>From:    Troy Lynn Eckart <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Ed's baby talk post
>I was surprised to read Ed's post on mother ferrets fighting each other.
>Now it's been many years since I've bred ferrets but mine were happy to
>be together and help take care of each others babies.
 
We however were not surprised to read what Ed wrote.  Although we still
can't get him to share the terminology of the rest of the breeders we know
his experience does match that of some of our mothers.  We call it super
mother mode when the jills get so hormonal that they refuse to be anywhere
near any other ferret (sometimes any other animal including us humans).
This doesn't bother us as it is a notural protective instinct and these are
normally excellent mothers for grooming and feeding their babies.
 
If you read the old writings of Fara Shimbo that may be outdated in some
regards but still right on in others, you will read that she talks about
jills stealing each others kits and not as a friendly thing.  Not gonna
get into questions about Fara's sources on other issues (Hi Sukie)
 
I however will not contest that the jills you are familiar with are not as
overly protective as some other mothers.  We suspect it is a trait that is
not consistant with all jills.  Most of ours never hit super mother mode
but some do.  We see the same variance in dogs, cats and goats.  We do not
at this time think that it is a trait that we need to breed toward.  Though
never the sharing of feeding duties - that is a new one on us.  Nor have we
seen any assistance from fathers but some of that is due to our approach of
better safe than sorry.  I will not risk the babies by letting a non-mother
adult with them until they are older.  With cats I've heard from a
scientific/nature TV show that a male tom will enter a barn and kill every
single kit that came from a different father in mere moments.  Wild cats
and polecats are more solitary animals while wolves are more social so we
feel safer using a cat model than a dog model for behavioral prediction.
I'm not going to risk my charges on a perhaps misguided belief that ferrets
are not primarily a solitary animal that through domestication has had more
socialization bred into them.
 
Your mustelids may vary.  OKay.  I'd bet that everybodies ferrets differ a
lot, one of the endearing traits about ferrets in my opinion.
 
>From:    Ilena Ayala <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Ed Lipinski's comments
 
Now that I've backed up good old Ed, I have to agree with Ilena's comments
about places where I disagree with him.
 
THough I feel she left out the myth that Ed perpetuates about ferrets
eating infants.
 
Ed's comments on digging in real dirt as good for ferrets makes a lot of
sense.  His comments on ferret eugenics and neutering do not.
 
>(For the benefit of our readers to whom english is not your native
>language: "-$0.01" reads as "de-cented" and sounds like "descented".)
 
Well rather than English speakers that odd choice of symbolism works for
users of US and Canadian monetary systems and notation.  The concept might
work in England but with the Pound Sterling symbol (not in my native
character set - sorry) rather than the dollar symbol...
 
>From:    Edward Lipinski <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Wooden-legged ferret.  A real "Gottcha" or not???
>Just in case you may be wondering what the story about the peg-legged
>ferret lead to, it was the final line of taking a picture of the ferret
>with its wooden leg, as if one could use the wooden leg itself as a
>camera, instead of a camera.
 
At least your mythical disabled ferret was for a joke instead of fraudulent
attempts to raise money...
 
>Edward Lipinski, who must reluctantly confess that understanding Bill of
>Zen on his Scandahoovian explanation of "rainbow," leaves me with these
>words: Huh?  What?  Come again, please?
 
Guess our humor attempts fail bilaterally.
 
Leave the Rainbow bridge topic with the idea that it really doesn't
symbolize anything outside of itself.  Its a sentimental approach to
easing the hurt of a devotee of pets that has no connection outside
of its own mythos.
 
-bill
--
bill and diane killian
zen and the art of ferrets
http://www.zenferret.com/
mailto:[log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2709]