Hi Again - Bob C asks...........
>The question is, does anyone have practical experience with housing multiple
>hobs together when they are not in rut?
 
Hey Bob - I have tried for a number of years to get my whole hobs to get
along with each other.  I prefer to keep my ferrets out all of the time and
caged as little as possible.  Therefore, it is always "chaos" around here
with intact jills all living together along with neutered, young hobs, etc.
The jills behave as if they have PMS all of the time and I never know who is
"top jill" since this seems to change as their motherhood status changes.
But that wasn't your question.
 
Here is basically what I have found.  Two young hobs will get along just
fine and play with each other endlessly and bite each other fairly hard,
leaving marked necks.  They will be best buddies and the bane of the gals'
existence at times.  If one reaches sexual maturity before the other, he
will tolerate the still immature hob.  When both reach sexual maturity -
forget it.  They will fight for real and it can be scary and they can really
hurt each other.  They try to kill each other.
 
I have also found that my mature hobs will almost always tolerate young hobs
and "teach them the ropes".  Young hobs develop hero crushes on mature hobs
and follow them and copy everything they do.  The mature hob will teach the
youngster until he starts showing signs of maturity and then he will try to
kill him.
 
No matter how good a friend they were to one another in the past, once they
mature and whether in rut or not -- they know.  They will try to kill each
other if given the chance.
 
Like the Highlander and he gets ready to strike the neck from another
immortal, all hobs motto seems to be "There Can Be Only One".  And each
seriously plans to be that one.
 
Not long ago, Baron Light Wolf von Lundendorf, a.k.a.  "Paws" somehow got
out of his locked and clamped down cage when his former idol Black Hawk, now
my v- hob was out.  I rotate hobs time out during the day and they take
turns staying out all night.  Anyway, when hobs fight - it is very silent
and deadly.  I think Paws was upset because Isabeau, a pretty little German
black sable, was running around with Hawk.  Paws particularly likes her.  He
plans to be her "only one", but I plan for another German boy to have
her.....gee, parents always interfere with young love.  I was in another
room when I heard odd thumping sounds.  I found them in the hall locked in
deadly combat.
 
From several experiences of this happening, I know that when they get a hold
on another hob, they will not let go - even if you pry them apart they will
grab again.  What works is sticking the two of them under the cold water
faucet.  And that is what I did.  Quickly picked them both up and ran to
the sink.  As soon as they let go, I dropped one and held on to the other.
Both were bloody.  Both, thank God were not seriously hurt.
 
Whether or not there are whole jills in season or not; and whether or not
the mature hob is in or out of rut -- they just will not get along with each
other once they have matured.
 
However, when a hob is retired and neutered, he magically regains status as
a friend and the whole hobs will accept him.
 
Guess it all boils down to testosterone, which is a controlled substance you
know.  I once asked Dr. Bruce Williams if there was a way to "extract" the
testosterone from hobs when they didn't need it, and put it back when we
did.  He, of course, thought I was joking - but I wasn't.  I think that
mature hobs only operate on the brain stem, the rest of their brain being
comprised of a gelatinous mass of tissue and testosterone.  Something like
teenage boys, whose brains are testosterone, Quaker motor oil and rock
music.
 
Cheers, Meg
[Posted in FML issue 2385]