[log in to unmask] writes: >now, I don't know that being good mothers equates health.. but it does >seem like we should be able to breed ferrets that are good hunters but >also friendly to people. genes seem very complicated, and we are >probably simplifying too much. -- Ah yes good mothering skills does reflect health, I believe. And this is why. Ferrets that have neural crest defects don't seem to make good mothers at all. In fact, I've read where breeders have had extensive problems in this area. Right Sukie? And, well, we all know that neural crest disorders have many health problems to consider. Another point ... is that maybe animals make bad mothers out of instinct in detecting weakness? Such as in the wild when a weaker offspring is rejected or even just neglected. There are subjective ways to measure symmetry in ferrets. This is done in shows. They use diagrams/photos I believe for references and the judges develop an eye for it out of experience. Lisa Leidig of Ferrets By the Sea, spoke about showing and measuring symmetry at the Symposium in Vegas. It's something I never thought about before her talk and I immediately saw things in my ferrets faces that I never would have seen before, all due to her lecture. I found many of them to be very asymmetrical. It was amazing to me that the ones I thought most attractive ... were very symmetrical. I'm sure Vicki M might know something of this, and some current AFA members might since some of them are judges at shows. I hope that possibly someone such as Lisa, or some judges speak up because I, like you, am very interested. On the topic of domestication and breeding for docility, I would think it'd be common sense that the trade off would possibly be lack of intelligence, or lack of self-help skills at the very least. Wolfy http://wolfysluv.jacksnet.com [Posted in FML issue 4691]