I've seen a couple of posts about the ferret and (NAME THAT ANIMAL) combination lately, so here's my $0.2 worth. BTW: I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to find some of the U.K.-published books on ferrets/ferreting which don't seem to be available here. I'm particularly interested in history, but will take anything! If anyone knows of a U.S. source, please let me know! Ferrets & Rabbits (or hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rats, etc.): IMO, BAD IDEA. In the U.K. & other European countries ferrets are used to HUNT rabbits. Their "job" is to flush them out of burrows, but hunting ferrets DO occasionally kill them, and, in typical ferret fashion, sometimes eat what they want & fall asleep next to the carcass - big mess for the hunters, who may have to dig them out! BTW: Hunting ferrets used in Europe (and some states in the U.S., where it's legal) are the same animal as the those we keep for pets - they're just unneutered. On a more personal note, my daughter has a rabbit. On a few occasions, the ferrets have sneaked into her room, instantly transforming the usually calm, tame, and placid rabbit into BUNZILLA! Her eyes turn red, she snarls, gnashes her teeth, & jumps at the bars of the cage trying to get at her "attacker." Of couse the ferrets think this is a great game, and dash madly around the room tormenting the poor bunny until some mean ol' human comes along & spoils the "game." One of these days the poor bunny's going to have a coronary! I suppose if the ferret and rabbit (or whatever) were raised together from babyhood they'd probably get along o.k., but I wouldn't want to take the chance with older animals! Ferrets & Parakeets I don't have personal experience with this (though I've heard that the combination can be lethal), but I don't see how they're much different than any other "prey" except that they're airborne. . .probably a bad idea! I don't think the ferrets would "maliciously" kill things, but we sometimes forget that they ARE carnivores. . . And more on ferrets hunting. . . IMO, whether a ferret can or will hunt depends on the ferret & it's opportunity & motivation to learn. Many U.S. breeders take the kits away from their mothers before they're old enough to learn, so of course they don't (and their mothers, who were taken from their mothers early, may not know how either). But I think a kit, kept for a "natural" period of time with a mother who knows how to hunt, will probably learn. The ability is there - somewhere - buried under all that joyful fuzziness, and I have had ferrets that hunt mice, lizards & various insects. We recently adopted out a ferret whose new "mom" was pleasantly surprised to find that she is an excellent mouser. (Better than a cat, because she can get into places that are too small for cats, & moves faster). She doesn't eat them because she's well-fed, but she does kill them (& hides them under the furniture!) My own guys are great for keeping the house spider and cricket-free, & I have at least 1 who would most certainly hunt "larger game" if given a chance. (You should have seen her when she found a mouse one of my cats killed!) Not that I particularly ENCOURAGE them to "hunt" but, it's a bit hard to keep the bugs out of the house in mid-summer in North Carolina, & they do it anyway, so what the heck? Anyway, just a little "food for thought!" Happy dooks! Karen [Posted in FML issue 1442]