>From:    "Mary L. McCarty" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: reaction...hi kymberlie...Gabriel
>My vet said that he wasn't sure why Fromm-D (Galaxy, now, right?) was
>not the "approved" distemper shot anymore, because in his experience
>Fromm-D caused less negative reactions in ferrets.  Has anyone else
>noticed or heard this?  Why is Fromm-D (or Galaxy) no longer the
>"approved" shot?
 
Here we go again... Not your fault for not knowing but this is a politically
charged issue.  FROMM-D was never an approved vaccine but just widely used.
Fervac-D is the ONLY CDV vaccine ever to go through the USDA approval
testing and formal approval.  I also in my personal experiences do not think
Fervac-D does have a much higher reaction rate than Galaxy-D.
 
One ferret group has decided to make a political issue of this claiming
another ferret group gets "kickbacks".  There are no kickbacks.  There
are no scientific controlled studies suggesting Fervac-D has more reactions
and under what conditions.  There is anecdotal evidence to suggest there
is a problem.
 
Now our political opinion is that United Vaccines who makes Fervac-D has
publicly and overwhelmingly shown that they want to support the ferret.
Solvay has very publicly stated that you should not use Galaxy-D and that
they will not support the ferret.  Well Lets then tell United "thanks" and
Solvay "get with the program".  Support the company that supports us.
 
One of the reasons Solvay will not support ferrets is the real nasty
political nature of some ferret owners.  If they did do something to support
ferrets than they would be open to the same nasty politics that United
Vaccines (as well as Marshall Farms and other companies) has had to endure
from the radical fringe.  Support ferrets and support companies that support
ferrets.  Don't support those that do not truly support our ferrets.  Seems
simple.
 
>From:    Paul Ogles <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: ferret genetics
>I think the albino/cinnamon relationship is pretty well understood, but
>DEW/panda/blaze are not clear to me.  My experience says that Panda is a
>partial dominant, frequently expressed only partially as a Blaze.  DEW seems
>related, but I haven't seen enough of them to make an educated guess at the
 
Well by some.  I tend to think there are two different albinoes.  There is
the normal albino that has been around for a long time.  The other albino
seems to be the one related to champange/cinnamon and is the overdominant
like the blue merle in dogs.  The breeders around here aren't as in to the
study of genetics and we haven't discussed that with others but it certainly
explains the litters with albinoes, champeganes and chocolates.
 
Panda, blaze, colored mitts (non-black) and dews are all expressions of
the same genetics.  It could easily be the same overdominant thing or it
might be a lethal if homozygous thing.  The DEW(-P) seems to be the
Warrdensburg gene (I or II) along with a dilution gene and a roaning gene.
That many things together in genes that are not strict dominant/recessive
is why they are harder to breed for.
 
Surprised though you hadn't had champagne blazes much down there.  We've got
champagne blazes, mitts and pandas rather common up here in the mid-Atlantic
area.  (We're in Virginia) Perhaps if you need to outcross you should come
on up and check out a bunch of local breeders.  Some of us have records
(incomplete) going back to the seventies.
 
We do agree that it would be much better of the shelters would lighten up on
hobby breeders and realize they are allies not opponents.  Most of the
better breeders are heavily involved in shelter work.
 
As for the genetics of Angora.  It may be an overdominant thing or it may be
homozygous lethal.  Its too new on this continent and no known angoras are
here.  We might have non-angoras that carry a gene, we might not.  But
angora is not the same as just long hair.  Our Swedes are longer haired than
our non-Swedes.  The Angoras are longer haired and have a quirk in the
undercoats.
 
>Is there a separate marbling trait in ferrets?
 
We don't know yet.  We've got tri-colors that we don't know about yet
either.  Another breeder had near dark-eyed white with one sable leg which
is definitely different than most anything else we've seen but he
unfortunately was lost to some dogs before enough breeding to know more
about it.  We have a hob which is also a fading DEW-P that we wanted to work
with and somehow cross with that other breeders hob (but obviously it
couldn't work hob-hob so we would have had to get offspring from one or the
other first.
 
Lots of folks here don't seem to like this sort of discussion.  If they
really want us to move, thats fine - other forums exist.
 
>From:    Bob Church <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Elizabeth Tells on Dad
 
GREAT!  Keep these stories coming!
 
>From:    Austin Owens <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: MF,this and that and hogs
>Hedgehogs arent tied with the
>ferret bill RIGHT?!  gesh I hope so.... cause thats what I told em!
 
You missed the fight about this one a while back then.  No, the ferret bill
ferrets only.  Some think it would be harder to get it through with just
ferrets, some think it would be harder with not just ferrets.
 
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 1899]