>From: Chris Lloyd <[log in to unmask]> >(Many whole males are nippy and aggressive.) <snip> >When I attend shows my ferrets are handled by dozens of complete strangers >all day and some young kids can be very rough with the ferrets. My big >hobs, whole and castrated take it all in their stride and will play all >day but I find the jills can get fed up and stressed after a few hours. >For safety sake and to keep my insurance cover clean I would go for Hobs >over Jills every time when doing long demonstration Shows. All my adult hobs have been neutered - still got 3 kits that will be visiting the vet this winter. I use both hobs and jills when attending shows. Some of best PR ferrets are jills. Twiggy, Piper, Tuppence, Kes, Spooky, Lulu and Lady are an absolute delight to handle. Having said that Dumpling must be about the number one favourite with the kids, when his previous owner brought him to me I was warned to be careful because he nipped. He's never nipped me or any of the hundreds of folk who have handled him at shows. Some of the hobs I use when doing PR shows are OK to be handled but not to put near faces. Tiberius loves sucking ear lobes, Casanova can get a bit too enthusiastic when he kisses. Max, Oliver, Brock, Buddy, Alfie, Paw Paw, Brecon and Badger are rock steady. "The Hooligans" 5 four month old kits and their mother did get handled at the Town & Country Festival. The trick was to wait until the kits had played so much that they were tired out. Result, they would lie in someone's arms and just look adorable... -- Sheila Bolton Ferret Welfare & N.F.W.S. News Editor. NFWS. Web Site: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter last update 22 Oct 2001 Web Site: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ferreter/bolton.htm last update 22 Oct 2001 Waiting at Rainbow Bridge:- Jill, Deanna Troi, Cameron, Carnath, Button, Bill, Bobby, Jasper, Inga, Holly, Fergle, Amanda, Sparky, Daniel, Blackie, Marvin, Claude, Bumper, Kurt, Tasha Yar, Larry, Lily, Ben, Fritz, Dax, Kelley & McCoy (The opinions expressed in this post are not necessarily those of the NFWS) [Posted in FML issue 3596]