Linda Wrote:
>Are there any US ferrets kept whole, fed whole prey and housed outside?
>How long do they live?  What diseases do they get?  And what happens in
>the UK or France or Germany if a ferret is neutered as a tiny baby, fed
>kibble and kept indoors?  Is the disease incidence really different??
 
Earlier this summer we had a seven-year-old intact male surrendered.
He was housed in an outdoor cage from the time he was 14 weeks until he
came to us.  Keep in mind that this is Calgary and during the winter
temperatures can get as low as -40 degrees.  He was fed the scraps of
what was left over from the former owners hunting trips.  We were advised
that one time an entire duck less the head and feet was put in the cage
with him and he plucked the feathers and dragged them into his sleeping
area and ate the remainder of the duck over a few days.  He was never
vaccinated or seen by a veterinarian over the seven years he was with his
owner.
 
When looking at this guy you would not believe that he was seven years
old.  The canines are only transparent on the very tips.  There is little
to no tartar build up on the molars.  He over all condition points more
towards a ferret that is 1-2 years at the most.  I guess we will have to
wait and see what happens in the coming years to determine if he will
fall victim to the typical illness that plague many of our ferrets.
 
At this point in time our veterinarian feels that he is in excellent
health.  We continue to feed him some meat products to supplement his
kibble diet.
 
Marcy Kimura
 
President -
Ferret Rescue and Education Society
www.ferrets.ca
[Posted in FML issue 3943]