>From:    Debbie Lowrider <[log in to unmask]>
>Please bare with me since my body has been sleep deprived for over three
>days.  We purchased a parrot 1 1/2 days ago.......On Monday, the parrot
>will be seeing our lucky Board Certified Exotic Animal Vet......... Tests
>will be run and all the trimmings needed.  So we have a few days where the
>bird might choose to fly into the area where the ferrets are, and no, we
>can't move the ferrets.
 
Don't give it any choices.  Keep the parrot in the cage until Monday.
Believe me, this is much less "cruel" than what will happen if your parrot
gets on the floor amongst the ferrets.  What kind of parrot is it?
 
>Would like advice from bird and ferret owners for the future in learning
>what is needed to keep these pets safe.  Read a long time ago that ferrets
>can kill birds, but to be honest, this imagine doesn't seem possible.  My
>thoughts are more like, the parrot can kill the ferrets, but could be
>wrong.  So if anyone can help, it would be appreciated.
 
It is VERY possible that the ferrets could kill the bird.  They wouldn't
even have to kill it outright, all they need to do is get some teeth into
it.  Unseen and untreated bite wounds on birds can lead to a very quick
death by septicemia.  But it's more likely that they will kill it, unless
it's a large parrot (Amazon or bigger) in which case you might end up with
dead or wounded ferrets or even dead or wounded ferrets *and* bird.
 
I wouldn't allow them to ever interact.  They don't need to.  But if you
do allow it, do not mix the two species until you are SURE that they have
no particular interest in biting each other, and even then, do not allow
them to intermingle unless you are *right there*.
 
I have birds, ferrets, cats, and snakes, and only the ferrets and cats
interact.  Everyone else is kept VERY separate.  No sense taking
unnecessary chances.
 
Karen
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"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known only to God."
--Inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier  ++  "But what is
liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all
possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or
restraint." --Edmund Burke  ++  "To save your world you asked
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If you love ferrets, check out:
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[Posted in FML issue 3479]