Hi all,
I don't want to sound a "know-it-all", but on the FML I read alot about
fuzzies taken home at ages from 5-6 wks old.  Don't you think that's way too
young?  After all, when we let 'nature' take it's course, the ferret-mom
will not chase her kids out till they'r 8-10 wks old.
 
The Dutch ferret foundation recommends an age of 8-9 wks, just to give the
li'l fuzzies a chance to get to know other ferrets and to give the
ferret-mom a chance to finish her 'education' i.e. teach the kid good
manners!  At 5-6 wks they'r just beginning to open their eyes, they never
had a chance to play with brothers/sisters/people (always
sleeping/drinking/sleeping -etc.), so the new mom's/dad's have to learn them
everything about good behaviour from scratch!
 
Of course I know that the shops want to sell'em as early as possible, that's
why I (and a lot of other people I know) don't believe in buying an animal
from a (pet) shop, but prefer small breeders that think it's fun to have a
litter to raise and to make other people happy with.
 
I know it's an adorable sight, such a small totally helpless li'l baby, but
I also know that a ferret (or dog/cat) taken away that young is more likely
to get problems interacting with other creatures then one that had the
chance to play (and fight) with the others in the litter.
 
Just my Fl 0.05 (smallest coin we have.)
 
Take care
Kira, Tasha (zzz -both getting spayed at this moment)
Theo
[Posted in FML issue 1561]