>What is this person saying that my ferrets are from a are pet store will
>only win Companion and that if I had an adolescent it won't place because
>those rings are for "HOME BREED" ferets. Excuse my french but what kind
>of #@$% is that! So in other words, why waste my money. And so does
>this also mean that in Specialty as you so nicely put it, if I showed my
>black sable, I will 100% not win because some breeder has the best?!??
>So why should anyone not a breeder show in your shows unless ya showing
>in that there Companion Class? I may not be fully educated or finished
>high school but I certainly can read between the lines.
 
The AFA classes are set up such that ferrets from pet stores don't have
to compete with privately bred ferrets in the championship classes.  As
the pet store ferrets are spayed and neutered at a very early age, they
don't have the hormones that influence musculature and structure
development that the privately bred ones keep for a longer period of
time.  Let me explain it as this: Companion Class is for ALL pet store
ferrets aged 16 weeks to 6 1/2 years.  They ONLY compete against each
other.  Adolescent is ALL privately bred kits aged 16 weeks to one year.
They do not compete against older privately bred ferrets, nor do they
compete against pet store ferrets.  Alter class is ONLY for privately
bred ferrets aged 1 year to 6 1/2 years.  Again, they do not compete
against younger privately bred ferrets, unaltered ferrets, or pet store
ferrets.  Breeder class is for privately bred ferrets that are aged 1
year to 6 1/2 years that are intact.  They don't compete with altered
ferrets or ferrets less than one year of age.  These classes are divided
as such to account for differences in development due to age and/or alter
status, so your ferret competes with others like it.  For instance, a 20
week old privately bred kit would most likely not do well against a fully
developed aduly privately bred hob or jill.  These classes are the only
ones in which a ferret can accumulate points towards a championship
title.  Specialty classes are just for fun, and are based on things
such as coloration, the ferret being from a shelter, etc.
 
In response to your question regarding these specialty rings, I would
like to mention that my pet store ferret, Reese, has won the champagne
class in the past two consecutive AFA sanctioned shows.  It just depends
on whose ferret best represents their color.  Black Sable has been
"taken over" by descendants of Black Hawk and Chernobog (a.k.a. Wyatt),
brothers from Vickie McKimmey's "Just a Business of Ferrets" ferretry.
Vickie has spent years working on her black sable, black mitt, and black
roan mitt lines, which has in turn led to ferrets from those lines have a
higher likelihood of being very close to ideal for their color standard.
Many of the black sables from her lines have been described as "blacker
than black".  Check them out at the next show you attend, and feel free
to ask questions of anyone.  Other colors tend to have a pet store ferret
as the most common winner.  I've noticed this the most in Chocolate.
 
I hope this helps, and again please feel free to ask questions at the
next show you attend.  Many breeders and show-ers would be more than
happy to answer any questions you may have.  Also, hang out at the rings
when the awards are given and listen to the judges descriptions of what
they were looking for in the class, in both the championship and
specialty classes.  A hint when observing the ribboning - 700's are
pet store boys and 800's are pet store girls.
 
If you have any questions at all, feel free to e-mail me off group.
 
Thanks!
 
Keri Burleson
[Posted in FML issue 4990]