I am trying to be civil about this it is kind of hard when someone is making accusations without knowing what it is really like. This is a touchy situation for me anyway. There are better ways to get your point across than sarcasms and just being flat out rude. I am an adult and can have a decent conversation with out that. Who are you to judge? Do you have my lost pair of shoes? Just so you know this is the first pet that I will not have until the day it dies. (keep in mind that I have had a cat can until it was 17, dogs over 14, and horses that are in their 30's.) I am not a person that just dumps animals because they are unhandy. I have had to make that dreaded decision many times and say goodbye to them before sending them to the bridge. That's like telling some of these people not to move so they can keep their ferrets, no matter what the cost. Some things happen. If I would have known that I would have a divorce and meet someone new who has tried to put up with the bird for over four years now, and cant. I would have never brought the bird home in the first place. Are you familiar with parrots? Do you know that I can walk over to my neighbors and stand in their yard and listen to my parrot who is in my house? No he is not what you would call a noisy parrot. When he wants to he make noise and has also learned how to get a reaction from the kids. No I don't let the kids sit there and be "jerks" to the bird but I have walked in on them in the process. And I am not going to put my head in the sand and not realize they do this whenever I am not around. And no it is not an option to have my Fianci get rid of his kids so I can keep the bird. So yeah if I will be able to hear the ferrets all the way at my neighbors house then let me know now and we wont get them. And even though I will be getting rid of the bird whether I get a ferret or not, I have made sure that the home he is going to will be a good one and yes I plan on checking up on him. And I want first option to get him back so I know he will always be in a good home. Just like with all my animals even though they are not here doesn't mean I don't think about them. Every pup I sell I keep in touch with all the owners. And every pup I sell comes back here if they are no longer wanted. I have always been a responsible pet owner and dog breeder and always will be. And no I am not getting rid of the parrot just to get ferrets. I have been looking into getting ferrets for a long time. And I just mentioned my bird to this lady who wants him. Has experience with them and I think she would give him a better home. I didn't advertise him and probably never would have had the guts to do it. After all I have been putting it off for a couple years now. And if I didn't feel like she would be a better home he still wouldn't be going. And just so you know, these kids are not your everyday little brats. They are not only honor roll students in school but also excels in sports, but they know all about farm life and how to take care of animals. They are out there helping pull calves, bottle feeding, they raise baby pigs. Not to mention that they train horses on the side for their own money. I am sure that if they can clean the stalls from the pigs or horses then the ferret cage is not going to be a problem. And my other half and I are always there to back them up when life gets hectic for them. Plus even though our kids have an animal it is not just theirs until they move out. The whole family plays with them and backs each other up when life gets busy. Without that us as a "big" family would be pretty hectic and we wouldn't have anything. And no if some of the kids don't like the ferrets then they don't have to mess with them. I am pretty sure that ferrets are not nearly as loud as a parrot and it will do just fine. Instead of just jumping in and getting a ferret I am trying to find out about them. Yes I have went and bought a book but it doesn't tell me everything I want to know which I why I joined this list. To get first hand information on ferrets. Which I thought would be a responsible thing to do. And just so you know that I am a dedicated animal lover look at my web page, you can see one of the many lambs that have lived in our house to be bottle fed so it wouldn't die. We have also had baby pigs in the house too. One of them is also on my website laying on the front porch with the dog. Do you know what it takes to raise a baby pig in the house. Try feeding every half hour 24 hours a day for a few days until they don't have to eat so often which is a few days when it goes down to every hour. At the end of a few weeks you are finally able to get a couple hours of sleep at a time. If that's not dedication then what is? Plus yes I do live on a farm with livestock and a lot of kids. Which also mean that there are a lot of animals suddenly showing up. Guess what these are found homes too instead of being shot like a lot of people do. You probably scare off a large amount of people who would be able to give the ferrets a good home. People that would be able to care for them just like you do. There are probably some people who had no idea what they were getting into but wouldn't give up. And yes there are people that are not ready for them. There people are like that with dogs and cats and horses. It is no different with any animal that is a pet. Instead of jumping on the people that want to try to take these homeless pets and give them a home and family. You should be going to Marshall and Triple F and finding out why they are not being responsible for the ferrets that currently don't have a home. They brought them into this world not me. Molly Wilson's Feed and Stock http://msnhomepages.talkcity.com/SuburbanSt/wilsons-feed-stock/index.html [Posted in FML issue 3703]