>it sounds like there is no way to tell an albino from a red eyed white? >What is the evidence that there are 2 traits? I'm not sure I'm reading >your post as you mean it, so I'd appreciate elaboration. For instance, all >of my albinoes trace back to dark ferrets, i.e., have 'pigment in their >genetic background.' These are Red eyed whites. >Also, if you breed an albino (as opposed to an REW) to anything else >[colored], I'd expect pigmented young. Correct, and any "white ferrets" that resulted would be red eyed whites. I have seen a person breed a dark eyed white male to an "albino?" female, and the litter was 11 Red eyed whites. Very unusual. They were trying to get DEW kits. >Have you, or others here, bred apparent albinoes to each other and gotten >pigmented young? Most breeders like to avoid albino offspring, but I bet if I look in my old show catalogs [which list parents and their colors] I bet I could uncover a few "albino" + "albino" = colored kits. I have bred colored ferrets to colored ferrets, and resulted in mixed colored litters, to include red eyed white ferrets. I have taken the REW and bred to other colored ferrets, and depending on if there is an albino gene in the background, can tell you whether there will be a REW kit in the litter. I use REW ferrets to determine if there ARE albino genes in limited recorded background breeder ferrets. You can't get an albino/REW kit unless there is albino in BOTH parent's background. Contact FerretWare in CA for costs of Fara Shimbo's genetic breeding guide. A lot of it does go over my head, and I'm more the kind of "learn from experience" type person, so I can't backup everything she wrote, but I do believe in the albino/ REW difference. >Were albinos specifically bred for in previous years? I can see how it >would be easier to find a white ferret than a brown one while hunting. < Yes. Look in all the documented history of ferrets and the color is not mentioned or an albino is seen [Lady with an Ermine/Ferret by DaVinci, hunting histories in Europe, etc.] Color is not mentioned because the domesticated version of the polecat-ferret was an albino. Find an old dictionary and it will tell you the ferret is a domesticated version of the polecat, usually white with red eyes. Albinos were THEN bred back to polecats to produce MORE colors. If a true albino exists today, it is probably not represented in the Americas because all our ferrets came from Europe and we do not allow hunting, so ferrets did not have to be white to help the hawks and terriers distinguish hunting partner from prey. Yes, albino ferrets, when flushing rabbits from a warren with another animal to help, are preferred. If using nets or snares, the distinct white coat is not necessary. Ten years ago, the only colors of ferrets commonly kept in Europe and Australia were sable, albino, sandies, and mitts. Patterned ferrets were unheard of, but common in the Americas. Australia and some European ferret clubs are thinking of making new color classes at shows because the "mutant" colors are starting to pop out. >From: Michelle Z Matta <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Zucchini & Billy (Cartoon) Zucchini is a story about a black -footed ferret..... since keeping an endangered species is illegal, I think the author took a few liberties. Flea Collars >We buy our flea/tick collars from our vet. So far, Shredni, our little >albino ferret, hasn't been hit with either problem (we live in Wisconsin PLEASE do not use flea collars on ferrets! If you must use a flea control, use Advantage or Peppermint shampoo or brewer's yeast with garlic. No flea collars. Filemaker >If anyone on the FML wants a copy of it, I will up-load one for them for >free. If you want to send a donation to a shelter, fine, but not required. >Remember, it will only run with FileMaker Pro 3. I use a Mac... Thanks Bob, for making us Mac users feel important. I too love Filemaker and that is what the STAR* database, membership roster, my personal ferret registry, and Ferret Owner survey (and other surveys) are all done with. I'll take a copy of your set up, though I'll ask you to "convert" it to a lower version - I think I'm still running on the earlier Filemaker (shelter can't afford upgrades to MS Word, Filemaker and Excel....) Pamela T. Grant [Posted in FML issue 1914]