the
US.  The early neuter does make a difference then?
 
>At five minutes a ferret the last GCFA show (some 200 ferrets) would have
>lasted over 16 hours with no breaks!
 
At the National Ferret Fair we had something like 240 ferrets entered in the
classes, judging started around 11 a.m. and finished about 3 p.m.  We had 8
judges, each one takes a class.  When a judge has finished with that class
they can take a break before tackling another (perhaps smaller) class.  It
did get a bit hectic for me when I had a polecat, an albino and a veteran
being judged at the same time.
 
Bill, do you have more than one judge per class in the USA?  Our system is
one judge per class.
 
<snip>
>the ferret back.  As a judge this is fine for the low pressure specialty
>rings but I much prefer the AFA method.  The pressure of having the owner
>right in front of you makes this much harder.
 
I totally agree with you about having the owner in front of you.  It's so
much easier if you haven't got this additional pressure.
 
We don't have any written guide lines on standards, I find that the most
difficult thing is avoiding awarding too higher points at the beginning of
the class - it can be an absolute nightmare!  One thing about our system
though is that if your ferret doesn't do well at one show it might stand a
chance at another - it just depends on what the judge likes!
 
I think most ferret owners are happy with the arrangement - if a ferret
looks good, is healthy it stands a chance.  I, for one, wouldn't like
ferrets to be bred to a particular conformation, the state of some breeds
of dogs is enough to put anyone off the idea.
 
Sheila
Bolton Ferret Welfare & National Ferret Welfare Society Newsletter Editor
http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm (Last Update 10 May, 1998)
Waiting at Rainbow Bridge: Jill, Deanna Troi & Cameron
[Posted in FML issue 2326]