Bill wrote:-
>Simple percentages...
>1st gen 50%     one half
>2nd gen 25%     one quarter
>3rd gen 12.5%   one eighth
>4th gen 6.25%   one sixteenth
>Unless another partial polecat gets brought back in.  For what its worth we
>believe a biologist once told us that about the fourth generation they
>aren't really considered cross breeds any more but fully domestic.
 
Thanks for the percentages - I knew there wouldn't be much of the original
polecat left in there.  Which still leaves me wondering, "Why bother and
what happens to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation offspring after they've be
used to breed the super ferret?"
 
By the same reckoning a feral ferret x polecat when bred back to polecat by
the 4th generation should be back to the 'wild' polecat.  However, I can't
see the original feral ferret surviving long in the wild, it's too fearless,
curious and will probably put itself in dangerous situations whereas the
true polecat would do a disappearing act.
 
>We have a partial Poley fro one breeder in England who DOES know what
>he's doing.  This hob is great.
 
Who is super breeder?  How does he know that the polecat he using will
produce trustworthy kits, is it a true polecat?  How come he's using it in a
breeding programme?  Just curious!
 
>Stick with ferrets.  Unless you REALLY know what you are doing.
 
No you're talking - I completely agree with you about that!
 
Sheila
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Bolton Ferret Welfare
National Ferret Welfare Society Newsletter Editor
http://www.btinternet.com/~sheila/ferrets.htm (Last Update 18 Jan 1998)
[Posted in FML issue 2198]