I have a basket of them, so if I don't mention yours. I'll get to it soon.
 
Q: "You really didn't get into deep detail on early neutering.  Can you
   expand it a bit?"
 
A: Its simply a matter of trying to keep the post as short as possible, so
   lots of stuff I want to say is never mentioned. Sometimes, the effort of
   minimizing leaves the wrong impression. Sorry.
 
What early neutering is proven to do:
 
1) Reduces the odor in males.
2) Make males more effeminate.
3) Reduces muscle mass, especially in males.
4) Reduces over-all growth by preventing the hormone-mediated growth spurt
   near the end of the growth cycle.
5) Prevent unwanted baby ferrets.
6) Prevent female estrogen-related anemia.
7) Reduces aggression.
8) Reduces (to a degree) the territorial desire.
 
What early neutering has never been proven to do:
 
1) Cause adrenal disease.
 
I have a fairly good understanding of the endocrine system, I know exactly
were the to find the hypophysis (and have physically dissected it out in
a dozen or more vertebrates, including humans [I've taught human anatomy
labs]), and I have read my share of research papers on hormone
balance/counterbalance.  I even have a copy of a 1966 MSc thesis that
touches on the interaction of pituitary hormones, anal sac secretions and,
yes, the adrenal glands.  The problem is twofold.  A) No one has published
an in-depth study of these interactions in ferrets, and B) No one has
published a link (that is, an independantly verifiable, reproducable
cause/effect correlation) between early neutering and *any* serious
disease.  I stress "published" because such scientific papers normally
undergo a review process which weeds out those experiments that are faulty
or containing serious flaws.
 
That doesn't mean such links do or do not exist.  It only means nothing
has been shown to link the one with the other.  If my goal was to remain
impartial, or to allow all points to be equally expressed in a fair and
open manner, then I had no choice but to draw the line between the proven
and the unproven, and only mention the possibilities as such.  Since I have
heard from both sides of the issue, I suspect I might have met that goal.
 
Personally, I am a strong supporter of late neutering.  I won't neuter a
male until he ruts, which is usually the first spring after he is born,
providing he has had good nutrition.  Foster and Chrys are late neuters,
Moose and Bear were neutered between 6-8 months, and Apollo, Simon, and Sam
are early neuters.  Carbone is almost a year old and not yet neutered.  I
can see a gradient in muscle mass and body size between these males, with
the early-neutered guys far more girlish than the middle or late neuters.
The difference between the early and middle neuters is not nearly so
noticable as between them and the late neutered guys, who are truely
impressive in their size.  Chrys is 4.3 lbs. (3 years old), Foster is 3.3
lbs (13 years old) and Carbone is 5.7 lbs (1 year old).  My next largest
male is Bear, who is 2.8 lbs (4 years old) and was neutered at 8 months.
To get larger than this, you would have to have unaltered hobbs.
 
But even though I support late neutering, I also feel it is more important
to neuter ferrets BEFORE they are sold, especially those sold through pet
stores.  The reason is simple; we already have enough ferrets in shelters,
and I hate to consider the day when animal shelters are killing as many
ferrets as they kill dogs or cats.  That will continue to be my position
until some link betwen adrenal disease and early neutering is proven, no
matter what I personally may suspect.
 
Q: "Is there a link between adrenal disease and coat color?"
 
A: Not that I could find.  If such a link existed, it could be evidence the
trait was carried near on of the genes coding for pattern or color.  But I
could find no link, not even a possibility, between color, pattern or
adrenal disease.
 
From a personal perspective, Buddy died of adrenal disease at 10 years old;
he was a dark silver mitt.  Sandy has suffered from adrenal disease for most
of a year; she is thought to be 5 years old and is an albino.  Razz died of
a stroke, but her necropsy showed she had a massive abdominal cancer that
had spread into some of her bones, and which included the adrenal glands.
She was a chocolate sable, and died at 8 years of age.  I don't see a
pattern in my own ferrets, I didn't see one in the published accounts of
adrenal disease, and I didn't from the FML survey.
 
More to come....
 
Bob C and 20 MO Furrbutts
[Posted in FML issue 2236]