Debbie asked:
 
>Was wondering how many of you have odd number of ferret's and how they got
>along?  Meaning 3,5,7,9,11.  Also, I have heard most ferret's get along
>fine when introduced.  Did anyone have a real hard time in introducing
>new ferret's and if so, how long did it take before they all got along?
 
I have 3.  I was told and I agree that 3 is a good number because ferrets
tend to get very attached to each other and if one dies the other 2 will
still have each other.  (ok so it is a rationalization but it worked on my
roomate)  I will not add anymore permanent ferrets to my group due to the
fact that I had so many problems integrating my last one.
 
The integration of Footsie and Oakley was fine.  They accepted each other
without problems.  The knightmare came when I brought Lance home.  Oakley
set out to kill him and I do mean kill him and we had to keep Footsie and
Lance with seperate run times from Oakley.  It was terrible.  Fur and skin
ripped off if Oakley found Lance, polysporin and hydrogin peroxide.  Oakley
ripped out a nail twice.  My house was not fun during this time which
lasted 4 months.
 
During this time I posted to the FML.  Everyone was very nice in giving me
ideas but nothing worked.  I talked to ferret friends and only one came up
with a solution that in hindsight, and with what I know now, was probably a
very good idea but at the time I dismissed it because I thought it was too
simple to work.  Sorry Paige!
 
After 4 months of this insanity in my house (and my ferrets free roam by
the way so they were not anymore) I fostered a ferret named Gadget.
Against my usual policy I let Gadget up to play with my kids.
Occasionally, Oakley got out when Gadget was around and he would display
the same behaviours with Gadget that he had been with Lance.  The day
Gadget was adopted, it was very hectic at my house and I had not noticed
until I got back that the door to Oakley's room had been left open.  With
my heart pounding in my chest and thoughts of Lance dead, I frantically
searched my home for him.  I found Lance and Oakley curled up in a drawer
together....sleeping.  It seems that the appearance of another ferret in my
home took the attention away from Lance and made he and Oakley aligned in
Oakley's mind and now Gadget had become the enemy.
 
Until Oakley is gone (which I hope is not for a long long time) I will
stick with the 3 I have.  It seems to work well in our home anyway.  They
all like each other now, they all play and sleep together and I don't want
to disrupt this harmony.
[Posted in FML issue 2648]