Getting free fleece is great - - that stuff is NOT cheap.  What I'd suggest
for 5" wide strips is toys.  Most of those fleece mousies etc. are pretty
simple shapes.  I like to make them with "fingers" though so the ferrets
have something easy to grab onto.  You can use your hand as a pattern.  Go
to walmart and buy a little bag of bells and loose pillow stuffing batting.
Put the batting and bells inside and voila!  A ferret toy.
 
As for Black footed ferrets being bred domestically well yes but I doubt
for pets.  I do know of a breeder who got two Asian polecats from the BFF
program.  They had been used to breed with the BFF's I believe and you
could buy/adopt the retired ones, neutered I'm assuming.  She said they
weren't appropriate for pets because they were very easily spooked.
 
Mary, Booker and the fuzzbutts
[Posted in FML issue 2565]