FERRET PERSONALITY SQUABBLES: From what I can tell (and have read) there is not a organized pecking order in ferrets like there is in wolves for example. Dominance games are not an ongoing thing in ours. Since most of our animals are whole the males have their own cages most of the time and the only animals that spend lots of time together are the whole females and the alters. Our gibs (altered males in American terminology) don't get along much of the time but it isn't a dominance thing where one puts the other in its place. We have two gibs that have been together their whole lives and they do get along but not with any other gib. So we have our gibs seperated into little tribes. Our sprites (altered female in American terminology) get seperated into 'harems' for the gibs - we seldom see squabbling among them that lasts more than a minute or five. Our jills (whole female in modern American terminology) are mlumped into trheir own couple cages or some go into the harems of the gibs. These DO have squabbles all the time but not in any predictible manner like a dominance chain would have. They get hormonal and decide to mother some other jill (or whoever is handy). The new 'kid' might object and fuss back. These get wild! Sometimes a jill becomes the target of all the others - why? Who knows. We just take whoever is logical out and move her to another cage. Sometimes it is the 'hormonal' mama and other times it is the target. While the hobs (whole male in modern American terminology) are not in rut they sometimes have room-mates. We don't chance it with other males. I've heard tales of hobs getting down and bloody with each other but we haven't seen it. Okay so we don't usually room them together but they do see each other and meet while we have them out like at shows. THey do get into snarling matches but so far the biting has not been through the skin. In summation what I'd advise Lynn is too not be over paranoid about the males killing each other but I wouldn't room them together. If you have them out at the same time keep a close eye on them. Most problems would occur while the hob is in rut. DIET: About the Mazuri and lab diets, they are not the same thing. Mazuri is a high quality food that I would recommend for use in the hobs in rut, nursing or pregnant jills and kits. We use Totally Ferret our selves but they are reasonably comparable foods. The high protien and fat is why they are recommended for the ferrets I listed. Some of the protien is in the corn and probably will pass through the ferret without being completely absorbed. Lab food from what I've heard is tuned for certain things a lab would need and not daily feeding of ferrets outside a controlled lab. I know nothing about L'Avian. The normal mode for ferrets we feed them Iams cat food. If they are losing weight more than we think they should we bump them up to Iam's kitten or a mixture of cat and Totally Ferret. If they are in one of the critical stages; rut, pregnant, nursing or kits we feed them Totally Ferret and sometimes supplement that. When the kits are weaning and trying to start on solid foods we mix Totally Ferret with A/D Prescription diet from cans. Other foods such as ProPlan can substitue for the Iams and Mazuri can substitute for the Totally Ferret. NEW BREEDERS: Lynn and anyone else just starting or thinking of starting breeding, when you get closer to the breeding point lets us know if we can be of any assistance. You might also be sure to get the Breeder's Digest put out by Vickie McKimmey. Its growing and getting better all the time. Subscriptions are really inexpensive - $10 if I remember and well worth it. Call her at (703)777-2112 - tell her I sent you... bill and diane killian zen and the art of ferrets [Posted in FML issue 1367]