After I posted yesterday, I felt as if I left much about the subject
of keeping birds and ferrets unsaid. I hope that I didn't leave people
with the impression that I feel as if it's the best thing to attempt.
I just wanted to tone down the conversation and leave a more balanced
view of things. Due to the fact that some ferret owners also own birds
and have done so successfully, and the fact that people will attempt to
do so in the future anyway, I thought I should say more on the subject
and offer some advice, for whatever it's worth. If people are going to
do it, it'd be better to give them options, sound advice, and tips,
rather than just the "don't do it" and why words.

There are a lot, and I do mean a lot of factors to consider when
keeping birds and ferrets in the home together. I know I'll leave out
some things so, when I do, I hope others chime in or contact me in
private so I can add the information later in posts here. Once again,
I don't encourage this practice even though I and my family has always
done so.

First and foremost on the list of considerations should be experience.
Experience with ferrets is a must. The more years, the better. For
those veterans out there, think back to when your ferret first came to
live with you. Has any other pet brought as many shocks and surprises
to your life, both good and bad? Not here, that's for sure. And it took
years for me to experience most common challenges that come along with
ferret ownership. Not that I'm saying I or anyone else has ever seen it
all with a ferret lol. For example how many of you thought you had the
whole Houdini aspect covered, only to discover years later that your
ferret figured out how to escape or wrangle itself into a forbidden
zone? For newbies that underestimate the intelligence, creativity, and
tenacity of a ferret, I encourage you to type words such as "ferrets
jumping over gates" into the search bar. But even better ... if someone
has the link to that insane video where a ferret pushes a toy towards a
gate over, and over, and over again so he could leap over a high gate
to get out (and he did so successfully in the end), post it here. It
would be very helpful because it's a real eye opener that reveals their
problem solving abilities.

Consideration of the breeding of a ferret is very important. My Finnish
friend Esa sent me a video of his private bred ferret working through a
difficult obstacle course he set up in his living room and did it three
times over ... never touching the floor and with no mistakes. My U.S.
pet store ferrets have trouble getting on a couch lol. If you've read
the adventures that Alexandria has had living with Caff Pow (private
bred ferret from Danee Devore) in her Ferrets magazine articles or
in her posts here on the FML, you'd know about the sheer power and
athletic ability that is possible in some of our private bred U.S.
ferrets. If you've ever seen a well bred ferret next to a Marshall
Farms ferret you'd "get it". They don't even look like they are related
animals. They are huge and if you look inside of their mouths you'll
see that it looks like the back of their mouths have two growths on
either side of it in many of them. They are muscles. Something
completely absent in store bought ferrets.

Something else to consider is the individual ferret. How old is your
ferret? Kits constantly learn and experiment. You can't accurately
judge the personality or abilities of a kit. Adult ferrets are easier
to judge. A senior store bought ferret basically toddles about the
home. Is your ferret ill and compromised? These things all limit a
ferret considerably compared to the extremes I wrote about above. What
is the personality of your ferret? Very active, playful, brilliant? Or
is it laid back? Has your ferret ever been exposed to a small animal?
There is no way to predict what a ferret will do unless it's seen a
small animal. Sean's Rocky could never be taught to eat bugs. For years
we tried. For years he watched other ferrets. Yet he thought a cricket
was his pet to keep company with. Dippy, my sweet overly attached girl,
changed into an mongoose when she saw a mouse toy drug across the rug
by a pole and string. I was shocked that she had such a strong instinct
that I never knew about.

Of course any past experience with birds in or out of the home (such as
volunteering at a shelter) is helpful. Species of a bird makes a big
difference. For example cockatiels and budgies are not exploratory by
nature. They tend to hang out on you, or within familiar places such as
a birdy play pen. However they are also laid back which is not always
an advantage. Lovebirds are the chipmunks of the bird world and there
is no telling what they'll explore or what tiny cracks they can get
into. I cannot express loudly enough how different each bird species
is. So experience with that species, or advice from an expert who has
experience with that species is very helpful. I have a bird that I'd
consider not to be as safe with a ferret as some others would be, a
cockatoo. A well bred and well adjusted cockatoo is as intelligent as
a human toddler, are manipulative, and can be fearless. They never
stop seeking new stimulation and areas to play in. Think about the
personality of the bird as well. Mine has no phobias like many toos
do. So mine is fearless. In fact she ADORES very small animals to the
point where I consider my son's Short Tailed Opposum her "pet". That
adoration keeps her relentless in trying to get to him. So a door AND
aquarium glass separate them if my body is remiss to.

Flighted birds have a huge advantage over clipped/grounded birds. So
that can help.

Let's see what else can I think of. How about some tips on management.
Doors/barriers are our friends. The more, the better. Each one cuts
down the risk considerably. I am lucky enough to have a split level
home. So the ferrets are downstairs. The ferrets are locked in their
own ferret room downstairs. The ferrets spend nights as well as
unsupervised time (when we are not home) in their cages. The birds are
in their cages when I'm not in their presence. Count the barriers in
this case. I'm very lucky to have a two level home and many homes do
not have that advantage. But there are ways around that. Many people
have bird rooms. I'd never own birds with free roam ferrets. And I'd
never allow birds (even free flighted) to spend the majority of their
time outside of their cage and in a separate room than I am in.

Time out is another barrier. My birds have the mornings and the late
nights. Ferrets have the days. I'm not perfect and I do let things
slide now and then. I don't always keep the "time rule" because I do
allow my cockatoo and cockatiel have some day time out as well, but
they are always "on" me or hanging out next to me during those times.
However, other members of my family never mix the time ... ever. Which
brings up another point...

Someone needs to be the commander of the people who live in the home.
You, the commander, sets up the rules. And you have the say oh whether
someone can take a pet out of its cage, etc.. Period. I learned this
when I experienced my first and so far hopefully, my only mishap in
owning both species. My son came home and let his ferret out. I didn't
know it due to lack of communication (because I was not the commander).
He had glanced at the bird cages and bird playpen first and all seemed
safe. It was morning. The tiny birds are typically out on the playpen.
But that day, they spent time under the table that was under the
playpen .. on the floor. Many things were wrong here. There was NO
commander in charge and no rules discussed with family and put into
place. We are all very experienced and knowledgeable animal people and
so we assumed too much and overestimated our caution. My allowance of
birds to play on the floor was a bad decision. All birds should be
taught that the floor is a no-no, even without pets. Its just too
dangerous. Old Laddie boy found Neo the budgie. He had stealthily
walked by me while I was busy folding laundry ten feet away, but in
the next room. Luckily Neo screamed out and it was within ear shot.
It was not in ear shot of my son. And luckily, Laddie was a laid back
boy, a U.S. pet store boy, and his personality was such that he had
not much chasing instinct. He was trotting across the floor with a
pretty green "toy" in his mouth which, luckily, he was holding gently.
And luckily... he gave it to me. No harm done, and a very scary lesson
learned. Remember, the more humans in the home, the more room for
error. Sometimes that equals out however and the extra eyes cancel out
the oversights. And remember, the more animals, the more chance of
risk as well.

Okay that's all I can think of at this point. These things I suggest
can't always be carried out in the home depending on the structure of
the home and goings on in every day lives. And once again, I'll say,
no these guys do not mix. But neither do many other pets. Even more
helpless to ferrets are reptiles and rodents. Yet many, many people
keep those with ferrets. It can be done and happily. But you do have to
accept there is always some sort of risk, just as anything with life.

Wolfy

[Posted in FML 7191]